2,601 research outputs found
RDA COVID-19; Recommendations and Guidelines on Data Sharing, final release 30 June 2020
No full textContext:The Research Data Alliance (RDA) COVID-19 Working Group members bring various, global expertise to develop a body of work that comprises how data from multiple disciplines inform response to a pandemic combined with guidelines and recommendations on data sharing under the present COVID-19 cicumstances. This extends to research software sharing, in recognition of the key role in software in analysing data. The work has been divided into four research areas (namely, clinical, omics, epidemiology, social sciences) with four cross cutting themes (namely, community participation, indigenous data, legal and ethical considerations, research software), as a way to focus the conversations, and provide an initial set of guidelines in a tight timeframe. The detailed guidelines are aimed to help stakeholders follow best practices to maximise the efficiency of their work, and to act as a blueprint for future emergencies. The recommendations in the document are aimed at helping policymakers and funders to maximise timely, quality data sharing and appropriate responses in such health emergencies.<br/
Impacts of hunter-gatherers on the vegetation history of the eastern vale of pickering, Yorkshire
No full textResearch is undertaken into the vegetation and human impact at three previously un-researched archaeological sites from the eastern Vale of Pickering. The vegetation history is reconstructed from the end of the Windermere Interstadial c. 13,000 (^14)C yr BP until the final Mesolithic c. 5100 (^14)C yr BP. The early Mesolithic human impact on the vegetation is assessed using a three stage statistical test to establish the internal variability in the data as well as background variations in pollen output. The results reveal that humans had a small but significant impact on the vegetation around two of the sites. Pollen preservation at the third site precluded analyses of the impacts of humans on the vegetation. The three-stage test used to test for human impact was quite successful but requires revision before any further use. On the whole the tests confirmed the findings of conventional human impact analyses. During the pre-Holocene fires occurred on a regular basis. These fires varied in location and intensity, suggesting that some of the fires were regional or large-scale, whilst others were small and very localized. A multi-causal explanation has been given for the fires. Later, during the early Mesolithic, human groups are thought to have burnt the reedswamp at the lake edges as part of an economic strategy. Star Carr is the only site that demonstrates clearance of significant areas of woodland. During the later Mesolithic the hunter-gatherers have a greater impact on the vegetation within the Vale. This is attributed to the need for more resources as a result of vegetation change and increased population levels. Unlike their counter-parts from the North York Moors, the occupants of the lowland Vale of Pickering cause no long-term change to their environment
Immobilising oils in geopolymer cements using pickering emulsions
No full textSilica fume was investigated as a potential Pickering agent as an alternative route of immobilisation of organic oils (Nevastane oil or TPB/dodecane) in potassium geopolymer cement. The Pickering emulsion was able to immobilise up to 30 wt% Nevastane loading in the geopolymer cement. The formation of the Pickering emulsion was able to decrease the initial and final setting times, whilst, increasing the early compressive strength of the Pickering samples in comparison to non-emulsified Nevastane samples. The X-ray tomography data further showed the successful dispersion of the Nevastane droplets throughout the geopolymer matrix, with good uniformity of the droplet distribution. However, the Pickering emulsion was unable to successfully immobilise the TBP/dodecane at any weight loading, suggesting that this immobilisation route was not suitable for this particular organic oil. Hence, Pickering emulsions could be used as an alternative route for the immobilisation of selected organic oils into geopolymer cements
Alive and Kicking! J.B. Priestley and the University of Bradford
No full textYesThis article explores the connections between Bradford-born author J.B. Priestley and the University of Bradford, using evidence from archives held in Special Collections at the University. The discussion includes the award of an honorary doctorate to Priestley in 1970 and the opening of the J.B. Priestley Library in 1975
Machine agency in Human-Machine networks; impacts and trust implications
No full textWe live in an emerging hyper-connected era in which people are in contact and interacting with an increasing number of other people and devices. Increasingly, modern IT systems form networks of humans and machines that interact with one another. As machines take a more active role in such networks, they exert an increasing level of influence on other participants. We review the existing literature on agency and propose a definition of agency that is practical for describing the capabilities and impact human and machine actors may have in a human-machine network. On this basis, we discuss and demonstrate the im-pact and trust implications for machine actors in human-machine networks for emergency decision support, healthcare and future smart homes. We maintain that machine agency not only facilitates human to machine trust, but also inter-personal trust; and that trust must develop to be able to seize the full potential of future technology
Good Words (Magazine) for 1868
No full textAs Abbey writes, the fable articles here precede and are different from their first appearance in book form a year later. For it was then that Ralston published the first edition of Krilof and His Fables. See my comments on the third (1871) and fourth (1883) editions. The book smells of its many years! The three fable articles are on 39-46, including six illustrations on 40-41; 215-221, including six illustrations on 216-17; and 413-20, including six illustrations on 416-17. These are magazine articles. They comment on Krilof's views and particularly on Russian foibles. Thus one prose text after another is integrated into the article. In the book, there will be, after a preface and a memoir, a simple collection of texts. In fact, the selection of Krilof fables within the article here is excellent, and the author puts them into a good cultural and political context. At least some of the illustrations are the same as those in the third edition.. The texts are close to those found in the published books. It makes sense to see the texts in the magazine here as forerunners of those fable texts there. I presume that Ralston had opportunity to edit and amend between his magazine articles and his book's first edition. The publisher of the magazine is of course the publisher of the third edition that I have. The print is minuscule! I needed a magnifying glass for normal reading. The index just after 774 assigns J.B. Zwecker and A.B. Houghton as illustrators for the eighteen illustrations in the three fable articles. Dalziel, Houghton, and Zwecker are the names I can make out on the illustrations. Dalziel is not mentioned on the title page, but there is reference to others.This is a hardbound book (hard cover)Norman MacLeod; W.R.S. Ralston for fable
"J.B. Stoner", August 15, 1972
No full textPublic address written by John R. Lewis urging people to renounce the racially-repugnant sentiments of Georgia politician J.B. Stoner and register to vote in order to protect their interests, written August 15, 1972. 3 pages
Can Reynolds stress transport models be used for large eddy simulation?
No full textThis work explores a route to unify Reynolds averaged (RANS) and large eddy simulation (LES). The approach is to use a slightly modified Reynolds stress transport model for any mesh resolution. The model is formulated in terms of both total kinetic energy and modeled kinetic energy in such a way that the RST model correctly reproduces RANS results, LES results, and even DNS results (by turning itself off). The model equations do not contain functions of the mesh size within any of the model terms or constants. It is demonstrated that this approach works at any mesh resolution. In addition, the model naturally transitions between mesh resolutions, either coarse to fine or vice-versa. It is shown that for LES mesh resolutions the model returns a turbulent length scale that is proportional to the mesh size (the classic LES turbulent length scale)
Distribution and diversity of exotic plant species in montane to alpine areas of Kosciuszko National Park
No full textDiversity and distribution of exotic plant taxa in Kosciuszko National Park in south-eastern Australia were reviewed based on 1103 records of exotics from 18 vegetation surveys conducted between 1986 and 2004. 154 taxa from 23 families were recorded in the alpine to montane zones, with eleven taxa in the alpine, 128 taxa in the subalpine and 69 taxa in the montane zone. Nearly all taxa were associated with anthropogenic disturbance with only four taxa exclusively recorded in natural areas. 62 taxa were recorded from subalpine ski resort gardens, and although not recorded as naturalised in the vegetation surveys, their presence in the Park is a concern.
Road verges provided habitat for numerous exotics (65 taxa). 44 taxa were recorded in both disturbed and natural locations but most were uncommon (33 taxa < 2% frequency). Nine common taxa Acetosella vulgaris, Achillea millefolium, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Cerastium spp., Dactylis glomerata, Hypochaeris radicata, Taraxacum officinale and Trifolium repens comprised 68% of records. These species are common to disturbed areas in other areas of Kosciuszko National Park, NSW and worldwide. The forb Acetosella vulgaris was the most ubiquitous species particularly in natural areas where it was recorded at 36% frequency. Based on the data presented here and a recent review of other data sets, there are at least 231 exotic taxa in the Park (including exotics in gardens). The increasing diversity and abundance of exotics is a threat to the natural values of this Park
Increasing the resilience of the Australian alpine flora to climate change
No full text The alpine region around Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko, is part of one of the three most at risk ecosystems in Australia from climate change. With higher temperatures and decreased precipitation, snow cover is already declining with even greater reductions predicted in the short to medium term (2020 to 2050). Consequently the distribution of many native plants and animals may contract, while the distribution of weeds and feral animals may expand. Wildfires in the region are also likely to be more frequent and intense. To contribute to our understanding of how changes in the environment alter plant composition and ecological process, we conducted a series of functional trait analyses of existing composition datasets. We collected trait data in the field for 220 species including canopy height, leaf area, leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area (SLA). Variation in traits among the alpine flora was not related to species distributional ranges. Traits were strongly associated with growth forms, with shrubs often taller than herbs and graminoids, but often had small, tough, long-lasting leaves. Species traits were combined with relative cover values to calculate community trait weighted means, a commonly used measure of functional diversity. Functional diversity varied with altitude/duration of snow cover. For example, shrubs which are taller with small tough leaves dominated lower altitude summits, while at higher altitude summits, large, soft leaved herbs and graminoids dominated. Late lying snowpatches areas with short growing seasons were dominated by low growing herbs and graminoids with small leaves while areas with longer growing seasons were dominated by herbs and graminoids that were taller and had larger leaves. Recovery from fire differed among plant communities. The composition and functional diversity of recovering tall alpine herbfield is trending towards that of equivalent unburnt sites, while burnt windswept feldmark was colonised by graminoids and herbs that are often found in tall alpine herbfield species, with limited shrub recovery in the first nine years post fire. Grazing by feral hares had no effect on composition or functional diversity, while vegetation recovering from cattle grazing showed clear changes in composition and functional diversity even 43 years later. Prioritising management for this high value conservation region, therefore, involves enhancing resilience by minimising existing threats, particularly those from fire, weeds and hard-hooved grazing animals which will be exacerbate by climate change.Please cite as: Pickering, C, & Venn, S, 2013 Increasing the resilience of the Australian flora to climate change and associated threats: a plant functional traits approach National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 94 Abstract The alpine region around Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko, is part of one of the three most at risk ecosystems in Australia from climate change. With higher temperatures and decreased precipitation, snow cover is already declining with even greater reductions predicted in the short to medium term (2020 to 2050). Consequently the distribution of many native plants and animals may contract, while the distribution of weeds and feral animals may expand. Wildfires in the region are also likely to be more frequent and intense. To contribute to our understanding of how changes in the environment alter plant composition and ecological process, we conducted a series of functional trait analyses of existing composition datasets. We collected trait data in the field for 220 species including canopy height, leaf area, leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area (SLA). Variation in traits among the alpine flora was not related to species distributional ranges. Traits were strongly associated with growth forms, with shrubs often taller than herbs and graminoids, but often had small, tough, long-lasting leaves. Species traits were combined with relative cover values to calculate community trait weighted means, a commonly used measure of functional diversity. Functional diversity varied with altitude/duration of snow cover. For example, shrubs which are taller with small tough leaves dominated lower altitude summits, while at higher altitude summits, large, soft leaved herbs and graminoids dominated. Late lying snowpatches areas with short growing seasons were dominated by low growing herbs and graminoids with small leaves while areas with longer growing seasons were dominated by herbs and graminoids that were taller and had larger leaves. Recovery from fire differed among plant communities. The composition and functional diversity of recovering tall alpine herbfield is trending towards that of equivalent unburnt sites, while burnt windswept feldmark was colonised by graminoids and herbs that are often found in tall alpine herbfield species, with limited shrub recovery in the first nine years post fire. Grazing by feral hares had no effect on composition or functional diversity, while vegetation recovering from cattle grazing showed clear changes in composition and functional diversity even 43 years later. Prioritising management for this high value conservation region, therefore, involves enhancing resilience by minimising existing threats, particularly those from fire, weeds and hard-hooved grazing animals which will be exacerbate by climate change
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