Experiences of using mobile technologies and virtual field tours in Physical Geography: implications for hydrology education

Education in hydrology is changing rapidly due to diversification of students, emergent major scientific and practical challenges that our discipline must engage with, shifting pedagogic ideas and higher education environments, the need for students to develop new discipline specific and transferrable skills, and the advent of innovative technologies for learning and teaching. This paper focuses on new technologies in the context of learning and teaching in Physical Geography and reflects on the implications of our experiences for education in hydrology. We evaluate the experience of designing and trialling novel mobile technology-based field exercises and a virtual field tour for a Year 1 undergraduate Physical Geography module at a UK university. The new exercises are based on using and obtaining spatial data, operation of meteorological equipment (explained using an interactive DVD), and include introductions to global positioning systems (GPS) and geographical information systems (GIS). The technology and exercises were well received in a pilot study and subsequent rolling-out to the full student cohort (∼150 students). A statistically significant improvement in marks was observed following the redesign. Although the students enjoyed using mobile technology, the increased interactivity and opportunity for peer learning were considered to be the primary benefits by students. This is reinforced further by student preference for the new interactive virtual field tour over the previous "show-and-tell" field exercise. Despite the new exercises having many advantages, exercise development was not trivial due to the high start-up costs, the need for provision of sufficient technical support and the relative difficulty of making year-to-year changes (to the virtual field tour in particular). Our experiences are highly relevant to the implementation of novel learning and teaching technologies in hydrology education

The ENSO Influence in the Mexican Regional Precipitation during the Instrumental Period

A long-term high quality precipitation database has been developed to assess the changing climate of Mexico during the instrumental period. Time-series with more than thirty years of information and less than ten percent of missing data were accepted for the extraction. Day to day data comparisons were made among the different constituent databases used in the development. The final network used in this study has 175 stations (168 in Mexico and 7 in the USA) with monthly rainfall from 1931 to 2001, i.e., 71 years of precipitation data. Oblique-rotated Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been applied to the monthly dataset to regionalise groups of stations that vary coherently. Linear (Kendall’s tau-b) correlations have been applied to establish relationships between three different ENSO indices and the regional precipitation averages (resulting from PCA). A clear latitudinal transition is observed when the annual and rainy (May-Oct) seasons for the regional precipitation averages and derived extreme rainfall indices are correlated with the ENSO indices: wetter conditions are observed north of the Tropic of Cancer and below normal precipitation is dominant in the southern part of the country (during El Niño conditions). Meanwhile, a national climatic picture of wetter conditions is observed when standardised versions of the dry (Nov-Apr) season of the regional precipitation averages are correlated with the ENSO indices

Further-Adjusted Long-Term Temperature Series in China Based on MASH

A set of homogenized monthly mean surface air temperature (SAT) series at 32 stations in China back to the 19th century had previously been developed based on the RHtest method by Cao et al., but some inhomogeneities remained in the dataset. The present study produces a further-adjusted and updated dataset based on the Multiple Analysis of Series for Homogenization (MASH) method. The MASH procedure detects 33 monthly temperature records as erroneous outliers and 152 meaningful break points in the monthly SAT series since 1924 at 28 stations. The inhomogeneous parts are then adjusted relative to the latest homogeneous part of the series. The new data show significant warming trends during 1924–2016 at all the stations, ranging from 0.48 to 3.57°C (100 yr)−1, with a regional mean trend of 1.65°C (100 yr)−1; whereas, the previous results ranged from a slight cooling at two stations to considerable warming, up to 4.5°C (100 yr)−1. It is suggested that the further-adjusted data are a better representation of the large-scale pattern of climate change in the region for the past century. The new data are available online at http://www.dx.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.516

Changing practice to support self-management and recovery in mental illness: application of an implementation model

Author Version made available in accordance with the publisher's policyHealth services introducing practice changes need effective implementation methods. Within the setting of a community mental health service offering recovery-oriented psychosocial support for people with mental illness, we aimed to (a) identify a well-founded implementation model and (b) assess its practical usefulness in introducing a new program for recovery-oriented self-management support. We reviewed the literature to identify implementation models applicable to community mental health, and having corresponding measurement tools. We used one of these models to inform organisational change strategies. The literature review showed few models with corresponding tools. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) model and the related Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment (ORCA) tool were used. PARIHS proposes prerequisites for health service change and the ORCA measures the extent to which these prerequisites are present. Application of the ORCA at two time points during implementation of the new program showed strategy-related gains for some prerequisites but not for others, reflecting observed implementation progress. Additional strategies to address target prerequisites could be drawn from the PARIHS model. The PARIHS model and ORCA tool have potential in designing and monitoring practice change strategies in community mental health. Further practical use and testing of implementation models appears justified in overcoming barriers to change

Excavations at the Bluff Creek Sites: 41MK10 and 41MK27, McColloch County, Texas

From late 1978 through early 1979, Ann M. Irwin of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) supervised excavations of two prehistoric archeological sites, 41MK10 and 41MK27, that were to be affected by construction along FM 765 in McCulloch County, Texas. The sites are located on Bluff Creek in the northern part of McCulloch County. Analyses of sites 41MK10 and 41MK27 and their cultural materials were conducted by TxDOT personnel in 1979, and an initial draft form of the report was prepared by Irwin in the early 1980s. TxDOT subsequently contracted SWCA, Inc. Environmental Consultants in 1999 to complete the report of the results of archeological investigations at 41MK10 and 41MK27 and to prepare the artifacts and records for curation. Site 41MK27 contained a small burned rock midden, Feature I. This midden was approximately 8 to 10 m in diameter, and 50 cm thick, and annular in form. A single internal feature (Feature IA), a rock-lined pit or hearth, was located in the approximate center and bottom of the midden. Lying between the midden and Bluff Creek were a series of small hearths, of which eight were excavated and designated as Features III through X. These small hearths, most of which had been at least somewhat disturbed, appeared to have been simple structures composed of one or more layers of rock. Many of the individual rocks appear to have been fire-fractured in place. No true basin-shaped hearths were observed. Associated with these hearths were an accompanying scatter of living debris in the form of flint and burned rock and significant quantities of freshwater mussel shell. Although the individual specimens are relatively small, the quantities recovered suggest that they served as a source of food. Radiocarbon data suggest that the site was intermittently occupied from the Late Archaic through the Late Prehistoric. The midden apparently dates to the Late Prehistoric, although the Transitional Archaic period may have been the period of most intense occupation at the site. Site 41MK10 was smaller than 41MK27 and not as intensively investigated. Two small burned rock features were excavated. The site was at least visited in the Late Archaic times, as is evidenced by the presence of a Castroville point, and in the Transitional Archaic, indicated by the recovery of two Ensor projectile points. It is likely, though by no means firmly established, that these dart point types are in fact associated with the use of the features

The blame game: double standards apply to autonomous vehicle accidents

Who is to blame when autonomous vehicles are involved in accidents? We report findings from an online study in which the attribution of blame and trust were measured from 206 participants who studied 18 hypothetical vignettes portraying traffic incidents under different driving environments. The focal vehicle involved in the incident was either controlled by a human driver or autonomous system. The accident severity also varied from near miss, minor accident to major accident. Participants applied double standards when assigning blame to humans and autonomous systems: an autonomous system was usually blamed more than a human driver for executing the same actions under the same circumstances with the same consequences. These findings not only have important implications to AI-related legislation, but also highlight the necessity to promote the design of robots and other automation systems which can help calibrate public perceptions and expectations of their characteristics and capabilities