Traditional predication of drought under weather and climate uncertainty: analyzing the challenges and opportunities for small-scale farmers in Gaza province, southern region of Mozambique

This paper explores the traditional indicators that small-scale farmers in Gaza province in southern Mozambique use to predict drought events on their rain-fed farms. It analyzes the contextual situation regarding the accuracy and reliability of the traditional prediction methods under the current weather and conditions of climate uncertainty and variability, and the opportunities that their prediction methods can bring to reduce their current and future exposure and vulnerabilities to drought. Farmers use a total of 11 traditional environmental indicators to predict drought, either individually or combined, as required to increase their prediction certainty. However, the farmers perceive that current unpredictability, variability, and changes in weather and climate have negatively affected the interpretation, accuracy, and reliability of most of their prediction indicators, and thus their farming activities and their ability to predict and respond to drought. This, associated with the reduced number of elders in the community, is causing a decline in the diversity, and complexity of interpretation of indicators. Nonetheless, these difficulties have not impeded farmers from continuing to use their preferred prediction methods, as on some occasions they continue to be useful for their farming-related decisions and are also the main, or sometimes only, source of forecast. Considering the role these methods play in farmers’ activities, and the limited access to meteorological forecasts in most rural areas of Mozambique, and the fact that the weather and climate is expected to continually change, this paper concludes that it is important to enhance the use of traditional prediction methods. However, the increase of the accuracy and reliability, and continued existence of the methods depends on the farmers’ own abilities to enhance, preserve, and validate them by tailoring the traditional methods used to work with the new environmental, weather, and climatic conditions, or through the development of new methods

Illusions, transformations, and iterations : storytelling as fiction, image, artefact : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts, College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand

Listed in the 2020 Dean's List of Exceptional ThesesThis creative practice research project proposes that books may act as performative artefacts, and simultaneously discovers the narrative potential of fragmented fictional texts. The hybrid processes used during this research incorporate artistic practice and fiction writing. Throughout the duration of this project, there have been presentations of work across different modes – print publication, live art/performance, conference presentations, articles/essays, workshops, installations and readings. The most significant outcomes of the project are a small collection of physically transformed books, which stand as hybrid art/fiction artefacts. The reader/viewer is encouraged to performatively engage with the books by exploring what is visible, partially visible, and concealed. To spend time touching and reading words, whispers, silence

An emergency preparedness framework for Sand andDust Storms (SDSs) in Kuwait

BackgroundThe current literature suggests that there is a lack of preparedness framework for Sand and Dust Storms (SDSs) globally and regionally and the existing disaster response strategies are not fit for purpose. Evidence suggests that research is warranted in this area. Thus, this research aims to investigate and develop the emergency preparedness framework for SDSs in the state of Kuwait.Methods:In this research an initial framework was designed to inform further research. Consequently, to understand what the current level of preparedness for SDSs within Kuwait is, and what is the possible method to integrate community-based approaches within existing disaster mitigation frameworks. Two studies using different methods were planned and conducted in Kuwait City. The first study was a questionnaire-based study that was distributed to 700 members of the community, of which only 398 responded. The second study involved interviewing 26 members of the emergency services. The results of the two studies were used for the development of the emergency preparedness framework. This in turn was used in the discussion held in the form of focus group study with 12 top emergency managers for framework validation.ResultsThe findings showed that people in Kuwait consider SDS to be very severe and are aware of SDS related to health issues. However, when it came measures that need to be taken due to SDS the Kuwait community were unaware on what needs to be done. The respondents accept that there is more to be done by emergency departments during SDSs. Surprisingly, health organization was not significant in any preparedness plans according to members of the community. The findings also showed that SDSs responders need to change their approaches to improve their reaction time during SDS events. The Kuwaiti community was not satisfied with the information that was published on SDSs or with the support that was provided by civil defense, fire department, emergency services, red cross, and health organization. The Kuwaiti community did not attend or get involved with aspects related to SDSs, such as sharing knowledge and responsibility through attending meetings, developing emergency plans, preparing emergency supply kits, or training others.Interviews with experts showed that the challenges that faces SDSs preparedness were slow warning system, pressure on financial resources and on emergency agencies, need to coordinate efforts and develop a disaster management framework, improve communications, training and research and allocate the proper resources. The framework resulted from the first two studies suggested different measures to control SDSs including long-term measures such stabilizing the soil and improving warning system. Global cooperation was also lacking at the moment in Kuwait response to SDSs according to some experts’ views.In the focus group 5 themes were identified. These were the need to improve preparedness, the need for education at all levels, better coordination between agencies, improve warning system and communication and implementing long-term solutions.ConclusionThe results suggest that the preparedness plan in Kuwait should be improved and the main point raised is the need of establishing an authority to coordinate the effort of the different departments to deals with SDSs. There is also a need for a broad and specific education programme and training plan to improve both the governmental and the community-based response. The final emergency preparedness framework, presented here, is a starting point to increase the maturity level of emergency preparednessXIVand to undertake further research.Recommendations• Through SDSs bespoke governmental regulations and the relevant legislations the response to SDSs must be improved according to research findings and expert views and recommendation from global organizations of concern such as WHO.• Education of the community on SDSs must be part of a campaign to raise the readiness of the community.• A central coordinating authority to deal with SDSs should be created and coordinate all actions on the preparedness plan as per the framework.• Continuous feedback and dissemination of information between different Ministries and Departments is essential.• Provide training for all emergency departments to enable them to act swiftly when SDS events are happening.• Global and regional cooperation is also essential.• Active research targeted at improving preparedness should be prioritised and disseminate findings.• All media outlets should be activated when early warning system provide information about an SDS event.• The community at large, including nomads and marginalised groups, should engage in the SDSs preparedness plan

Sitting outside the Milky Way: Communicating science with adults in a 3D planetarium

Planetariums are evolving. In July 2015, the @Bristol Planetarium became the first 3D planetarium in the UK. Audiences are taken on a multimedia, 3D journey through the Cosmos to supplement the more traditional 2D representation of the night sky. This research sought to explore the role of the new 3D Planetarium in communicating science with adults. Three uses of the Planetarium were considered with self-completion questionnaires. Content analyses of the presenter’s narration and interaction were also conducted. The audiences were a combination of people looking for a night out with friends and family with little or no previous interest in science and those coming specifically to further their interest in astronomy. The results suggest that adult audiences are strongly favourable to the 3D Planetarium experience, wishing to come back again to learn more about science and stargazing. It is also suggested that the 3D Planetarium provides an inspirational experience which leaves adult audiences planning to change their behaviour to reflect what they have learned. Further areas of study have emerged from the research, and more, long term studies into the efficacy of 3D Planetariums will further inform the topic as the technology matures

Molecular Signposts of the Physics and Chemistry of Planet Formation.

Observations of molecules in planet-forming circumstellar disks are powerful diagnostic tools, enabling characterization of both gas composition and underlying physical conditions using molecular excitation. My thesis has primarily focused on the role of disk structure and ionization for the chemistry of disks and the corresponding submillimeter emission. Changes in the overall morphology of disks, including inner holes or gaps, significantly alters the stellar irradiation of the disk, which will affect the disk heating, especially at the walls of an inner hole (Chapter 2). I have modeled the 3D chemistry of gapped disks, carved out by planets, including for the first time heating by a luminous protoplanet. The planet sublimates ices beyond expected disk "snow-lines" leading to observable signatures detectable with ALMA (Chapter 3). Regarding ionization, I have studied disk ionization by cosmic rays (Chapter 4), short-lived radionuclides (Chapter 5), and X-rays from the central star (Chapter 6). In Chapter 6, I investigated the molecular dependence on each of these processes and made testable predictions for sensitive submillimeter observations to map out disk ionization, which I applied to the TW Hya disk, finding a substantially lower than interstellar cosmic ray rate (Chapter 7). One of the major implications of this work is related to the formation chemistry of water, which requires ionization to proceed. In the absence of water-formation in the solar nebula protoplanetary disk, this work demonstrates that there must be a substantial inheritance of water from earlier evolutionary stages, pre-dating the Sun's formation (Chapter 8). Together, these projects have also enabled the development of a comprehensive 2D and 3D disk modeling framework, useful for parameter space studies and source-targeted modeling.PhDAstronomy and AstrophysicsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113307/1/cleeves_1.pd

Supplementing ESL Classroom Activities With Social Media For Young Adult Learners

The classroom material currently utilized in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms is often disconnected from the real world. Publishers of ESL instructional materials often attempt to bridge this gap by including topics on popular news, films, songs, and famous persons at the time of printing. However, these are often outdated as quickly as they can be printed. As such, many ESL teachers face the challenge of keeping ESL classroom material relevant to the real world while seeking to maintain students’ interests in what they are learning. The purpose of the project is to make use of social networking sites, a readily available technology that students are already familiar with, and adapt classroom material to them as a way to increase students\u27 motivation and learner autonomy. The project is intended to serve as a guide for teachers seeking to enhance their lessons and engage their students through the means of authentic and familiar mediums.The project focuses on four popular social networking sites, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, to demonstrate how social networking sites can be incorporated into the classroom. For each type of social networking site, five classroom activities are designed, targeting the key language areas of grammar, vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each language area has two types of activities, an introduction activity and a review activity. The introduction activity familiarizes students with how the social networking site will be used to complete the target language activity. The review activity can take the form of a game or is an expansion of the introduction activity. There is a growing trend in education towards the use of technology in the classroom. This project highlights one way in which this can be done while using the same curriculum and minimizing the need to introduce students to any new technology. In this manner, students can become more motivated and enthusiastic about their lessons, have the tools to take charge of their own learning, are exposed to more authentic texts and situations, and are provided with more learning opportunities in which to expand their knowledge of English

The Poetry of John Tyndall

John Tyndall (c.1822–1893) is best known as a leading natural philosopher and trenchant public intellectual of the Victorian age. He discovered the physical basis of the greenhouse effect, explained why the sky is blue, and spoke and wrote controversially on the relationship between science and religion. Few people were aware that he also wrote poetry. The Poetry of John Tyndall contains his 76 extant poems, the majority of which have not been transcribed or published before, and are succinctly annotated in a style similar to that used for the letters published in The Correspondence of John Tyndall. The poems are complemented by an extended introduction, which was written by the three editors together as a multidisciplinary analysis. The essay aims to facilitate readings by a range of people interested in the history of Victorian science and of Victorian science and literature. It explores what the poems can tell us about Tyndall’s self-fashioning, his values and beliefs, and the role of poetry for him and his circle. More broadly, the essay addresses the relationship between the scientific and poetic imaginations, and wider questions of the nature and purpose of poetry in relation to science and religion in the nineteenth centur