Silver Halides, Craft and Laser Beams Hand-coating as a new creative tool in Holography

The making of silver halide-based material has long been regarded as too complex a task for holographic practitioners. This thesis challenges that popular opinion and proves the feasibility of hand coating by introducing the diffusion method for holographic silver halide-based recording material making. The focus of my research is on how this new method can be developed and improved to make it accessible and usable for creative and general practitioners without the necessity of a background in chemistry. It does this in a practical approach through a process of experimentation with the diffusion method and by the production of holograms in the lab. My research situates the making of holographic plates in the realm of craft and argues that in-house plate making is not only a realisable option for the artist but a necessity for the survival of creative holography. By producing new tacit knowledge about the method and highlighting its importance, hand-coating in holography is promoted as a feasible way of improving creative holography practice. The diffusion method also allows for the production of holographic recording material on surfaces other than commonly used glass plates. My research liberates the three dimensional medium of holography from a two dimensional substrate. This gives the medium of creative holography the opportunity to expand the medium’s possibilities, to find a new visual language and to challenge the observer's eye in new ways. This thesis, and my research, offers a practical, and creatively beneficial, alternative to the expensive and often unreliable commercial holographic material which contemporary holographers currently contend with. It offers the practitioner both an entirely new way to produce holograms and through self-production of their own recording material, greater creative control and potential

The plankton multiplier—positive feedback in the greenhouse

The plankton multiplier is a positive feedback mechanism linking the greenhouse effect and biological pump (Woods.J.D., Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, 1990). As pollution increases the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the enhanced greenhouse effect induces radiative forcing of the ocean, which diminishes the depth of winter convection, reducing the annual resupply of nutrients to the euphotic zone and therefore the annual primary production. That weakens the biological pump, which contributes to oceanic uptake of CO2,. As the ocean takes up less CO2, more remains in the atmosphere, accelerating the rise in radiative forcing. We have used a mathematical model of the upper ocean ecosystem, based on the Lagrangian Ensemble method, to estimate the sensitivity of the biological pump to radiative forcing, which lies at the heart of the plankton multiplier. We conclude that increasing radiative forcing by 5 W m− (equivalent to doubling atmospheric CO2) reduces the deep flux of paniculate carbon by 10%. That sensitivity is sufficient to produce significant positive feedback in the greenhouse. It means that the plankton multiplier will increase the rate of climate change in the 21st century. It also suggests that the plankton multiplier is the mechanism linking the Milankovich effect to the enhanced greenhouse effect that produces global warming at the end of ice ages

On using a Lagrangian model to calibrate primary production determined from in vitro incubation measurements

This paper discusses an observing system simulation experiment which reveals the difference in primary production of (i) phytoplankton moving freely in the turbulent mixed layer of the upper ocean and (ii) a sample of the same population held in a bottle at fixed depths. The results indicate the tendency of incubation measurements to overestimate phytoplankton production rates by up to 40%. Differences in primary production depend to a first approximation on the vertical extent of mixing and on water turbidity. A simple model was constructed leading to a non-linear calibration function which relates the difference in primary production to surface irradiance, mixing depth and to the depth of the euphotic zone. This function has been applied to calibrate the production rates simulated at fixed depths, and the corrected values were verified by comparisons with productivities in the turbulent environment. The calibration function was found to be capable of reducing the differences significantly

Modelling oligotrophic zooplankton production: seasonal oligotrophy off the Azores

One of the critical issues in large-scale physical/biological coupled models is the survival of zooplankton in a water column circulating an anticyclonic gyre. Survival is most at risk in regions where the phytoplankton food supply is low due to environmental stress by light-limitation (deep mixing in winter) or nutrient limitation (oligotrophy). To investigate this problem we simulated the ecosystem in a 1 m2 cross-section water column, using the Lagrangian Ensemble method in which plankton are treated as particles following independent trajectories through the changing environment. In this first part of a two-part article we report the results of simulating the ecosystem in a water column located off the Azores, where winter mixing reaches 200 m and there is seasonal, but not permanent oligotrophy. The model features diatoms and herbivorous copepods subject to carnivorous predation, with remineralization of carbon and nitrogen by bacteria attached to detritus and faecal pellets. The copepods become extinct after failing to reproduce in years of low food supply. We show that the risk of extinction can be reduced by allowing cannibalism or by reducing carnivorous predation; we discuss other possibilities: enhancing the food supply by adding new guilds of phytoplankton, and relaxing oligotrophy by allowing other sources of nitrogen injection into the euphotic zone

Farm and farmer capital foster adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs in the cotton-wheat zone of the Punjab, Pakistan

Adoption of yield-enhancing agricultural inputs fosters agricultural intensification in low-income countries. In Pakistan, initial adoption of agrochemicals is already widespread; the low quality of much of the inputs contributes to severe health, environmental and enduring pest problems, however. While the positive influence of farm capital and farmer capital on initial adoption is well documented, the adoption of improved quality inputs is little researched. We reduce the knowledge gap investigating smallholder adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs in the Punjab, Pakistan. Using multi-stage random sampling, a pre-tested and piloted farming household survey was administered to smallholder farming households from 18 villages across three districts of the cotton-wheat zone (N=275). Ordered probit models show that several farming and farm capital variables (cotton crop area, farm machinery, no-tillage farming, adoption in the neighbourhood) as well as several farmer capital variables (age, education, off-farm income, agricultural extension services, source of agricultural credit) influence adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs. Of these variables, an intensification of agricultural extension service visits appears as the most promising policy option. From a fundamental science point of view, our results provide, for the first time, evidence that adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs is influenced principally by the same variables as initial adoption

Differential Influence of Relative Poverty on Preferences for Ecosystem Services: Evidence from Rural Indonesia

Ecosystem services generate benefits that enter human consumption either directly or indirectly via their contribution to human production activities. In this contribution, we provide evidence that (i) the demand of peasants for ecosystem services in rural Indonesia depends on relative poverty; and that (ii) the type of reaction to poverty depends on the specific relation of the ecosystem services to peasant production and consumption. In early 2005 a representative choice experiment study was conducted in the Lore Lindu area in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, to quantify regional economic preferences (marginal willingessto- pay: MWTP) for four different ecosystem services (n=249; rattan and water availability, shading in cacao agroforestry, population size of the endemic forest dwelling dwarf buffalo "anoa"). Relative poverty was calculated with the 2005 data using a 0,1-normally distributed relative poverty index developed from a socio-demographic household survey administered to the same sample in 2004. For shading in cocoa, a linearly decreasing trend is observed indicating a stronger preference for "sun-grown" cocoa in the less poor farmers indicating a constant poverty elasticity of WTP. The empirical poverty elasticity for anoa supports its luxury good characteristic only in part. For rattan and water, we find an inverted U-shape relation between MWTP for ecosystem services and relative poverty - probably due to serious restrictions in the ability to pay in the poorest households and a smaller resource dependency in the less poor households. In sum, the relationship between relative poverty and MWTP for ecosystem services appears more complex than classical micro-economic theory admits.Relative poverty, Choice experiment, ecosystem services, environmental valuation, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q21, Q51, Q56, Q57,

Bewertung kultureller Ökosystemleistungen von Berliner Stadtgrün entlang eines urbanen-periurbanen Gradienten

Stadtgrün steht unter hohem Nutzungsdruck. Gerade Erholungsfunktionen werden von An-wohner unterschiedlich wahrgenommen. Eine Möglichkeit, Bewertungen für Grünflächen zu erheben, sind kulturelle Ökosystemleistungen. In dieser Studie vereinen wir qualitative und quantitative Methoden, um Informationen zu kulturellen Ökosystemleistungen und Besuchs-verhalten zu Grünflächen in Berlin zu erhalten. Quaitative Bewertungen von kulturellen Ökosystemleistungen wurden durch semi-strukturierte Interviews mit Berliner Einwohnern (Problemzentrierte Interviews, n = 22) und Experten (Experteninterviews, n = 19) erhalten. Kategorien kultureller Ökosystemleistungen wurden an den urbanen Kontext Berlins angepasst, um detaillierte Informationen über die Bedeutung von Stadtgrün zu erhalten. Zusätzlich wurden quantitative Bewertungen durch direkte Umfragen, basierend auf proportionalem Klumpenauswahlverfahren erhalten. Daten (n = 558) wurden in zwei Runden in fier Ortsteilen Berlins erhoben. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich Nutzung und Bewertung von Stadtgrün je nach Popula-tionsdichte des Berliner Ortsteils unterscheidet. Außerdem werden kulturelle Ökosystemleis-tungen zwischen sozialen Gruppen - jüngere im urbanen Ballungsraum lebende Befragte und ältere in weniger eng besiedelten Gegenden - unterschiedlich bewertet. Unsere Resultate zeigen räumliche, zeitliche und soziale Faktoren auf, die der Bewertung von kulturellen Ökosystemleistungen unterliegen. Kulturelle Ökosystemleistungen haben einen heterogenen Charakter und das Verständnis dessen ist von großer Bedeutung für Grünflächenmanage-ment und Forschung im Bereich der Ökosystemleistung.Urban green experiences high use-pressures. Especially recreation is perceived differently by inhabitants. One possibility to assess values for green spaces are cultural ecosystem services. In the paper at hand we combine qualitative and quantitative valuations to gain information on cultural ecosystem services and visiting behavior towards urban green spaces in Berlin. Qualitative values of cultural ecosystem services were assessed through semi-structured interviews with Berlin inhabitants (problem-centered interviews, n = 22) and experts (expert interviews, n = 19). Categories of cultural ecosystem services were uniquely adjusted to fit to the urban context and detailed information on the benefits of urban green for local inhabit-ants gained. Additionally, quantitative values were assessed using a face-to-face survey, based on proportioned stratified sampling. Data (n = 558) were collected in two sampling rounds in four districts of Berlin. Results show that green space utilization and valuation of cultural ecosystem services differs by population density of the sampled district of Berlin. Additionally, different social groups - in Berlin, younger urban dwellers versus older residents in less densely populated areas - perceive cultural ecosystem services differently. We uncovered spatial, temporal and social factors which underlie cultural ecosystem service valuation. Cultural ecosystem services have a heterogeneous character and their understanding is of great importance for green space management, spatial planning and ecosystem service research

The role of crop protection products of multinational brands for agricultural sustainability in the cotton-growing zone in Pakistan

Despite the use of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton in Pakistan, the country is still far behind in farm harvest per unit compared to other cotton-producing countries such as China and Turkey. Cotton is a pest-sensitive crop, and inappropriate crop protection products contribute to lower agricultural sustainability. This issue attracts additional attention in developing countries such as Pakistan, where generic formulation/sub-standard crop protection products are easily and abundantly available. However, the impact of the application of crop protection products of multinational brands in contrast to generic formulation/sub-standard crop protection products on total farm revenue is explicitly not documented. We employ a stochastic frontier production framework using a survey of smallholder farming households in the cotton-growing zone in Pakistan (N=266). The estimates of stochastic frontier production models show a positive relationship between the use of crop protection products of multinational brands and total farm revenue. The estimates of technical inefficiency models show that specialisation and regional dummy, among others, emerge as the key to determining the smallholders’ technical inefficiency. To get higher farm revenue and technical efficiency, we propose the agricultural policy makers of Pakistan to explicitly focus on the quality of crop protection products. Moreover, agricultural policy makers are advised to revisit the cropping system in the study area. This revisit may positively contribute to agricultural sustainability

To analyse the suitability of a set of soical and economic indicators that assesses the impact on SI enhancing advanced technological inputs by farming households in Punjab Pakistan

Increase in agricultural production in industrialized and developing countries are based on the adoption of new and improved technologies. Farming household's social and economic conditions greatly determines the adoption of new technologies. Particularly in developing countries majority of farming community comprises by small farming households. Pakistan is very interesting case in developing countries as its economy is based on agriculture and smallholder's production system is the salient characteristics of its farming community. The study in hand is conducted to examine the role of social and economic indicators which assesses the adoption of sustainable intensification-enhancing advance technologies in Pakistan. The study was conducted in Punjab province because it is the major contributor in agricultural GDP. The logit model is employ for the empirical findings of initial survey. A logit estimate shows that both social and economic indicators have statistically significant association with the adoption decision