Distribution, frequency of attack and seasonal incidence of the African armyworm Spodoptera exempta (Walk.) (Lep.: Noctuidae), with particular reference to Africa and southwestern Arabia

Distribution, frequency of attack and seasonal incidence of the African armyworm Spodoptera exempta (Walk.) (Lep.: Noctuidae), with particular reference to Africa and southwestern Arabia Spodoptera exempta (Walk.) is recorded very widely in Africa south of the Sahara and in adjacent parts of southwestern Arabia. It occurs intermittently through the oceanic countries of South East Asia and the Pacific as far east as Hawaii, but not in the Americas. This distribution is mapped in detail. The areas from which infestations have been reported and the frequency of attack have increased since 1970. This paper aims to help those concerned with monitoring and control of armyworm by making available the wider historical data needed for anticipating outbreaks. For the pan-African region, the monthly distribution and frequencies of incidence are presented as twelve maps showing the number of years in which infestations have been recorded in each degree-square of latitude and longitude during the period 1940-1982. In the areas to the north and south of about 4°N, the periods of attack are roughly complementary and correspond with the seasonal rains. Thus from October-November until May infestations spread progressively northwards from southern Tanzania to northern Ethiopia and Yemen, and at the same time southwards from Malawi and Zimbabwe to the south of Cape Province. From June until September infestations occur intermittently from Senegal to southwestern Arabia, but very rarely south of the equator. The northward and southward progressions of outbreaks can be attributed to the migration of the moths on the wind. The scarcity of reports from all parts of the region in September-October and the start of the next season in the area between southeastern Kenya and Zimbabwe lend support to the alternative theory that outbreaks may develop from populations that remain at low density, particularly within this area. Evidence from other disciplines supporting both theories is outlined. Sequencies of attack do not follow exactly the same pattern each season. To enable years with events analogous to the current one to be identified, the range of recorded variations is appended as a series of maps showing month by month the distribution of S. exempta infestations over the last 43 years. For each territory there is an index to the years and months when outbreaks were recorded, and a summary of the monthly frequencies of occurrence. The incidence and importance of S. exempta in each country is summarised

What have we been thinking of? A critical overview of 40 years of student learning research in higher education

This paper is a response to the request from the organisers of the HECU4 conference to consider the following three questions in relation to the recent history of research into student learning in higher education: What do we know?, What do we need to know?, and What might we do about it? A survey of article titles reporting on research into student learning was carried out in three key higher education journals, and the results of this were then considered in the context of other, related research perspectives. The paper will first report on the results of this review, and then discuss these results in the context of theoretical moves in psychology and sociology over the same period of time. The trends identified in the higher education journals will then be compared to research into student learning in higher education which is published in two other disciplinary areas: Adult Education and Sociolinguistics. After raising some questions that arise from these comparisons, the final section of the paper will outline some suggestions about ways in which higher education researchers might begin to ‘think differently’ about learning and research in this field

The Distant Horizon: investigating the relationship between social sciences academic research and game development

Research in the social sciences devotes a great amount of attention to investigating the impact of video games on the individual and on society. However, results generated by this research often fail to inform game development. The present study investigated the outreach of research conducted by the academic community by interviewing 30 game developers and 14 researchers, highlighting critical aspects in the relationship between game research and game industry. Specifically, we found that the difference in priorities, speed cycles, and dissemination practices between these two contexts hinder communication. Subsequently, we carried out a focus group for a set of developers and researchers (N=6) with the aim of eliciting recommendation for improving communication between academics and developers. Among the recommendations to emerge were calls to diversify dissemination channels, promote joint conferences and develop research-production partnerships. It was felt such measures could strengthen the influence of research results outside the academic community

Non-monotonic field-dependence of the ZFC magnetization peak in some systems of magnetic nanoparticles

We have performed magnetic measurements on a diluted system of gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (~7nm), and on a ferritin sample. In both cases, the ZFC-peak presents a non-monotonic field dependence, as has already been reported in some experiments,and discussed as a possible evidence of resonant tunneling. Within simple assumptions, we derive expressions for the magnetization obtained in the usual ZFC, FC, TRM procedures. We point out that the ZFC-peak position is extremely sensitive to the width of the particle size distribution, and give some numerical estimates of this effect. We propose to combine the FC magnetization with a modified TRM measurement, a procedure which allows a more direct access to the barrier distribution in a field. The typical barrier values which are obtained with this method show a monotonic decrease for increasing fields, as expected from the simple effect of anisotropy barrier lowering, in contrast with the ZFC results. From our measurements on gamma-Fe2O3 particles, we show that the width of the effective barrier distribution is slightly increasing with the field, an effect which is sufficient for causing the observed initial increase of the ZFC-peak temperatures.Comment: LaTeX file 19 pages, 9 postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. B (tentative schedule: Dec.97

Library not found: The disconnect between gaming research and development

Video games clearly have great educational potential, both for formal and informal learning, and this avenue is being thoroughly investigated in the psychology and education literature. However, there appears to be a disconnect between social science academic research and the game development sector, in that research and development practices rarely inform each other. This paper presents a two-part analysis of this communicative disconnect based on investigations carried out within the H2020 Gaming Horizons project. The first part regards a literature review that identified the main topics of focus in the social sciences literature on games, as well as the chief recommendations authors express. The second part examines 73 interviews with 30 developers, 14 researchers, 13 players, 12 educators, and 4 policy makers, investigating how they perceived games and gaming. The study highlights several factors contributing to the disconnect: different priorities and dissemination practices; the lag between innovation in the games market and research advancements; low accessibility of academic research; and disproportionate academic focus on serious games compared to entertainment games. The authors suggest closer contact between researchers and developers might be sought by diversifying academic dissemination channels, promoting conferences involving both groups, and developing research partnerships with entertainment game companies

Educational games as a motivational tool: Considerations on their potential and limitations

There is considerable interest in leveraging video games to support students’ motivation. This involves employment of educational (serious) and entertainment games. However, while evidence indicates that games can enhance learning outcomes, doubts persist about whether they retain their enjoyable character in formal learning contexts. This study was carried out within the H2020 Gaming Horizons project, which involved a review of academic literature on the role of games in society, as well as 73 semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders, including players and educators, investigating their positions on game-related issues. The interviews suggested that players tend to view game-based learning – and specifically serious games at school – with scepticism. This is partly attributable to the perception that serious games have lower production values than entertainment games, and that gaming, as a voluntary, self-driven activity, clashes with the structured nature of school. Some educators reported individual and gender differences in the motivating power of games. However, the use of entertainment games to foster learning outcomes was seen favourably. Two focus groups devoted to the issue highlighted the need for carefully tailoring the gaming experience to both context and student, and the importance of developing a sustainable business model for enhancing serious games quality

Games as (not) culture: a critical policy analysis of the economic agenda of Horizon 2020

This article presents a critical examination of European policy in relation to gamification. We begin by describing how gamification “traveled” as an idea, evolving from controversial yet persuasive buzzword to legitimate policy priority. We then focus on how gamification was represented in Horizon 2020: the flagship European Research & Development program from 2014 to 2020, worth nearly €80 billion of funding. The article argues that the ethically problematic aspects of gamification were removed through a process of policy capture that involved its assimilation in an established European network of research and small and medium enterprise (SME) actors. This process of “ethical neutering” is also observable in the actual funding calls, where the problematic assumptions of gamification around agency and manipulation are made invisible through a superficial commitment to vague and ill-defined criteria of responsible research and innovation

Targeting climate adaptation to safeguard and advance the Sustainable Development Goals

The international community has committed to achieve 169 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets by 2030 and to enhance climate adaptation under the Paris Agreement. Despite the potential for synergies, aligning SDG and climate adaptation efforts is inhibited by an inadequate understanding of the complex relationship between SDG targets and adaptation to impacts of climate change. Here we propose a framework to conceptualise how ecosystems and socio-economic sectors mediate this relationship, which provides a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of climate change on all 169 SDG targets. Global application of the framework reveals that adaptation of wetlands, rivers, cropland, construction, water, electricity, and housing in the most vulnerable countries is required to safeguard achievement of 68% of SDG targets from near-term climate risk by 2030. We discuss how our framework can help align National Adaptation Plans with SDG targets, thus ensuring that adaptation advances, rather than detracts from, sustainable development

Excavations at Azoria, 2003–2004, Part 2: The Final Neolithic, Late Prepalatial, and Early Iron Age Occupation

This article constitutes the second of two reports on fieldwork conducted at Azoria in eastern Crete during the 2003 and 2004 excavation seasons. Evidence of Final Neolithic and Early Iron Age occupation and traces of Late Prepalatial activity were found underlying the Archaic civic buildings on the South Acropolis, particularly along the southwest terrace. The recovery of substantial Final Neolithic architectural and habitation remains contributes to our understanding of the 4th millennium in eastern Crete. Stratigraphic excavations have also clarified the spatial extent of the settlement from Late Minoan IIIC to the Late Geometric period, and brought to light evidence for the transition from the Early Iron Age to the Archaic period, and the transformation of the site in the 7th century B.C