Tourist preferences for seamount conservation in the Galapagos Marine Reserve

Seamounts provide oases of hard substrate in the deep sea that are frequently associated with locally enhanced biological productivity and diversity. There is now increasing recognition of their ecological and socio-economic importance. However, management strategies for these habitats are constrained not only by limited ecological understanding but by the general public’s understanding of the pressures facing these ecosystems. This study adds to the growing literature on willingness to pay for conservation of deep-sea ecosystems and species by undertaking a stated preference survey to assess tourist’s awareness of seamounts and their preferences for protection within the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Visitors’ perceptions of seamount biodiversity must be studied because tourists are key drivers of the Galapagos economy and account for 41% of the Marine Reserve budget. Our survey captured the attitudes, perceptions and willingness to pay of tourists for an increase in the entrance fee to the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Results showed tourists were willing to pay on average US$48.93 in addition to existing entrance fees. The results of this study support the willingness to develop a multiuse management plan for the Galapagos Marine Reserve, balancing conservation, local communities livelihoods and sustainable tourism. Our results evidence a willingness to support and fund conservation, which is of critical importance to both the Galapagos National Park and local non-governmental organizations heavily reliant for their work on entrance fees and donations respectively. Overall, the conclusion from this study is that, despite limited knowledge, visitors of the Galapagos Islands attach positive and significant values to the conservation of seamount biodiversity

Simulating Experiences of Displacement and Migration: Developing Immersive and Interactive Media Forms Around Factual Narratives

Immigration is a highly politicised and emotive area of public discourse. During the peak of the so-called ‘Refugee Crisis’ in Europe, a number of EU politicians and mass media outlets manipulated the abstract idea of ‘the migrant’ as a scapegoat for a number of social ills including rising crime, unemployment and national security. Yet, during these years, some news organisations did seek to counter the dominant negative narratives around migration by exploring new modes of storytelling around interactive and immersive digital environments. This study examines four such media projects, all developed between 2014 and 2016. Their interactive narratives sought to break down popular discourses which portrayed migrants as “the other” by creating an emotional connection between media user and the experience of refugees themselves. For this research, journalists, editors and producers were interviewed to determine the motivations of the content creators and the impact their storytelling techniques had on viewers

A preventive action management platform in healthcare information systems

Preventive actions management plays a crucial role in clinical applications, not only for those who depend on data to make decisions, but also for those who monitor the operational and financial impact of the systems. This paper presents an open-source platform, named ScheduleIT, capable of managing preventive routines. The platform is based on an estimation model that determines the optimal time interval for interventions, according to the criticality of the system and the number of non-programmed faults, among others. ScheduleIT has a web-based interface available to different area end-users, ranging from IT technicians to administrative staff. At this point, the platform covers around 75% of the healthcare systems and it is full accepted by its main users as a reliable and effective preventive tool.(undefined

'An Amuse-Bouche at Best': 360 Degree VR Storytelling in Full Perspective

Much has been written about the function of narrative in virtual reality (VR) productions (Aylett & Louchart, 2003; Aylett et al, 2005; Ryan, 2001; 2005; 2008; 2009), but the role of the audience, and the relative degree of control that they have over the content, has led some scholars to believe that there is an ontological problem with describing VR in narrative terms. This article investigates some of these assumptions, via an analysis of an undertheorised aspect of VR that has emerged in recent years – the 360° film. It argues that 360° film represents a much more important aspect of VR than has been previously recognised. In so doing, the article establishes this medium as an important field of study, and argues that ultimately, it will be the commercial infrastructure for this content which will define the parameters of immersive storytelling

Effects of changing ocean regimes on deep-sea benthos on the Scottish continental shelf and slope

<p>Time series of benthic samples collected at two sites (the Mingulay Reef Complex over the period 2003-2011, and the Scottish Hebrides continental slope over the period 1975-2012) will be analysed as part of ATLAS Work Package 3. This analysis aims to measure the effects of interannual and multidecadal variability in water mass structure and ocean regimes, i.e, the North Atlantic Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, respectively, on deep-sea benthos biodiversity and biogeographic affinities. The availability of multidisciplinary data from the Mingulay Reef Complex - a rare example of an inshore cold-water coral reef located in western Scotland- creates a unique opportunity for investigating the role of hydrography and geomorphology in cold-water coral reef biodiversity. The analysis will progress research at the Mingulay Reef Complex, which has already unravelled the parameters shaping local- and large-scale patterns of biodiversity (ecological characteristics like competition and environmental variables like hydrography, respectively) as well as the important role played by sponges in terms of habitat forming. The Hebrides slope timeseries initiated in the 1970s provides an unparalleled insight into how longer term ocean changes create species turnover.</p> <p>Additionally for WP3, information derived from the analysis of benthic samples over time as well as from image/videos processing will contribute to pioneering efforts to select and measure baseline values of environmental indicators for the assessment of Good Environmental Status in deep-sea ecosystems at the Mingulay Reef Complex and the Faroe Shetland Channel. Knowledge generated through analyses on composition, structure and ecology of deep-sea benthos will act as an ideal platform supporting marine spatial planning, policy integration and Blue Growth Strategy in the deep North Atlantic Ocean. </p