2,780 research outputs found
Exploring disagreement: Using video-based interviews to understand a communal resource
Disagreement is a fundamental dimension of social life. In many situations, however, people are reticent to explicitly criticise the actions of others. It follows that if social researchers wish to study differences in people's common sense judgements of other's actions in an interview setting they need to carefully design how discussion of these differences are structured. This paper examines a research project that used context-specific video clips to structure interviews with users of a communal infrastructural resource. In digging into the practical detail of an interview encounter, the paper contributes to human geography's ongoing conversation about the practicalities of doing interview-based research
Autonomous vehicles, car-dominated environments, and cycling: Using an ethnography of infrastructure to reflect on the prospects of a new transportation technology
With growing concerns about air pollution and congestion, getting more people to move around cities by bicycle is gaining more attention than at any point over the past 50 years. At the same time, the spread of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is being positioned by some as a solution to these same problems. This raises interesting questions about the possible trajectories AVs could take when they become part of the traffic landscape of a street. Will they entrench existing hierarchies of use? Or will they help facilitate the expansion of cycling and other non-motorised forms of mobility? To begin to think about this question, the paper considers what a street is and how different users within a street environment share and cooperate. It then moves on to explore the technologies involved in the development of AVs and the challenges involved in their use on environmentally complex urban streets. With rules being central to how AVs operate, the fact that rules can mean different things to different people, and that they are both formal and informal, matters. To show why this matters, examples from an ethnography of infrastructure involving 81 adult road users are used to illustrate the ambiguities involved in making sense of the appropriate way to make a right-hand turn when cycling in a country that travels on the left. How AVs are programmed to deal with such ambiguities will have profound effects on the kind of infrastructural settlements that come to dominate how people share the street. These are judgements that will have important consequences for the development of cycling in the many places with car-dominated transport environments
Energy and system dependence of high- triggered two-particle near-side correlations
Previous studies have indicated that the near-side peak of high-
triggered correlations can be decomposed into two parts, the \textit{Jet} and
the \textit{Ridge}. We present data on the yield per trigger of the
\textit{Jet} and the \textit{Ridge} from , and collisions
at = 62.4 GeV and 200 GeV and compare data on the \textit{Jet}
to PYTHIA 8.1 simulations for . PYTHIA describes the \textit{Jet}
component up to a scaling factor, meaning that PYTHIA can provide a better
understanding of the \textit{Ridge} by giving insight into the effects of the
kinematic cuts. We present collision energy and system dependence of the
\textit{Ridge} yield, which should help distinguish models for the production
mechanism of the \textit{Ridge}.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, proceedings for Hot Quarks in Estes Park,
Colorad
High pT correlations with strange particles in STAR
We present the highlights of the current identified strange particles
DeltaPhi and DeltaEta correlations analyses, including system-size and
trigger-pT of the jet and ridge, jet, ridge and away-side meson/baryon ratios,
and the current state of the multi-strange baryon analysis. We see clear
azimuthal peaks of comparable strength for all strange baryons and K0-short
mesons. We see no observable species dependence on the same-side jet or ridge
yields as a function of pT. However, while the away side and the ridge have
Lambda to K0-short ratio similar to that of the bulk, the jet-only ratio is
similar to that in . The implications of these findings on current
in-medium jet theoretical explanations are discussed.Comment: Proceedings for the Strangeness in Quark Matter 2007 Conference in
Levoca, Slovaki
On the Fence: The Impact of Education on Support for Electric Fencing to Prevent Conflict between Humans and Baboons in Kommetjie, South Africa
Few studies test whether education can help increase support for wildlife management interventions. This mixed methods study sought to test the importance of educating a community on the use of a baboon-proof electric fence to mitigate negative interactions between humans and Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in a residential suburb of the City of Cape Town, South Africa. An educational video on the welfare, conservation and lifestyle benefits of a baboon-proof electric fence was included in a short online survey. The positioning of the video within the survey was randomised either to fall before or after questions probing the level of support for an electric fence. The results showed that watching the video before most survey questions increased the average marginal probability of supporting an electric fence by 15 percentage points. The study also explored whether the educational video could change people’s minds. Those who saw the video towards the end of the survey were questioned again about the electric fence. Many changed their minds after watching the video, with support for the fence increasing from 36% to 50%. Of these respondents, the results show that being female raised the average marginal probability of someone changing their mind in favour of supporting the fence by 19%. Qualitative analysis revealed that support for or against the fence was multi-layered and that costs and concern for baboons were not the only relevant factors influencing people’s choices. Conservation often needs to change people’s behaviours. We need to know what interventions are effective. We show in the real world that an educational video can be effective and can moderately change people’s opinions and that women are more likely to change their position in light of the facts than men. This study contributes to the emerging literature on the importance of education in managing conservation conflicts and the need for evidence-based interventions
Understanding the black-backed jackal
This paper reviews what we know about black-backed jackal ecology, drawing implications for managing human-wildlife conflict with this species. We review the research literature on the black-backed jackals in the context of other African jackal species and with regard to its diet (part 1), its breeding, territoriality and sociality (part 2), and its role as a ‘problem animal’ for small stock farmers (part 3). We argue that both the historical record (see also Nattrass et al., 2017) and the scientific research points to the need to understand the black-backed jackal as a very adaptable animal whose diet, breeding strategies and social arrangements are context-dependent. We draw implications for the management of black-backed jackal predation (part 4) and need for further research, especially on farmlands and landscapes undergoing a transformation in land use. The paper is part of an inter-disciplinary project about sheep farming and predators in the Karoo
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Nevada Experiments and Operations Program (N Program) Management Plan
This plan briefly describes the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) institutional structure and how Nevada Experiments and Operations Program (N Program's) organization fits within this structure, roles and responsibilities, and management processes that govern N Program activities. This plan also serves as the Integrated Safety Management (ISM) Implementation Plan for N Program work. This plan applies to all work performed by and for LLNL that falls under the oversight of DOE/NV except LLNL activities in support of the Yucca Mountain Project Office (YMPO)
From the sugar platform to biofuels and biochemicals. Final report for the European Commission Directorate-General Energy NENER
Numerous potential pathways to biofuels and biochemicals exist via the sugar platform1. This study uses literature surveys, market data and stakeholder input to provide a comprehensive evidence base for policymakers and industry – identifying the key benefits and development needs for the sugar platform.
The study created a company database for 94 sugar-based products, with some already commercial, the majority at research/pilot stage, and only a few demonstration plants crossing the “valley of death”.
Case studies describe the value proposition, market outlook and EU activity for ten value chains (acrylic, adipic & succinic acids, FDCA, BDO, farnesene, isobutene, PLA, PHAs and PE). Most can deliver significant greenhouse savings and drop-in (or improved) properties, but at an added cost to fossil alternatives.
Whilst significant progress has been made, research barriers remain around lignocellulosic biomass fractionation, product separation energy, biological inhibition, chemical selectivity and monomer purity, plus improving whole chain process integration.
An assessment of EU competitiveness highlights strengths in R&D, but a lack of strong commercial activity, due to the US, China and Brazil having more attractive feedstock and investment conditions. Further policy development, in particular for biochemicals, will be required to realise a competitive European sugar-based bioeconomy
On the fence : the impact of education on support for electric fencing to prevent conflict between humans and baboons in Kommetjie, South Africa
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Data requests can be directed to the corresponding author.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS : VIDEO S1. An educational video on the welfare, conservation, and lifestyle benefits of a baboon-proof electric fence that formed part of the Kommetjie residents survey.Few studies test whether education can help increase support for wildlife management
interventions. This mixed methods study sought to test the importance of educating a community
on the use of a baboon-proof electric fence to mitigate negative interactions between humans and
Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in a residential suburb of the City of Cape Town, South Africa.
An educational video on the welfare, conservation and lifestyle benefits of a baboon-proof electric
fence was included in a short online survey. The positioning of the video within the survey was
randomised either to fall before or after questions probing the level of support for an electric fence.
The results showed that watching the video before most survey questions increased the average
marginal probability of supporting an electric fence by 15 percentage points. The study also explored
whether the educational video could change people’s minds. Those who saw the video towards the
end of the survey were questioned again about the electric fence. Many changed their minds after
watching the video, with support for the fence increasing from 36% to 50%. Of these respondents,
the results show that being female raised the average marginal probability of someone changing
their mind in favour of supporting the fence by 19%. Qualitative analysis revealed that support
for or against the fence was multi-layered and that costs and concern for baboons were not the
only relevant factors influencing people’s choices. Conservation often needs to change people’s
behaviours. We need to know what interventions are effective. We show in the real world that an
educational video can be effective and can moderately change people’s opinions and that women
are more likely to change their position in light of the facts than men. This study contributes to the
emerging literature on the importance of education in managing conservation conflicts and the need
for evidence-based interventions.The University of Cape Town.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animalsMammal Research Institut
A brief history of predators, sheep farmers and government in the Western Cape, South Africa
This paper provides a brief history of the conflict between South African sheep farmers and predators (and we touch also on the debate between diverse stakeholders over how best to respond to that conflict). We focus in particular on black-backed jackals and commercial sheep farmers in the Western Cape Karoo, drawing on historical sources, colonial records, early ecological thinking and observations by farmers to paint a picture of this dynamic conflict. The paper forms part of an inter-disciplinary project about sheep farming and predators in the Karo
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