Study of Determined Town and Village Green Applications: Final Report to Common Land Team, Defra

The purpose of the research, as set out in the Project Brief, was to ‘examine a sample of the sites which have been registered as town or village greens (TVGs) since January 2004 as well as a sample of those that have not been registered’. The common term for both successful and unsuccessful applications is that either outcome has been ‘determined’ by Commons Registration Authority (CRA), therefore the study was an investigation into determined town and village green (dTVG) applications. The project also set out to examine whether the sites were earmarked for development in local development plans or subject to planning applications. The full diversity of sites, both approved and rejected, was analysed

Modelling and analysis of planar cell polarity

Planar cell polarity (PCP) occurs in the epithelia of many animals and can lead to the alignment of hairs, bristles and feathers; physiologically, it can organise ciliary beating. Here we present two approaches to modelling this phenomenon. The aim is to discover the basic mechanisms that drive PCP, while keeping the models mathematically tractable. We present a feedback and diffusion model, in which adjacent cell sides of neighbouring cells are coupled by a negative feedback loop and diffusion acts within the cell. This approach can give rise to polarity, but also to period two patterns. Polarisation arises via an instability provided a sufficiently strong feedback and sufficiently weak diffusion. Moreover, we discuss a conservative model in which proteins within a cell are redistributed depending on the amount of proteins in the neighbouring cells, coupled with intracellular diffusion. In this case polarity can arise from weakly polarised initial conditions or via a wave provided the diffusion is weak enough. Both models can overcome small anomalies in the initial conditions. Furthermore, the range of the effects of groups of cells with different properties than the surrounding cells depends on the strength of the initial global cue and the intracellular diffusion

Is a persistent global bias necessary for the establishment of planar cell polarity?

Planar cell polarity (PCP) — the coordinated polarisation of a whole field of cells within the plane of a tissue — relies on the interaction of three modules: a global module that couples individual cellular polarity to the tissue axis, a local module that aligns the axis of polarisation of neighbouring cells, and a readout module that directs the correct outgrowth of PCP-regulated structures such as hairs and bristles. While much is known about the molecular components that are required for PCP, the functional details of—and interactions between—the modules remain unclear. In this work, we perform a mathematical analysis of two previously proposed computational models of the local module (Amonlirdviman et al., Science, 307, 2005; Le Garrec et al., Dev. Dyn., 235, 2006). Both models can reproduce wild-type and mutant phenotypes of PCP observed in the Drosophila wing under the assumption that a tissue-wide polarity cue from the global module persists throughout the development of PCP. We demonstrate that both models can also generate tissue-level PCP when provided with only a transient initial polarity cue. However, such transient cues are not sufficient to ensure robustness of the resulting cellular polarisation

The future of global sugar markets: Policies, reforms, and impact

"Sugar is one of the most highly protected agricultural commodities worldwide. This protection depresses trade opportunities and the prices received by exporters without preferential market access. For this reason, dialogues about sugar policy are often polarized and short sound bites caustic. Yet today's sugar markets are being driven by a complex array of dynamic and emerging supply, demand, and policy forces that need to be understood. A number of these forces have the potential to reshape the global market scene. Recent sugar policy reforms in the European Union (EU) have received little attention in North America but may turn the EU into a net importer, with substantial compensation paid to its farmers and displaced processing facilities. High oil prices and the related ethanol boom place Brazil at the fulcrum of new market developments. In the United States, corn sweetener and sugar markets are being integrated with Mexican markets under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), raising the question of whether the EU reforms provide a template for new policies. And among developing countries in Africa and elsewhere there are low-cost producers that would benefit from more open trade but others who would be disadvantaged by the loss of preferential markets. This discussion paper presents the proceedings of a one-day conference that served as a forum for the discussion of these and other critical issues affecting global sugar markets, policies, and reform options. The conference was attended by 60 representatives of governments, research institutions, producers and processors from the sugar sector, and other groups interested in sugar markets and policies. The four papers were presented by internationally recognized experts from the EU, Brazil, the United States, and South Africa. Discussion openers and general discussion at the conference added further policy insights, and the papers were edited and revised after the conference to reflect the dialogue that had occurred." from authors' abstractsugar, Ethanol, NAFTA, WTO, Trade policy,

Sagittarius A* Small Satellite Mission: Capabilities and Commissioning Preview

SSCI is leading a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-funded team launching a mission in June 2021, dubbed Sagittarius A*, to demonstrate key hardware and software technologies for on-orbit autonomy, to provide a software testbed for on-orbit developmental test & autonomous mission operations, and to reduce risk for future constellation-level mission autonomy and operations. In this paper, we present the system CONOPs and capabilities, system architectures, flight and ground software development status, and initial commissioning status. The system will fly on Loft Orbital’s YAM-3 shared LEO satellite mission, and includes SSCI’s onboard autonomy software suite running on an Innoflight CFC-400 processor with onboard Automatic Target Recognition (ATR). The autonomy payload has attitude control authority over the spacecraft bus and command authority of the imaging payload, and performs fully-autonomous onboard request handling, resource & task allocation, collection execution, ATR, and detection downlinking. The system is capable of machine-to -machine tip-and-cue from offboard cueing sources via cloud-based integrations. Requests for mission data are submitted to the satellite throughout its orbit from a tactical user level via a smartphone application, and ISR data products are downlinked and displayed at the tactical level on an Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) smartphone. Follow-on software updates can be sent to the autonomy suite as over-the-air updates for on-orbit testing at any time during the on-orbit life of the satellite. Communications include GlobalStar inter-satellite communications for low rate task and status monitoring, and ground station links for payload data downloads. Planned demonstrations and opportunities will be discussed

The Difference that Makes the Difference - Final evaluation of the first place-based programmes for Systems Leadership: Local Vision

1.This report outlines findings from Phase 2 of the evaluation of Systems Leadership: Local Vision, conducted by Bristol Leadership Centre on behalf of the Systems Leadership Steering Group. It is the third in a series of reports capturing the learning and outcomes of the first cohort of Local Vision projects.2.In this report we focus on the outcomes and effects of Local Vision projects in different localities and consider how local context enables or constrains the potential for sustainable change. This analysis is based on case studies, interviews and secondary data.3.Overall, the findings suggest that Local Vision has had a positive impact within each of the areas investigated, complementing existing initiatives and catalysing change and engagement amongst partners and communities. 4.There is good evidence of Local Vision projects raising awareness of systems leadership amongst stakeholders in different localities – in particular in relation to thinking systemically, working collaboratively, engaging with service users, and fostering shared leadership.5.Likewise, there is good evidence that Local Vision has been regarded as a success in most localities, producing benefits and value for a diversity of stakeholders, such as influencing strategy, generating income and opportunities, engaging professionals, and improving services and client outcomes. 6.Whilst, in many cases it is still a little too early to determine the legacy and any lasting change arising from Local Vision, there is good evidence of its ability to catalyse change, influence new ways of working, and build commitment and momentum in relation to ‘wicked’ issues. 7.The case studies conducted during this phase of the evaluation enable the identification of a number of trends across projects that suggest some important ingredients of effective systems leadership interventions. These include start-up conditions (including the nature of the problem/challenge, level of intervention, prior experience of systems working, and imperative for change); local context (including alignment with other initiatives, project ownership, dedicated project support, and senior-level organisational and political engagement); process (including choice of Enabler, engagement with local communities, memorandum of understanding, King’s Fund learning network, and scale and timing of projects); and planning for sustainability (including project leadership, Enabler exit conditions, roll-out, and evaluating outcomes).8.Alongside the collection and analysis of evidence from Local Vision project partners and Enablers, the evaluation also collated and analysed a wide range of independent metrics on localities and the nature and scale of the ‘wicked’ issues that projects were tackling. Whilst these analyses did not reveal many insights into the Local Vision projects themselves, they do illuminate the challenges of benchmarking complex change interventions, and highlight the potential value of data as a leadership tool for galvanising action in complex and contested environments. 9.The report concludes with a summary of key outcomes and recommendations for future activity on Local Vision and related systems leadership initiatives. The evidence from this evaluation suggests that Local Vision can be regarded as a successful initiative that has succeeded in developing and embedding learning about systems leadership and change in the majority of localities where it has operated. As a place-based intervention, supported by skilled ‘Enablers’, Local Vision has successfully catalysed collaboration between multiple stakeholders to address shared challenges.10.The evaluation findings prove testament to the skill and tenacity of the Local Vision Enablers, project partners and the Leadership Centre (who coordinated and supported the initiative on behalf of the Systems Leadership Steering Group) in brokering relationships, facilitating difficult conversations and (re)connecting diverse communities to a shared sense of purpose. In most localities, there are now people committed to thinking systemically, working collaboratively, engaging with service users, and fostering shared leadership that will continue to have an impact for many years to come