Discussion of 'Beyond mean regression'

Methodology for regression beyond the mean has been a goal of researchers for many years. This discussion provides some additional context for the important ideas in the present paper, by recounting some of the historical background to the GAMLSS approach and pointing to the power and appeal of fully probabilistic regression analysis in the setting of Bayesian nonparametrics. © 2013 SAGE Publications

Lean manufacturing as a high-performance work system: The case of Cochlear

© 2014 Taylor and Francis. This paper addresses the Special Issue call for Australian examples of innovative management systems that enable the production of successful products by drawing on a single case study: medical device manufacturer Cochlear. Through qualitative case study methodology, we examine the human resource management practices that complemented the implementation of lean manufacturing principles. We argue that in their implementation, Cochlears management team enriched the traditional understanding of lean and its focus on waste reduction, low cost and quality assurance by adopting people management practices as an integrated component of the overall management capability which allowed their people to grow and develop. The combination of lean and HR practices transformed Cochlear to a high-performance work system and positively impacted production processes and output. By examining a medical device manufacturer, an under-researched sector, our paper expands existing literature on lean manufacturing and provides implications for practitioners

The performance of place and comedy explored through postdramatic and popular forms with reference to the staging of 'A Good Neet Aht'

The journey begins with a mapping of the terrain of praxis in a discussion of autoethnography, popular performance and the postdramatic. A parallel discussion on place and class draws on the tradition of Cultural Studies. These provide the framework for the analysis of the performance of A Good Neet Aht which is also supported by audience response surveys. The results show a strong sense of place can be engendered through performance. Moreover, this particular sense of place is imbued with class identity and its cultural associations, specifically, comedy. What emerges is a new performance form of contemporary relevance of collaborative meaning making involving place, performer and audience. This self-reflective journey has at its centre the locale of the former mining village of Sharlston in West Yorkshire where I spent most of my childhood. Therefore, the methodological approach to this exploration of place and comedy utilises autoethnography. This autoethnographical method was chosen as it situates the researcher at the centre of the research recognising that the cultural milieu the researcher operates in can affect outcomes. The research process involved creating a performance drawing on the influence of northern comedians and their material as intertextual elements amidst an autobiographical investigation of the performance of identity as it is shaped by place. The performance consists of autobiographical material relating to family members; my experience of being seen by others as ‘a northerner’; archive film material of northern comics; and the performance of stand-up. The methodology has involved documenting the whole performance and the thesis refers to selected video clips as part of the analysis. Within the text there are hyperlinks to scenes from recordings of performances and exploratory studio sessions. These scenes can also be found on an accompanying DVD to this thesis

Evidence for ecosystem state shifts in Alaskan continuous permafrost peatlands in response to recent warming

Peatlands in continuous permafrost regions represent a globally-important store of organic carbon, the stability of which is thought to be at risk under future climatic warming. To better understand how these ecosystems may change in a warmer future, we use a palaeoenvironmental approach to reconstruct changes in two peatlands near Toolik Lake on Alaska's North Slope (TFS1 and TFS2). We present the first testate amoeba-based reconstructions from peatlands in continuous permafrost, which we use to infer changes in water-table depth and porewater electrical conductivity during the past two millennia. TFS1 likely initiated during a warm period between 0 and 300 CE. Throughout the late-Holocene, both peatlands were minerotrophic fens with low carbon accumulation rates (means of 18.4 and 14.2 g C m−2 yr−1 for cores TFS1 and TFS2 respectively). However, since the end of the Little Ice Age, both fens have undergone a rapid transition towards oligotrophic peatlands, with deeper water tables and increased carbon accumulation rates (means of 59.5 and 48.2 g C m−2 yr−1 for TFS1 and TFS2 respectively). We identify that recent warming has led to these two Alaskan rich fens to transition into poor fens, with greatly enhanced carbon accumulation rates. Our work demonstrates that some Arctic peatlands may become more productive with future regional warming, subsequently increasing their ability to sequester carbon

Local costs of conservation exceed those borne by the global majority

Cost data are crucial in conservation planning to identify more efficient and equitable land use options. However, many studies focus on just one cost type and neglect others, particularly those borne locally. We develop, for a high priority conservation area, spatial models of two local costs that arise from protected areas: foregone agricultural opportunities and increased wildlife damage. We then map these across the study area and compare them to the direct costs of reserve management, finding that local costs exceed management costs. Whilst benefits of conservation accrue to the global community, significant costs are borne by those living closest. Where livelihoods depend upon opportunities forgone or diminished by conservation intervention, outcomes are limited. Activities can be displaced (leakage); rules can be broken (intervention does not work); or the intervention forces a shift in livelihood profiles (potentially to the detriment of local peoples’ welfare). These raise concerns for both conservation and development outcomes and timely consideration of local costs is vital in conservation planning tools and processes

Effects of Caffeine on Tennis Serve Accuracy

International Journal of Exercise Science 12(6): 1290-1301, 2019. This study examined the effects of caffeine on tennis serve accuracy. Division II tennis athletes (n = 10) completed two serve trials (double-blind, counterbalanced) following ingestion of 6 mg/kg of caffeine or matched placebo an hour prior to data collection. During each tennis serve trial, participants completed 48 non-fault serves divided into 3 sets with 2 serves per 8 different targets. Following each 2 serves per target format, participants completed a shuttle run sprint. Separate 2 (trial) x 8 (targets) repeated measures analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were used for distances from the target center “delta”, and necessary tries for each of the 3 sets. A 2 (treatment) x 3 (set) repeated measures ANOVA was used for shuttle run times. While results were not significant, the treatment main effect approached significance (p = 0.07) in set 2 for the delta of distances when comparing caffeine (96.2 cm ± 19.8) versus placebo (107.1 cm ± 16.3). While there was no significance in sprint times, each sprint was consistently faster following caffeine consumption. Post-trial surveys revealed subjective responses approached significance with greater feelings of stomach distress (p = 0.08) and nervousness (p = 0.13) following caffeine and elevated feeling of fatigue (p = 0.19) following placebo. Therefore, with no impairment in serve accuracy coupled with some evidence of reduced fatigue, results suggest caffeine may benefit tennis athletes. Extending the understanding of the effects of caffeine on tennis serve accuracy and performance could benefit overall match performance, with the potential of improving the match outcome in extended playtime

Bayesian and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods for identifying nonlinear systems in the presence of uncertainty

In this paper, the authors outline the general principles behind an approach to Bayesian system identification and highlight the benefits of adopting a Bayesian framework when attempting to identify models of nonlinear dynamical systems in the presence of uncertainty. It is then described how, through a summary of some key algorithms, many of the potential difficulties associated with a Bayesian approach can be overcome through the use of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. The paper concludes with a case study, where an MCMC algorithm is used to facilitate the Bayesian system identification of a nonlinear dynamical system from experimentally observed acceleration time histories