A history of inventory and the assessment of value in Western Australian forests

This thesis provides an account of the assessment and management of forest values, and the factors that have shaped those values in the South West of Western Australia since European settlement. The phases of forest exploitation in this State include discovery, intense exploitation, awakening conservationism, environmentalism, and a developing synthesis between humans and their environment. This phased history has been one of learning by all stakeholders, from ignorance about Australian forest and its timbers, to scientific management and professionalization, social, cultural and political turmoil, commercial excess and eventually the emergence, consideration and elevation of social values in addition to commerciality. This history and the place of forest inventory in reflecting and acknowledging these values in forest management, was investigated through document review, firsthand knowledge of the researcher, information from key informants, and a survey of forest stakeholders to reveal and analyse contemporary societal values regarding these forests. The result is an in-depth description - achieved through an intertwined analysis of forest inventory and community values over the history of European settlement in Western Australia - of the emergence of commercial forest value and subsequently other broader societal values, such as biodiversity conservation, ecosystem management and recreation, as well as the growing conflict between these values. The influence of these values over this period has been to transform the management and policy framework from one firmly located in the physical sciences to one now also drawing on the social sciences, thereby involving the far greater complexity of a political environment with its sometimes conflicting values. The analysis undertaken in this thesis suggests a future requirement for the discipline of forestry, beyond that of physical attribute inventories and tree growth rates and volume tables, to a continued embracing of community involvement, both as a source of data and for guidance in negotiating and resolving conflicting goals. The survey instrument developed in this study to access contemporary societal values has great potential for wider application as a tool for identifying the broad suite of social values relevant to forest management as well as providing essential input to conflict resolution when required

Idiopathic Juxtafoveal Telangiectasia

Idiopathic Juxtafoveal Telangiectasia (IJT), also called Idiopathic Macular Telangiectasia, is a group of disorders with varying etiologies that share the common finding of telangiectatic vessels in the juxtafoveal region of the macula. IJT is classically divided into three groups, each with clinically dis-tinct findings and differing etiologies. Type I typically occurs unilaterally, primarily affects males, and is thought to be congenital. Vision loss usually results from macular edema. The most common type, II, normally presents bilaterally, has no sex predilection, and is thought to be acquired. Vision loss occurs not from edema, but from retinal atrophy. The last type, III, is extremely rare and is usually found in association with coexisting systemic or neurological disorders. Vision loss most likely results from retinal isch-emia. This paper will describe classifications, clinical findings, etiologies, and treatment options of IJT along with patient case figures

Student clubs: experiences in entrepreneurial learning

A study into the role that student clubs and enterprise societies have in entrepreneurial learning.Full paper can be accessed here:http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/MEXITet2idezjcKeyDJC/ful

Adaptive Non-Inferiority Margins under Observable Non-Constancy

A central assumption in the design and conduct of non-inferiority trials is that the active-control therapy will have the same degree of effectiveness in the planned non-inferiority trial as it had in the prior placebo-controlled trials used to define the non-inferiority margin. This is referred to as the `constancy\u27 assumption. If the constancy assumption fails, the chosen non-inferiority margin is not valid and the study runs the risk of approving an inferior product or failing to approve a beneficial product. The constancy assumption cannot be validated in a trial without a placebo arm, and it is unlikely ever to be met completely. However, it is often the case that there exist strong, measurable predictors of constancy, such as dosing and adherence, and such predictors can be used to identify situations where the constancy assumption will likely fail. Here we propose a method for using measurable predictors of active-control effectiveness to specify non-inferiority margins targeted to the planned study population, and further use these predictors to adapt the non-inferiority margin at the end of the study. Population-specific margins can help avoid violations of the constancy assumption, and adaptive margins can help adjust for violations that will inevitably occur in real clinical trials, while at the same time maintain pre-specified levels of type I error and power

The first super-Earth Detection from the High Cadence and High Radial Velocity Precision Dharma Planet Survey

The Dharma Planet Survey (DPS) aims to monitor about 150 nearby very bright FGKM dwarfs (within 50 pc) during 2016$-$2020 for low-mass planet detection and characterization using the TOU very high resolution optical spectrograph (R$\approx$100,000, 380-900nm). TOU was initially mounted to the 2-m Automatic Spectroscopic Telescope at Fairborn Observatory in 2013-2015 to conduct a pilot survey, then moved to the dedicated 50-inch automatic telescope on Mt. Lemmon in 2016 to launch the survey. Here we report the first planet detection from DPS, a super-Earth candidate orbiting a bright K dwarf star, HD 26965. It is the second brightest star ($V=4.4$ mag) on the sky with a super-Earth candidate. The planet candidate has a mass of 8.47$\pm0.47M_{\rm Earth}$, period of $42.38\pm0.01$ d, and eccentricity of $0.04^{+0.05}_{-0.03}$. This RV signal was independently detected by Diaz et al. (2018), but they could not confirm if the signal is from a planet or from stellar activity. The orbital period of the planet is close to the rotation period of the star (39$-$44.5 d) measured from stellar activity indicators. Our high precision photometric campaign and line bisector analysis of this star do not find any significant variations at the orbital period. Stellar RV jitters modeled from star spots and convection inhibition are also not strong enough to explain the RV signal detected. After further comparing RV data from the star's active magnetic phase and quiet magnetic phase, we conclude that the RV signal is due to planetary-reflex motion and not stellar activity.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

‘There’s no hope for any kind of decent life’: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of people experiencing homelessness with a recent non-fatal overdose in Scotland

The past ten years has seen a marked increase in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness globally and an associated public health epidemic of drug-related deaths. Drawing from qualitative interviews as part of a wider pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) conducted in Glasgow, Scotland with National Health Service pharmacists and third sector homeless outreach caseworkers, insights from those with living experience of both homelessness and a recent non-fatal drug overdose will be presented. Twenty people experiencing homelessness with at least one drug overdose in the past six months were interviewed in person, in a homelessness drop in centre or in emergency accommodation between November 2021 and January 2022. Findings from our study indicate that participants’ drug use and overdose risk were exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the pervasive availability of illicit drugs for those placed in emergency accommodation, alongside reduced support and access to health and social care services. Additionally, multi-agency stressors such as a lack of autonomy and dehumanising experiences were reported, leading to a significant sense of powerlessness. Furthermore, the necessity of advocacy-based services as critical aspects of support was identified, with importance placed upon dedicated, homelessness staff and access to safe environments

2003 Manifesto on the California Electricity Crisis

The authors, an ad-hocgroup of professionals with experience in regulatory and energy economics, share a common concern with the continuing turmoil facing the electricity industry ("the industry") in California. Most ofthe authorsendorsed the first California Electricity Manifesto issued on January 25, 2001. Almost two years have passed since that first Manifesto. While wholesale electric prices have moderated and California no longer faces the risk of blackouts, in many ways the industry is in worse shape now than it was at the start of 2001. As a result, the group of signatories continues to have a deep concern with the conflicting policy directions being pursued for the industry at both the State and Federal levels of government and the impact the uncertainties associated with these conflicting policies will have, long term, on the economy of California. Theauthorshave once again convened under the auspices of the Institute of Management, Innovation and Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, to put forward ourtheir ideas on a basic set of necessary policies to move the industry forward for the benefit of all Californians and the nation. The authors point out that theydo not pretend to be "representative." They do bring, however, a very diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform