A Bayesian approach to the estimation of maps between riemannian manifolds

Let \Theta be a smooth compact oriented manifold without boundary, embedded in a euclidean space and let \gamma be a smooth map \Theta into a riemannian manifold \Lambda. An unknown state \theta \in \Theta is observed via X=\theta+\epsilon \xi where \epsilon>0 is a small parameter and \xi is a white Gaussian noise. For a given smooth prior on \Theta and smooth estimator g of the map \gamma we derive a second-order asymptotic expansion for the related Bayesian risk. The calculation involves the geometry of the underlying spaces \Theta and \Lambda, in particular, the integration-by-parts formula. Using this result, a second-order minimax estimator of \gamma is found based on the modern theory of harmonic maps and hypo-elliptic differential operators.Comment: 20 pages, no figures published version includes correction to eq.s 31, 41, 4

'When I click "ok" I become Sassy – I become a girl.' Young people and gender identity: Subverting the ‘body’ in massively multi-player online role-playing games

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website through the link below. Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis.This article explores young people's practices in the virtual spaces of online gaming communities. Based on a five-year ethnographic study of virtual worlds, it considers how young people construct and maintain identities within virtual social systems. In particular, the article discusses digital gender practices and considers the potential that these games offer for their young users to engage in alternate gender identities. We argue that these digital spaces offer spaces for the imagination and can enhance agency and, potentially, resistance. However, digital identity is simultaneously no ‘liberated space’ and it incorporates norms and practices that often mirror those of the material world. We argue that this ‘porosity’ is an important tool through which young people come to understand gender identity

Assessing the knock-on effects of flooding on road transportation (article)

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe dataset associated with this article is available in ORE: https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.1384Flooding can affect every aspect of our lives and road transportation is no an exception. However, the interaction between floods and transportation was not investigated closely in the past. As transportation is the lifeline of any economy, it is essential to analyse potential dangers and threads that can lead to network capacity restraints. Considering the potential of flooding to affect large areas for long durations, disruptions to transportation can result in extensive knock-on effects. To examine how flooding can impact road transportation a novel methodology was developed into a software tool which integrates flood and traffic models. The flood is simulated with InfoWorks flood model and the traffic is represented by a detailed microscopic model (SUMO), which simulates individual vehicles and their interactions. The two systems are integrated in a dynamic way, whereby changes in the flood propagation dictates the temporal variation of road network capacity restrictions. Depending on the flood characteristics, a flooded road in the traffic model undergoes either a speed limit reduction or a complete closure. Once a road has been closed for traffic, vehicles that originally pass through it are forced to choose alternative routes to reach their unique destinations. The reroute will put an additional strain on a system that is already suffering reduced network capacity. The most vulnerable roads in the network are identified after a comparison of the traffic conditions under normal and flooded situation. The results indicate that the locations of flooded streets cannot be directly associated with the most severely congested areas emphasising the significance of the knock-on effects when describing flood impacts on road transportation.European Commissio

Challenging empowerment: AIDS-affected southern African children and the need for a multi-level relational approach

Critics of empowerment have highlighted the concept's mutability, focus on individual transformation, one-dimensionality and challenges of operationalisation. Relating these critiques to children's empowerment raises new challenges. Drawing on scholarship on children's subjecthood and exercise of power, alongside empirical research with children affected by AIDS, I argue that empowerment envisaged as individual self-transformation and increased capacity to act independently offers little basis for progressive change. Rather it is essential to adopt a relational approach that recognises the need to transform power relationships at multiple levels. This analysis has implications for our wider understanding of empowerment in the 21st century. © The Author(s) 2013.This research was funded by DFID

Resilience of local communities to climate change around a ramsar site in Pakistan

The Taunsa Barrage controls water flow in the River Indus for irrigation and flood control purposes. The river ecology is sensitive to climate change due to the high portion of its flow derived glacial melt. To assess the socio-economic status of the rural communities living within the Taunsa Barrage Wildlife sanctuary, a questionnaire was developed based on the perception of local communities about their resilience capacity and climate change. Temperature and rainfall data over the period 1951 – 2010 were analysed and used as an indicator of climate change. 85 of the respondents (n =100) reported that there had been an increase extreme climatic events over the past 60 years. These communities have proved to be resilient (94% n = 100) to it by changing occupations and lifestyles. However at the same time they have increased the pressure on natural resource use and this is causing a serious problem in the management of the protected area

New WHO Violence Prevention Information System, an interactive knowledge platform of scientific findings on violence.

Scientific information on violence can be difficult to compile and understand. It is scattered across websites, databases, technical reports and academic journals, and rarely addresses all types of violence. In response, in October 2017 WHO released the Violence Prevention Information System or Violence Info, an online interactive collection of scientific information about the prevalence, consequences, risk factors and preventability of all forms of interpersonal violence. It covers homicide, child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, elder abuse and sexual violence