Synopses of research on shrimps: 1. The common shrimp species of Sierra Leone's coastal waters: their distribution, abundance and size composition

The authors present quantitative information on the shrimp resources of Sierra Leone waters. Four of the nine species present have been studied, of which Paenaeus duorarum notialis is dominant in the fishery. Synoptic surveys were undertaken in June 1977, and March 1978, to determine the abundance of the shrimp stock on the inshore shelf. The temperature-salinity-depth curves for the fishing ground show the existence of three water masses. The majority of fish caught were sciaenids, with some sparids also being taken. Detailed discussion of distribution and abundance of individual species of shrimp is given. The surveys have shown that the Banana Islands are the most productive shrimp grounds in the country, and the authors believe that they can support a viable shrimp industry for several years to come at present rates of exploitatio

Environmental issues in economic partnership agreements: Implications for developing countries

This issue paper, titled 'Environmental Issues in Economic Partnership Agreements: Implications for Developing Countries', and written by Mrs. Beatrice Dove-Edwin, is a contribution to that process. The paper exhaustively reviews all rules related to trade and environment in several of the already signed EPAs. The aim of the paper is to enable ACP countries to understand how trade policy related to the environment has been introduced in EPAs, and how those policies might impact sustainable development in ACP countries. The paper starts by presenting the current European approach on trade and environment in those agreements. More specifically, it addresses the current state of negotiations, analyses precise proposals made, and explores some of the implications of introducing environmental issues in the EPAs ..

Survey of the shrimp stocks of the Sierra Leone inshore shelf : a summary report outlining objectives, observations and recommendations on the status of the Sierra Leone shrimp fishery

This report gives the species and catch-rates per hour of some commercial shrimp species caught in the course of a short survey of inshore shelf fishing grounds. Species seen in significant quantities were: Parapenneopsis atlantica, Parapenaeus longirostris, Penaeus kerathurus and Penaeus duorarum notiali

Building a National Agenda for Regional Academic-Policy Engagement

In September 2023, CAPE convened a ‘deep dive’ workshop to explore different models for regional academic-policy engagement, current challenges, and future opportunities. Drawing on collective expertise and experience within the regional policy engagement space, the discussion considered current models of regional academic-policy engagement; key conditions for success; continued challenges; and opportunities for greater intra- and inter- regional learning and collaboration. This report discusses the key insights from the workshop and from CAPE’s activity to propose a future approach for strengthening regional academic-policy engagement

Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations.

Bathymetric terrain models of seafloor morphology are an important component of marine geological investigations. Advances in acquisition and processing technologies of bathymetric data have facilitated the creation of high-resolution bathymetric surfaces that approach the resolution of similar surfaces available for onshore investigations. These bathymetric terrain models provide a detailed representation of the Earth’s subaqueous surface and, when combined with other geophysical and geological datasets, allow for interpretation of modern and ancient geological processes. The purpose of the bathymetric terrain model presented in this report is to provide a high-quality bathymetric surface of the Atlantic margin of the United States that can be used to augment current and future marine geological investigations. The input data for this bathymetric terrain model, covering almost 305,000 square kilometers, were acquired by several sources, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geophysical Data Center and the Ocean Exploration Program, the University of New Hampshire, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. These data have been edited using hydrographic data processing software to maximize the quality, usability, and cartographic presentation of the combined terrain model

Towards Fully Purposing Universities to Deliver Public Benefit

In leadership positions at UCL, we have spent more than a decade seeking to fulfil our university's founding commitment—inspired almost two centuries ago by the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham—to innovation, accessibility, and relevance for the benefit of humanity. Our guiding principle has been to make our institution and its activities greater than the sum of its parts. To enable us to have most impact in “sustainable human progress,” we have focused our approach on cross-disciplinarity—by which we mean collaboration between experts in different disciplines that transcends subject boundaries—because the problems faced by society cannot be solved by research from one discipline alone. In recent years we have come to understand the boundaries between disciplines to be a subset of the many types of barriers—such as those between communities (disciplinary, academic and otherwise) and between different kinds of activity—that can inhibit the fulfilment of our vision to maximise our public benefit. In order to address crucial challenges—from the local to the global—we need to form collaborations across society that increase our mutual knowledge and engagement. We need to understand how the translation and application of knowledge will change in different settings and according to different practicalities. And we need to better reflect and enhance our role as convenors of different stakeholders to promote greater shared dialogue, co-creation and action

Interconnecting islands: evolving the research policy ecosystem

When we think of the current research-policy ecosystem in the UK, what image does it conjure? Some may picture an archipelago; islands of research-policy engagement initiatives separated by surrounding waters. What if we could better connect these islands so that resources can be shared and communities can learn from each other more easily? CAPE team members reflect on the key insights that emerged from a workshop that sought to explore the development of a more mature engagement ecosystem

Do students learn to be more conscientious at medical school?

Background Professionalism in medical students is not only difficult to define but difficult to teach and measure. As negative behaviour in medical students is associated with post-graduate disciplinary action it would be useful to have a model whereby unprofessional behaviour at the undergraduate level can easily be identified to permit appropriate intervention. We have previously developed a scalar measure of conscientiousness, the Conscientiousness Index (CI), which positively correlates to estimates of professional behaviour in undergraduate medical students. By comparing CI points awarded in year 1 and year 2 of study we were able to use the CI model to determine whether teaching and clinical exposure had any effect on students’ conscientiousness. Methods CI points were collected by administrative staff from 3 successive cohorts of students in years 1 and 2 of study. Points were awarded to students for activities such as submission of immunisation status and criminal record checks, submission of summative assignments by a specified date and attendance at compulsory teaching sessions. CI points were then converted to a percentage of maximal possible scores (CI %) to permit direct comparison between years 1 and 2 of study. Results CI % scores were generally high with each year of study for each cohort showing negatively skewed normal distributions with peaks > 89%. There was a high degree of correlation of CI % scores between year 1 and year 2 of study for each cohort alone and when cohort data was combined. When the change in CI % from year 1 to year 2 for all students was compared there was no significant difference in conscientiousness observed. Conclusions We have provided evidence that use of a CI model in undergraduate medical students provides a reliable measure of conscientiousness that is easy to implement. Importantly this study shows that measurement of conscientiousness by the CI model in medical students does not change between years 1 and 2 study suggesting that it is a stable characteristic and not modified by teaching and clinical exposure