Regulatory Mechanisms and Information Processing in Uncertain Fisheries

We study the effects on fisherman decision processes of periodic (e.g., weekly) individual quotas. In the model, the fisherman must choose at the start of each week which of two grounds to fish on. The catch per week on each ground is a random variable and the fisherman does not know with certainty the parameters of the distribution of that variable. He does have estimates on each parameter and can improve these estimates by Bayesian updating. The choice of a fishing ground takes into account the expected catch on that ground and the expected improvement in information from fishing on that ground. Our study is concerned with the effect of weekly quotas on the joint production of information and fish. Various policy implications are discussed, and the results are compared with the policy analysis of Clark (1980) in the deterministic case. We show that the quota affects the value of Information and that if quotas are transferable, then the quota may limit its own value.Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

Review of \u3ci\u3e Economic Thresholds for Integrated Pest Management\u3c/i\u3e Edited by Leon G. Higley and Larry P. Pedigo

If one were asked to pick the one scientific paper having the most influence on pest management, it would be hard to argue with the choice of The Integrated Control Concept by Stern, Smith, van den Bosch, and Hagen, published in 1959. This paper is generally regarded as having introduced the idea of economic threshold. The term Integrated Control soon gave way to Integrated Management, emphasizing the notion that pest populations need to be managed in order to avoid unnecessary economic loss. Thus was born Integrated Pest Management (lPM). In the intervening four decades there have been some well-known books published on the subject, both technical and historical. As Higley and Pedigo point out in their introduction to this volume, however, there have been very few symposia or collections of papers, so Economic Thresholds for Integrated Pest Management fills an important gap in the literature

Augmentative communication device design, implementation and evaluation

The ultimate aim of this thesis was to design and implement an advanced software based Augmentative Communication Device (ACD) , or Voice Output Communication Aid NOCA), for non-vocal Learning Disabled individuals by applying current psychological models, theories, and experimental techniques. By taking account of potential user's cognitive and linguistic abilities a symbol based device (Easy Speaker) was produced which outputs naturalistic digitised human speech and sound and makes use of a photorealistic symbol set. In order to increase the size of the available symbol set a hypermedia style dynamic screen approach was employed. The relevance of the hypermedia metaphor in relation to models of knowledge representation and language processing was explored.Laboratory based studies suggested that potential user's could learn to productively operate the software, became faster and more efficient over time when performing set conversational tasks. Studies with unimpaired individuals supported the notion that digitised speech was less cognitively demanding to decode, or listen to.With highly portable, touch based, PC compatible systems beginning to appear it is hoped that the otherwise silent will be able to use the software as their primary means of communication with the speaking world. Extensive field trials over a six month period with a prototype device and in collaboration with user's caregivers strongly suggested this might be the case.Off-device improvements were also noted suggesting that Easy Speaker, or similar software has the potential to be used as a communication training tool. Such training would be likely 10 improve overall communicative effectiveness.To conclude, a model for successful ACD development was proposed

CovidTracker: A comprehensive Covid-related social media dataset for NLP tasks

The Covid-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented global public health emergency, and concomitantly an unparalleled opportunity to investigate public responses to adverse social conditions. The widespread ability to post messages to social media platforms provided an invaluable outlet for such an outpouring of public sentiment, including not only expressions of social solidarity, but also the spread of misinformation and misconceptions around the effect and potential risks of the pandemic. This archive of message content therefore represents a key resource in understanding public responses to health crises, analysis of which could help to inform public policy interventions to better respond to similar events in future. We present a benchmark database of public social media postings from the United Kingdom related to the Covid-19 pandemic for academic research purposes, along with some initial analysis, including a taxonomy of key themes organised by keyword. This release supports the findings of a research study funded by the Scottish Government Chief Scientists' Office that aims to investigate social sentiment in order to understand the response to public health measures implemented during the pandemic

Stochastic parameterization: uncertainties from convection

In 2005, the ECMWF held a workshop on stochastic parameterisation, at which the convection was seen as being a key issue. That much is clear from the working group reports and particularly the statement from working group 1 that “it is clear that a stochastic convection scheme is desirable”. The present note aims to consider our current status in comparison with some of the issues raised and hopes expressed in that working group report

Autistic Adults Show Similar Performance and Sensitivity to Social Cues on a Visual Perspective Taking Task as Non-autistic Adults

Autistic and non-autistic adults completed a visual perspective taking (VPT) task, reporting an object’s location from an actor’s perspective, or their own. On half the trials the actor looked at and reached for the object, and on half did not. Accuracy and reaction time were measured. In Experiment 1, both groups (N = 34, mean age = 24 years) responded slower when reporting the actor’s perspective, with no group differences in this effect. Experiment 2 included “other” VPT trials only. Both groups (N = 30, mean age = 25 years) showed sensitivity to the actor’s behaviour, more accurately reporting his perspective when he acted upon the object. No group differences were observed. In contrast to developmental studies, these experiments suggest similar VPT abilities in autistic and non-autistic adults

Evaluation of the Plant–Craig stochastic convection scheme (v2.0) in the ensemble forecasting system MOGREPS-R (24 km) based on the Unified Model (v7.3)

The Plant–Craig stochastic convection parameterization (version 2.0) is implemented in the Met Office Regional Ensemble Prediction System (MOGREPS-R) and is assessed in comparison with the standard convection scheme with a simple stochastic scheme only, from random parameter variation. A set of 34 ensemble forecasts, each with 24 members, is considered, over the month of July 2009. Deterministic and probabilistic measures of the precipitation forecasts are assessed. The Plant–Craig parameterization is found to improve probabilistic forecast measures, particularly the results for lower precipitation thresholds. The impact on deterministic forecasts at the grid scale is neutral, although the Plant–Craig scheme does deliver improvements when forecasts are made over larger areas. The improvements found are greater in conditions of relatively weak synoptic forcing, for which convective precipitation is likely to be less predictable

Research students exhibition catalogue 2013

This exhibition catalogue showcases the work of current UCA research students at various stages of their research journey. The theme of the exhibition and the one day conference is time - place - space and through their practice the research students examine these concepts and realities