The diet of the Malham Tarn otters: understanding the impacts of a native predator

Otter (Lutra lutra) populations have been recovering in the UK and expanding into new and often isolated habitats. Otters were first sighted at Malham Tarn in 2009, and have since been observed on a regular basis. This study looks at the diet of the Malham Tarn otters and considers their possible impact on prey populations, such as fish, wading birds and white-clawed crayfish

Unified Software for Multi-Functional G-Code: A Method for Implementing Multi-Technology Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) began a manufacturing revolution moving industrial production into consumer homes. With interest shifting toward multi-functional parts fabricated through AM technologies, multi-functional fabrication systems are now being developed. Merging different manufacturing technologies into a single machine is a challenge, but ongoing research in the development of multi-technology systems has shown promise. The software and automation aspects of multi-technology systems are being developed in unison. This paper explores the challenges and approaches to developing software that interfaces with multifunctional CADs and creates files for direct use in multi-technology AM machines.Mechanical Engineerin

Willingness to pay for policies to reduce health risks from COVID-19: Evidence from U.S. professional sports

Airborne transmission of COVID-19 increased the need for health policies to reduce transmission in congregate settings associated with minimal risk before the pandemic. While a large literature estimates tradeoffs between policies designed to reduce negative health outcomes, no empirical research addresses consumer willingness to pay for health policies designed to reduce airborne virus transmission. Using survey data from 1,381 fans of professional sports teams, we estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for reduced likelihood of coronavirus transmission through mask and social distancing policies using a stated preference approach. The results indicate increased attendance likelihood if the venue requires masks and limits attendance, with significant heterogeneity in WTP across risk scenarios and sports. We characterize consumers as casual fans who prefer a mask requirement but are indifferent to capacity constraints, strong fans who are anti-maskers and prefer capacity constraints, and a second group of casual fans with positive WTP under both mask and limited capacity requirements. Casual fans’ WTP for masking, $38 per NBA game attended, is more than double their WTP for capacity constraints only. Strong fans’ WTP for attending capacity constrained NBA games was$490, more than 400% higher than the pre-pandemic average WTP of $105