Making the most of PAS data: Macro- and micro-level studies of Romano-British settlement

The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) database includes records of over 225,000 artefacts of Roman date, with a wide geographical coverage and the potential to contribute to our understanding of Romano-British landscapes and settlement at several scales of analysis. This paper draws upon the author’s doctoral research to describe regional case studies from six counties (Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, North Lincolnshire and Cumbria) on the use of PAS data. The data have value nationally and regionally as general guides to ancient settlement patterns, but it is arguably at the micro-scale that they have the most potential. With reference to detailed landscape studies from parts of Warwickshire and Wiltshire, the paper argues that sites represented by PAS data are often rural settlements that show evidence for continued activity throughout the Roman period. The paper demonstrates that with an appropriate methodology PAS data can be an immensely valuable archaeological resource, particularly when interpreted at multiple scales, and can be considerably more than a guide to broad distributions of Roman finds.

Evidence for changes in stratospheric transport and mixing over the past three decades based on multiple data sets and tropical leaky pipe analysis

Variability in the strength of the stratospheric Lagrangian mean meridional or Brewer-Dobson circulation and horizontal mixing into the tropics over the past three decades are examined using observations of stratospheric mean age of air and ozone. We use a simple representation of the stratosphere, the tropical leaky pipe (TLP) model, guided by mean meridional circulation and horizontal mixing changes in several reanalyses data sets and chemistry climate model (CCM) simulations, to help elucidate reasons for the observed changes in stratospheric mean age and ozone. We find that the TLP model is able to accurately simulate multiyear variability in ozone following recent major volcanic eruptions and the early 2000s sea surface temperature changes, as well as the lasting impact on mean age of relatively short-term circulation perturbations. We also find that the best quantitative agreement with the observed mean age and ozone trends over the past three decades is found assuming a small strengthening of the mean circulation in the lower stratosphere, a moderate weakening of the mean circulation in the middle and upper stratosphere, and a moderate increase in the horizontal mixing into the tropics. The mean age trends are strongly sensitive to trends in the horizontal mixing into the tropics, and the uncertainty in the mixing trends causes uncertainty in the mean circulation trends. Comparisons of the mean circulation and mixing changes suggested by the measurements with those from a recent suite of CCM runs reveal significant differences that may have important implications on the accurate simulation of future stratospheric climate.

Forecasting economic and financial time series with non-linear models

In this paper we discuss the current state-of-the-art in estimating, evaluating, and selecting among non-linear forecasting models for economic and financial time series. We review theoretical and empirical issues, including predictive density, interval and point evaluation and model selection, loss functions, data-mining, and aggregation. In addition, we argue that although the evidence in favor of constructing forecasts using non-linear models is rather sparse, there is reason to be optimistic. However, much remains to be done. Finally, we outline a variety of topics for future research, and discuss a number of areas which have received considerable attention in the recent literature, but where many questions remain.

An integrated multi-stage model of knowledge management in international joint ventures: identifying a trigger for knowledge exploration and knowledge harvest

This paper examines the evolution of knowledge management from the initial knowledge migration stage, through adaptation and creation, to the reverse knowledge migration stage in international joint ventures (IJVs). While many studies have analyzed these stages (mostly focusing on knowledge transfer), we investigated the path-dependent nature of knowledge flow in IJVs. The results from the empirical analysis based on a survey of 136 Korean parent companies of IJVs reveal that knowledge management in IJVs follows a sequential, multi-stage process, and that the knowledge transferred from parents to IJVs must first be adapted within its new environment before it reaches the creation stage. We also found that only created knowledge is transferred back to parents.

Poetry on Pre-Raphaelite principles: science, nature and knowledge in William Michael Rossetti’s 'Fancies at Leisure' and 'Mrs. Holmes Grey'

This article demonstrates how early Pre-Raphaelite poetry worked according to the principle that art should be modelled on science theorised by the Pre-Raphaelites in their early essays. As the main theorists (rather than practitioners) of Pre-Raphaelite art, F. G. Stephens and William Michael Rossetti defined the Pre-Raphaelite project in terms of observation, investigation, experiment, the “adherence to fact” and the “search after truth”. In the hands of the early Pre-Raphaelite poets, and particularly Rossetti himself, poetry too becomes a mode of scientific enquiry into the natural world, the nature of observation, human psychology and medical practice.

Corporate social responsibility, mining and sustainable development in Namibia: critical reflections through a relational lens

For its advocates, corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents a powerful tool through which business and particularly multinationals can play a more direct role in global sustainable development. For its critics, however, CSR rarely goes beyond business as usual, and is often a cover for business practices with negative implications for communities and the environment. This paper explores the relationship between CSR and sustainable development in the context of mining in Namibia. Drawing upon extant literatures on the geographies of responsibility, and referencing in-country empirical case-study research, a critical relational lens is applied to consider their interaction both historically and in the present.

Towards (more) integrity in academia: transcending neo-liberal assumption of research and knowledge creation and the “rules” supressing academic freedom

European researchers across heterogeneous disciplines voice concerns and argue for new paths towards a brighter future regarding scientific and knowledge creation and communication. Recently, in biological and natural sciences concerns have been expressed that major threats are intentionally ignored. These threats are challenging Europe’s future sustainability towards creating knowledge that effectively deals with emerging social, environmental, health, and economic problems of a planetary scope. Within social science circles however, the root cause regarding the above challenges, have been linked with macro level forces of neo-liberal ways of valuing and relevant rules in academia and beyond which we take for granted. These concerns raised by heterogeneous scholars in natural and the applied social sciences concern the ethics of today’s research and academic integrity. Applying Bourdieu’s sociology may not allow an optimistic lens if change is possible. Rather than attributing the replication of neo-liberal habitus in intentional agent and institutional choices, Bourdieu’s work raises the importance of thoughtlessly internalised habits in human and social action. Accordingly, most action within a given paradigm (in this case, neo-liberalism) is understood as habituated, i.e. unconsciously reproducing external social fields, even ill-defined ways of valuing. This essay analyses these and how they may help critically analyse the current habitus surrounding research and knowledge production, evaluation, and communication and related aspects of academic freedom. Although it is acknowledged that transformation is not easy, the essay presents arguments and recent theory paths to suggest that change nevertheless may be a realistic hope once certain action logics are encouraged.

Multiresolution semantic activity characterisation and abnormality discovery in videos

This paper addresses the issue of activity understanding from video and its semantics-rich description. A novel approach is presented where activities are characterised and analysed at different resolutions. Semantic information is delivered according to the resolution at which the activity is observed. Furthermore, the multiresolution activity characterisation is exploited to detect abnormal activity. To achieve these system capabilities, the focus is given on context modelling by employing a soft computing-based algorithm which automatically enables the determination of the main activity zones of the observed scene by taking as input the trajectories of detected mobiles. Such areas are learnt at different resolutions (or granularities). In a second stage, learned zones are employed to extract people activities by relating mobile trajectories to the learned zones. In this way, the activity of a person can be summarised as the series of zones that the person has visited. Employing the inherent soft relation properties, the reported activities can be labelled with meaningful semantics. Depending on the granularity at which activity zones and mobile trajectories are considered, the semantic meaning of the activity shifts from broad interpretation to detailed description.Activity information at different resolutions is also employed to perform abnormal activity detection.

Information and knowledge management in complex systems

16th IFIP WG8.1 International Conference on Informatics and Semiotics in Organisations, ICISO 2015

Research data management and openness: the role of data sharing in developing institutional policies and practices

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between research data management (RDM) and data sharing in the formulation of RDM policies and development of practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: Two strands of work were undertaken sequentially: firstly, content analysis of 37 RDM policies from UK HEIs; secondly, two detailed case studies of institutions with different approaches to RDM based on semi-structured interviews with staff involved in the development of RDM policy and services. The data are interpreted using insights from Actor Network Theory. Findings: RDM policy formation and service development has created a complex set of networks within and beyond institutions involving different professional groups with widely varying priorities shaping activities. Data sharing is considered an important activity in the policies and services of HEIs studied, but its prominence can in most cases be attributed to the positions adopted by large research funders. Research limitations/implications: The case studies, as research based on qualitative data, cannot be assumed to be universally applicable but do illustrate a variety of issues and challenges experienced more generally, particularly in the UK. Practical implications: The research may help to inform development of policy and practice in RDM in HEIs and funder organisations. Originality/value: This paper makes an early contribution to the RDM literature on the specific topic of the relationship between RDM policy and services, and openness – a topic which to date has received limited attention.

Data Assimilation and Inverse Methods in Terms of a Probabilistic Formulation

The weak-constraint inverse for nonlinear dynamical models is discussed and derived in terms of a probabilistic formulation. The well-known result that for Gaussian error statistics the minimum of the weak-constraint inverse is equal to the maximum-likelihood estimate is rederived. Then several methods based on ensemble statistics that can be used to find the smoother (as opposed to the filter) solution are introduced and compared to traditional methods. A strong point of the new methods is that they avoid the integration of adjoint equations, which is a complex task for real oceanographic or atmospheric applications. they also avoid iterative searches in a Hilbert space, and error estimates can be obtained without much additional computational effort. the feasibility of the new methods is illustrated in a two-layer quasigeostrophic model.

Measuring the economic value of pollination services: principles, evidence and knowledge gaps

An increasing degree of attention is being given to the ecosystem services which insect pollinators supply, and the economic value of these services. Recent research suggests that a range of factors are contributing to a global decline in pollination services, which are often used as a “headline” ecosystem service in terms of communicating the concept of ecosystem services, and how this ties peoples׳ well-being to the condition of ecosystems and the biodiversity found therein. Our paper offers a conceptual framework for measuring the economic value of changes in insect pollinator populations, and then reviews what evidence exists on the empirical magnitude of these values (both market and non-market). This allows us to highlight where the largest gaps in knowledge are, where the greatest conceptual and empirical challenges remain, and where research is most needed.