Interactive report writing from Edinburgh Napier University

Short general guide to report writing with drag and drop activities and sequenced (multiple choice) questions

Natural disasters and clientelism: the case of floods and landslides in Colombia

What are the effects of natural disasters on electoral results? Some authors claim that catastrophes have a negative effect on the survival of leaders in a democracy because voters have a propensity to punish politicians for not preventing or poorly handling a crisis. In contrast, this paper finds that these events might be beneficial for leaders. Disasters are linked to leader survival through clientelism: they generate an in-flow of resources in the form of aid, which increase money for buying votes. Analyzing the rainy season of 2010-2011 in Colombia, considered its worst disaster in history, I use a difference-in-differences strategy to show that in the local election incumbent parties benefited from the disaster. The result is robust to different specifications and alternative explanations. Moreover, places receiving more aid and those with judicial evidence of vote-buying irregularities, are more likely to reelect the incumbent, supporting the mechanism proposed by this paper.

Two complementary molecular energy decomposition schemes: the Mayer and Ziegler-Rauk methods in comparison

In the present paper we discuss and compare two different energy decomposition schemes: Mayer's Hartree-Fock energy decomposition into diatomic and monoatomic contributions [Chem. Phys. Lett. 382, 265 (2003)], and the Ziegler-Rauk dissociation energy decomposition [Inorg. Chem. 18, 1558 (1979)]. The Ziegler-Rauk scheme is based on a separation of a molecule into fragments, while Mayer's scheme can be used in the cases where a fragmentation of the system in clearly separable parts is not possible. In the Mayer scheme, the density of a free atom is deformed to give the one-atom Mulliken density that subsequently interacts to give rise to the diatomic interaction energy. We give a detailed analysis of the diatomic energy contributions in the Mayer scheme and a close look onto the one-atom Mulliken densities. The Mulliken density ρA has a single large maximum around the nuclear position of the atom A, but exhibits slightly negative values in the vicinity of neighboring atoms. The main connecting point between both analysis schemes is the electrostatic energy. Both decomposition schemes utilize the same electrostatic energy expression, but differ in how fragment densities are defined. In the Mayer scheme, the electrostatic component originates from the interaction of the Mulliken densities, while in the Ziegler-Rauk scheme, the undisturbed fragment densities interact. The values of the electrostatic energy resulting from the two schemes differ significantly but typically have the same order of magnitude. Both methods are useful and complementary since Mayer's decomposition focuses on the energy of the finally formed molecule, whereas the Ziegler-Rauk scheme describes the bond formation starting from undeformed fragment densities

Anàlisi d'escenaris i tendències en l'àmbit de la gestió mediambiental a la indústria catalana

Actualment, la indústria afronta el repte d'integrar les consideracions mediambientals en els seus plans de negoci. I no tan sols pel compromís ètic vers una correcta actuació mediambiental, sinó pel fet de que els clients i la societat en general estan cada cop més sensibilitzats per aquesta problemàtica i comencen a valorar a les empreses que realment tenen en compta els aspectes ambientals en els seu funcionament, i aquest comportament pot ésser també la base d'un bon negoci. És en aquest context on s'explica el gran interès empresarial per l'àrea de la gestió mediambiental en la indústria experimentat en l'última dècada del segle XX. Les consideracions ambientals són una font de profunds canvis en les pràctiques empresarials, i un primer pas que pot ajudar a les organitzacions a afrontar aquests nous reptes és el reconeixement de l'avantatge competitiu que la gestió mediambiental pot aportar, pel fet d'assegurar que el compromís amb la millora ambiental existeix en l'empresa. En el centre de tot aquest procés cap a un nou paradigma de gestió empresarial, els sistemes de gestió mediambiental tracten d'ajudar a les empreses a millorar l'impacte ambiental del seu procés productiu, activitats i productes, a través de procediments específics, així com a minimitzar el risc d'accidents. Aquests procediments possibiliten, d'una manera sistemàtica i a través d'una estructura organitzativa, assolir compromisos de gestió ambiental. L'objectiu general que es persegueix amb aquest treball de tesi doctoral es centra en l'anàlisi del desenvolupament de la gestió mediambiental a la indústria catalana. Així, s'estudia com es percep la dimensió ambiental en la gestió d'empresa. També s'identifiquen els factors impulsors i limitadors de la introducció de la gestió ambiental a la indústria, a través de la implantació de sistemes de gestió mediambientals (Norma ISO 14001 o Reglament EMAS) i s'analitzen les inversions i despeses mediambientals que està realitzant el teixit industrial català en l'actualitat. Aquest treball també estudia el nivell de coneixement de les empreses quant a polítiques, normatives i eines associades a la gestió ambiental.

Predicting music enjoyment in cochlear implant users

Most cochlear implant (CI) users perceive music poorly. Little is known, however, about the musical enjoyment received by CI users. The author examined possible relationships between musical enjoyment and music perception tasks through the use of 1) multiple musical tests, and 2) two groups of listeners: normal-hearing (NH) listeners with a CI-simulation and actual CI users. The two groups’ performances are compared to determine whether NH participants listening to music via CI-simulation software are a good model for actual CI users for perceiving music.

Desarrollo de catalizadores en sistemas de reacción avanzados para la producción de hidrógeno a partir de biogás

[ES]En el presente documento se expone el estudio experimental que consiste en la comparación de diferentes catalizadores en sistemas de reacción avanzados, microrreactores, para la producción de hidrógeno a partir de biogás. El hidrógeno es un vector energético que puede emplearse como combustible, y por tanto, un candidato perfecto para sustituir aquellos combustibles provenientes de fuentes fósiles. Este Proyecto de Fin de Grado se ha basado en desarrollar el proceso conocido como tri-reformado de biogás. Esta técnica, al contrario que las técnicas convencionales de producción, presenta numerosas ventajas ya que la materia prima empleada, el biogás, es una fuente de origen renovable. Para llevar a cabo este estudio se han preparado distintos catalizadores, basados todos ellos en platino. La elección de este metal noble es debido a su alto grado de reactividad, especialmente en sistemas de reacción micro-estructurados. Con el objetivo de reducir los costes asociados al propio catalizador, se añadieron, junto con el platino, otros metales más baratos a fin de analizar su idoneidad en el proceso del tri-reformado. Por tanto, partiendo de un catalizador de referencia que contiene un 5% de platino, se prepararon otros catalizadores mantenido constante, en un 5%, la composición de metal total. Estos catalizadores se han denominado de la siguiente manera: 2.5(Pt-Me), siendo Me cada especie metálica diferente. Tras preparar los catalizadores, se llevaron a cabo diferentes experimentos con un reactor convencional de lecho fijo. El objetivo fue establecer unas condiciones de operación tal que asegurasen una adecuada comparación entre catalizadores. De este modo, se realizaron ensayos de actividad catalítica a diferentes temperaturas y velocidades espaciales para someter a los catalizadores a condiciones de operación extremas, bajo las cuales, las diferencias entre catalizadores fueran más notorias. Una vez detalladas las condiciones de operación adecuadas para la comparación de catalizadores, se llevaron a cabo los correspondientes ensayos con los catalizadores impregnados en los sistemas de reacción avanzados, denominados micorreactores. Estos ensayos se basaron en operar a una velocidad espacial constante para estudiar la influencia de la temperatura. Además, se llevaron a cabo ensayos de estabilidad de hasta 110 horas en las condiciones de operación más desfavorables. Por último se compararon las conversiones de CH4 y CO2 y el rendimiento de H2 de todas las formulaciones catalíticas preparadas, y se concluyó que el mejor candidato para el proceso del tri-reformado es el catalizador 2.5(Pt-Pd).

Forest Policy Scenario Analysis: Sensitivity of Songbird Community to Changes in Forest Cover Amount and Configuration

Changes in mature forest cover amount, composition, and configuration can be of significant consequence to wildlife populations. The response of wildlife to forest patterns is of concern to forest managers because it lies at the heart of such competing approaches to forest planning as aggregated vs. dispersed harvest block layouts. In this study, we developed a species assessment framework to evaluate the outcomes of forest management scenarios on biodiversity conservation objectives. Scenarios were assessed in the context of a broad range of forest structures and patterns that would be expected to occur under natural disturbance and succession processes. Spatial habitat models were used to predict the effects of varying degrees of mature forest cover amount, composition, and configuration on habitat occupancy for a set of 13 focal songbird species. We used a spatially explicit harvest scheduling program to model forest management options and simulate future forest conditions resulting from alternative forest management scenarios, and used a process-based fire-simulation model to simulate future forest conditions resulting from natural wildfire disturbance. Spatial pattern signatures were derived for both habitat occupancy and forest conditions, and these were placed in the context of the simulated range of natural variation. Strategic policy analyses were set in the context of current Ontario forest management policies. This included use of sequential time-restricted harvest blocks (created for Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) conservation) and delayed harvest areas (created for American marten (Martes americana atrata) conservation). This approach increased the realism of the analysis, but reduced the generality of interpretations. We found that forest management options that create linear strips of old forest deviate the most from simulated natural patterns, and had the greatest negative effects on habitat occupancy, whereas policy options that specify deferment and timing of harvest for large blocks helped ensure the stable presence of an intact mature forest matrix over time. The management scenario that focused on maintaining compositional targets best supported biodiversity objectives by providing the composition patterns required by the 13 focal species, but this scenario may be improved by adding some broad-scale spatial objectives to better maintain large blocks of interior forest habitat through time.

Uncertainties in future projections of extreme precipitation in the Indian monsoon region

Uncertainties in changes to the spatial distribution and magnitude of the heaviest extremes of daily monsoon rainfall over India are assessed in the doubled CO2 climate change scenarios in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. Results show diverse changes to the spatial pattern of the 95th and 99th subseasonal percentiles, which are strongly tied to the mean precipitation change during boreal summer. In some models, the projected increase in heaviest rainfall over India at CO2 doubling is entirely predictable based upon the surface warming and the Clausius–Clapeyron relation, a result which may depend upon the choice of convection scheme. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright

Variability in clear-sky longwave radiative cooling of the atmosphere

The longwave radiative cooling of the clear-sky atmosphere (Q(LWc)) is a crucial component of the global hydrological cycle and is composed of the clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation to space (OLRc) and the net downward minus upward clear-sky longwave radiation to the surface (SNLc). Estimates of QLWc from reanalyses and observations are presented for the period 1979-2004. Compared to other reanalyses data sets, the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts 40-year reanalysis (ERA40) produces the largest Q(LWc) over the tropical oceans (217 W m(-2)), explained by the least negative SNLc. On the basis of comparisons with data derived from satellite measurements, ERA40 provides the most realistic QLWc climatology over the tropical oceans but exhibits a spurious interannual variability for column integrated water vapor (CWV) and SNLc. Interannual monthly anomalies of QLWc are broadly consistent between data sets with large increases during the warm El Nino events. Since relative humidity ( RH) errors applying throughout the troposphere result in compensating effects on the cooling to space and to the surface, they exert only a marginal effect on QLWc. An observed increase in CWV with surface temperature of 3 kg m(-2) K-1 over the tropical oceans is important in explaining a positive relationship between QLWc and surface temperature, in particular over ascending regimes; over tropical ocean descending regions this relationship ranges from 3.6 to 4.6 +/- 0.4 W m(-2) K-1 for the data sets considered, consistent with idealized sensitivity tests in which tropospheric warming is applied and RH is held constant and implying an increase in precipitation with warming.

The influence of affective statements on performance on implicit and explicit memory tasks

Consumers are often exposed to brand names presented concurrently with information such as brand claims and warnings, prior to making product choices. As implicit memory has been implicated in the consumer choice process, two experiments were conducted to assess the influence of additional information, namely simple positive and negative statements, on implicit and explicit memory tasks. In Experiment 1, the mere presence of additional statements at study significantly reduced performance on a two-alternatives forced recognition task. However, the same manipulation had no effect on implicit preference judgement task performance. The valence of the accompanying information had no effect on either task. In Experiment 2, using modified implicit and explicit choice tasks, performance on the former was unaffected by statement valence, whereas the latter task was. Hence, positive priming was obtained for brand names previously shown with negative information. The results of the experiments are discussed in relation to both implicit memory and consumer choice.

Diagnosis of variability and trends in a global precipitation dataset using a physically motivated statistical model

A physically motivated statistical model is used to diagnose variability and trends in wintertime ( October - March) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) pentad (5-day mean) precipitation. Quasi-geostrophic theory suggests that extratropical precipitation amounts should depend multiplicatively on the pressure gradient, saturation specific humidity, and the meridional temperature gradient. This physical insight has been used to guide the development of a suitable statistical model for precipitation using a mixture of generalized linear models: a logistic model for the binary occurrence of precipitation and a Gamma distribution model for the wet day precipitation amount. The statistical model allows for the investigation of the role of each factor in determining variations and long-term trends. Saturation specific humidity q(s) has a generally negative effect on global precipitation occurrence and with the tropical wet pentad precipitation amount, but has a positive relationship with the pentad precipitation amount at mid- and high latitudes. The North Atlantic Oscillation, a proxy for the meridional temperature gradient, is also found to have a statistically significant positive effect on precipitation over much of the Atlantic region. Residual time trends in wet pentad precipitation are extremely sensitive to the choice of the wet pentad threshold because of increasing trends in low-amplitude precipitation pentads; too low a choice of threshold can lead to a spurious decreasing trend in wet pentad precipitation amounts. However, for not too small thresholds, it is found that the meridional temperature gradient is an important factor for explaining part of the long-term trend in Atlantic precipitation.

Using a runway paradigm to assess the relative strength of rats' motivations for enrichment objects

Laboratory animals should be provided with enrichment objects in their cages; however, it is first necessary to test whether the proposed enrichment objects provide benefits that increase the animals’ welfare. The two main paradigms currently used to assess proposed enrichment objects are the choice test, which is limited to determining relative frequency of choice, and consumer demand studies, which can indicate the strength of a preference but are complex to design. Here, we propose a third methodology: a runway paradigm, which can be used to assess the strength of an animal’s motivation for enrichment objects, is simpler to use than consumer demand studies, and is faster to complete than typical choice tests. Time spent with objects in a standard choice test was used to rank several enrichment objects in order to compare with the ranking found in our runway paradigm. The rats ran significantly more times, ran faster, and interacted longer with objects with which they had previously spent the most time. It was concluded that this simple methodology is suitable for measuring rats’ motivation to reach enrichment objects. This can be used to assess the preference for different types of enrichment objects or to measure reward system processes.

Consumer willingness to pay for in-flight service and comfort levels: A choice experiment

In the competitive aviation market as a result of the emergence of low cost carriers, charter airlines have had to reconsider their approach to service provision. Specifically, the reduction in service and comfort levels offered by the low cost airlines provides charter carriers with an opportunity to differentiate their product based on the quality of the offering. To consider this strategic option we employ an on-line choice experiment to examine consumer choices with respect to the bundle of services on offer when deciding to purchase a flight, With these data we use the Bayesian methods to estimate a mixed logit specification. Our results reveal that in principle passengers are willing to pay a relatively large amount for enhanced service quality. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feeding responses of carabid beetles to dimethoate-contaminated prey

1 The feeding responses of Pterostichus madidus Fab., P. melanarius Illiger and Nebria brevicollis Fab. (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to dimethoate-contaminated prey were investigated in 'no-choice' and 'choice' feeding tests. 2 In the no-choice tests, starved beetles were presented with aphid prey treated with four concentrations of dimethoate. In the choice tests, treated and untreated prey were presented together and the feeding preferences of the starved beetles observed. 3 No avoidance or rejection behaviour was seen in any of the carabids in either of the tests, i.e. no discrimination of the treated and untreated prey was observed. 4 Sufficient dimethoate was consumed with the aphid prey to cause significant mortality levels in the carabids. 5 The concentrations of dimethoate used in these experiments are comparable to field exposure, so carabids feeding in treated fields and field margins could potentially suffer lethal effects via the indirect exposure route of consuming contaminated prey.