Coarse fish in Scotland: a threat or a resource?

This brief article summarizes the ecological role of non-salmonid fishes in Scottish fresh waters. Most government-sponsored research has focused on the ecologically valuable salmonids in this area, yet non-salmonid species are widely distributed in Scotland and play an important ecological role in freshwater ecosystems. The fish fauna of Scotland differs from other parts of the British Isles by being more impoverished following the end of the last Ice Age, ca. 10 000 years ago.

An annotated bibliography of research on coarse and salmonid fish (excluding salmon and trout) found in fresh water in Scotland

The authors provide an extensive annotated bibliography to a full list of species occurring in Scotland, to highlight what is known about them and to indicate potential areas for further research. The list of references brings together published research papers and numerous unpublished theses and reports, including experimental and laboratory studies conducted in Scotland, although some may not have unique application to the fish fauna in Scottish waters. There has been no attempt to include references that are made incidentally in the general literature intended for naturalists.

Arctic charr from Ennerdale Water: a pilot study

There are three fish species in the north west of England, Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus, L.), schelly (Coreqonus lavaretus. L.), and vendace (C. albula, L.), which have been reported as rare and vulnerable and have been identified as requiring the preparation and implementation of a conservation management plan. The presence of Arctic charr in Ennerdale Water has resulted in it being designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. These fish and one race of the species in Lake Windermere are the only English populations of charr known to spawn in running water. Associated with Ennerdale charr is the copepod parasite Salmincola edwardsii which has not been recorded from any other charr inhabited waters of the Lake District. However, it has been recorded on charr from four Scottish Lochs (Stack, Lee, Tay and Doon). The unique nature of Ennerdale is further highlighted by the presence of two crustaceans, Mysis relicta and Limnocalanus macrurus. The former has been recorded in Ireland while the latter is not known to exist anywhere else in the British Isles. The aim of this pilot study was to obtain baseline data on charr that spawn in Smithy Beck and the River Liza. This would indicate the current status of the population and help identify areas requiring further investigation. A total of 161 fish (95 males and 66 females) was caught and tagged over the 3 day period, 141 from Smithy Beck and 20 from the Liza. The raw data of the findings is presented in two appendices.

Review of NRA tracking projects on salmon, Salmo salar L., and sea trout, Salmo trutta L

The report briefly outlines the programme of the National Rivers Authority (NRA), placing the Fisheries programme in the context of the work of the NRA as a whole, and viewing the tracking work against the broader requirements of the NRA Fisheries research programme. All regions of England and Wales are considered. Two techniques currently exist for studying the detailed timing and extent of movements of adult salmon: tracking of individually identifiable fish, and counting the numbers of fish moving past a fixed point in the river. The development of tracking techniques and the integrated use of tracking and fish counters is briefly reviewed in Section 3. Further details of these techniques are given in Appendices. Section 4 summarises and assesses completed and current NRA tracking studies. Section 5 discusses the scientific content of these studies in relation to similar work carried out elsewhere in the UK. The NRA programme of tracking studies is evaluated in Section 6. Section 7 discusses future fisheries projects and Section 8 details the future development of tracking techniques. Finally, recommendations arising out of this review are summarised in Section 9.

Evaluation of NRA tracking studies. Future projects and technical development

Fish tracking is a valuable technique for the provision of detailed information on the behaviour patterns of individual fish especially during estuarine and riverine migration. 2. Tracking studies help in the provision of a comprehensive description of the variety offish behaviour patterns in response to factors such as water flow, obstructions and water quality. 3. There are advantages to be gained by complementing fish tracking studies with data collected from fish counters and vice versa. 4. An overall evaluation of NRA fish tracking projects is presented in the wider context of NRA strategic research objectives. 5. The requirement for future development of tracking equipment, improved data analysis techniques, better communication and more immediate report preparation is identified. 6. Individual project evaluation is given for NRA (or the appropriate Water Authority predecessor) tracking studies conducted on the Ribble estuary, the River Tamar, River Torridge, Rivers Test and Itchen, River Lodden, the Welsh River Dee, River Glaslyn, River Taff, River Tawe, River Tywi, River Usk, Rivers Avon and Stour and the River Frome. 7. An outline for future strategic research is provided which identifies particular areas for study:- i) Identification of environmental factors which control the entry of fish into rivers. ii) Improvement of the understanding of the relationship between water flow and upstream movement of salmonids. iii) Examination of the detailed movements and behaviour of fish in relation to obstructions. iv) Closer definition of water quality requirements for salmonid fish. v) Definition of habitat preferences of salmonids in rivers. vi) Subsidiary topics such as the movements of non-salmonid fish and the downstream migration of kelts and juvenile salmonids.

Description of NRA tracking studies: tracking techniques and fish counter technology

The study began on the 7th January 1991 and was completed in June 1991. Two reports have been produced. This report published as R&D Note 33 describes NRA tracking studies, tracking techniques and fish counter technology. The second report published as R&D Note 34 evaluates NRA tracking studies and recommends future research. The latter will be used solely for NRA management purposes. This report briefly outlines the programme of the NRA, placing the Fisheries programme in the context of the work of the NRA as a whole, and viewing the tracking work against the broader requirements of the NRA Fisheries research programme. Two techniques currently exist for studying the detailed timing and extent of movements of adult salmon: tracking of individually identifiable fish, and counting the numbers of fish moving past a fixed point in the river. Further details of these techniques and their development are given in Sections 2 and 3. Section 4 summarises and assesses completed and current NRA tracking Studies. Complete project descriptions for the studies are contained in Appendix A. Section 5 discusses the scientific content of these studies in relation to similar work carried out elsewhere in the UK. Section 6 details the future development of tracking techniques. Tracking work on migratory salmonids has tended to concentrate largely upon the movements of adult salmon. Much of this report will therefore be concerned with salmon tracking studies. NRA studies involving sea trout are referred to where appropriate. The methodological problems of sea trout tracking studies are summarised in Section 2.1.3.

A transitividade nos textos de autoajuda para mulheres

A motivação inicial deste trabalho foi o interesse pelo desenvolvimento de estratégias argumentativas mais eficazes de ensino de produção textual na escola básica, no âmbito dos gêneros organizados segundo modo argumentativo. Além disso, motivou-nos também a percepção de que um grande número de alunas leem, hoje, crônicas voltadas para o público feminino, tendo seu discurso altamente influenciado pelo conteúdo ideológico-comportamental por elas veiculado o que acaba se refletindo nos textos que escrevem nas aulas de redação. Esse fato chamou nossa atenção, o que nos levou a perceber, também, a vendagem em massa de livros de autoajuda para mulheres. Percebemos que, ao examinarmos as escolhas linguísticas de um discurso de autoajuda, poderíamos trazer à tona algumas crenças e alguns valores, subjacentes à mensagem relativa à experiência de ser mulher e invisíveis para quem aceita esse tipo de discurso como algo natural. Analisaremos então - tendo como suporte teórico a Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional proposta por Halliday, no escopo da transitividade cinco crônicas voltada para o público feminino, com características dos discursos de autoajuda, em cujos textos se vê um grande quantitativo de estratégias argumentativas (algumas clichês) para o convencimento do leitor, estratégias essas apoiadas nas escolhas linguísticas de seus autores, cujo objetivo claro é a produção de determinados sentidos

Bizkaiko jauntxoen inguruko herri literaturaz: Plentziako 1603ko hiru esaera zahar eta "Refranes y Sentencias"-en jatorria, eta proposamen bat Arrasateko erreketaren kantuez

[EUS] Lan honetan aurkikuntza baten berri ematen dugu: Plentziako armarri batean aurkitutako hiru euskal esaera zahar (1603) aurkezten eta hizkuntzaren eta historiaren ikuspuntutik aztertzen ditugu. Hiru esaerotatik bi «Refranes y sentencias» 1596) lanean agertzen dira, eta hori datu garrantzitsua da; izan ere, Lakarrak 1996) errefrau-bilduma anonimo horren jatorriaz egindako proposamena berresteko argudio berria da. Zehazki, Bizkaiko ipar-mendebala proposatu zuen Lakarrak bildumako errefrauen jatorri gisa. Beste alde batetik, Bizkaiko ipar-mendebaleko euskararen zenbait ezaugarri baliatuta, Arrasateko erreketari buruzko zenbait kantu eremu horretan sortu zirela proposatzen dugu —zehazki, Butroeko (Gatika) dorretxearen inguruan—, hizkuntzari dagozkion argudioak historiari buruzkoekin osatuta.

Intertextualidade: uma contribuição para o ensino de produção escrita

Este trabalho de pesquisa tem como objetivo principal demonstrar que a realização de um trabalho de leitura e de escrita baseado em intertextualidade, especificamente com fábulas e provérbios, resulta no desenvolvimento de habilidade de escrita dos alunos do sexto ano de escolaridade do ensino fundamental. Para tanto, propõe-se a uma intersecção metodológica: de um lado as estratégias didáticas, realizadas ao longo de um trimestre de aulas de Língua Portuguesa, no sexto ano de escolaridade do Colégio Pedro II, Campus Tijuca II, ao qual a pesquisadora está vinculada com atividade docente e de coordenação pedagógica. As atividades propõem uma estreita relação entre leitura de textos de diferentes gêneros e produção escrita, a partir da concepção de intertextualidade; de outro, a organização metodológica dessas produções, com um rigoroso levantamento dos tipos de intertextualidade utilizados nas diferentes produções dos estudantes, comprovando que o estímulo constante alimenta o desenvolvimento da proficiência de escrita, havendo o aumento do uso de diferentes tipos de intertextualidade. Do ponto de vista teórico, esta pesquisa propõe percurso histórico da intertextualidade tanto na perspectiva literária quanto na linguística, baseando-se nos autores Bakhtin (2011), Bazerman (2011), Koch (2007), Vigner (2002), Laurent Jenny (1979) e Barthes (2013), o que contribui para a ampliação do conceito chave: intertextualidade. Postula-se que o trabalho de leitura de diferentes gêneros possibilita o estabelecimento da intertextualidade por meio da multiplicidade de temas, de conteúdos e de enfoques e que esse procedimento leva os alunos a produzirem textos com nível mais alto de informatividade e expressividade. Esta estratégia didática favorece o surgimento de novos procedimentos para o ensino de Língua Portuguesa, contribuindo, sobremaneira para o desenvolvimento da competência discursiva dos estudantes do 6 ano de escolaridade

Maritime policy in Scotland.

This paper begins by defining the meaning of the term `maritime policy'. Since devolution in the UK, the opening of the new Scottish parliament in 1998 and the creation of the Scottish Executive, little effort has been made to establish a distinct maritime policy for Scotland. As was evident prior to devolution, the primary emphasis from any maritime policy perspective has continued to be a focus on lifeline island ferry services. This ignores significant developments in several other key maritime transport sectors, and this paper provides examples of areas that require some form of policy response, including intra-European short sea shipping, UK coastal shipping, urban/river transport and global container shipping. Long-standing institutional bias against maritime transport coupled with subsidy devoted almost entirely to land transport systems has resulted in a quite distorted marketplace. This suggests that a maritime policy is now imperative if maritime transport is to play a more significant role in the overall transport system. Further discussion centres on the need to consider, from a Scottish policy perspective, the role of various state-sponsored maritime service providers and how these bodies might fit better within evolving policy. The conclusion is that formulation of a maritime policy by the Scottish Executive is overdue and that a degree of restructuring of transport responsibilities within the Executive, combined with adequate resource allocation towards the maritime industry, will be necessary in order that market distortions can be overcome, so enabling Scotland to fully exploit the competitive and environmental advantages that maritime transport can provide.

CO2Y the intelligent green solution: minimising carbon emissions by maximising shared travel opportunity.

It is in the interests of everybody that the environment is protected. In view of the recent leaps in environmental awareness it would seem timely and sensible, therefore, for people to pool vehicle resources to minimise the damaging impact of emissions. However, this is often contrary to how complex social systems behave – local decisions made by self-interested individuals often have emergent effects that are in the interests of nobody. For software engineers a major challenge is to help facilitate individual decision-making such that individual preferences can be met, which, when accumulated, minimise adverse effects at the level of the transport system. We introduce this general problem through a concrete example based on vehicle-sharing. Firstly, we outline the kind of complex transportation problem that is directly addressed by our technology (CO2y™ - pronounced “cosy”), and also show how this differs from other more basic software solutions. The CO2y™ architecture is then briefly introduced. We outline the practical advantages of the advanced, intelligent software technology that is designed to satisfy a number of individual preference criteria and thereby find appropriate matches within a population of vehicle-share users. An example scenario of use is put forward, i.e., minimisation of grey-fleets within a medium-sized company. Here we comment on some of the underlying assumptions of the scenario, and how in a detailed real-world situation such assumptions might differ between different companies, and individual users. Finally, we summarise the paper, and conclude by outlining how the problem of pooled transportation is likely to benefit from the further application of emergent, nature-inspired computing technologies. These technologies allow systems-level behaviour to be optimised with explicit representation of individual actors. With these techniques we hope to make real progress in facing the complexity challenges that transportation problems produce.

Novel information sharing syntax for data sharing between police and community partners, using role-based security.

The exchange of information between the police and community partners forms a central aspect of effective community service provision. In the context of policing, a robust and timely communications mechanism is required between police agencies and community partner domains, including: Primary healthcare (such as a Family Physician or a General Practitioner); Secondary healthcare (such as hospitals); Social Services; Education; and Fire and Rescue services. Investigations into high-profile cases such as the Victoria Climbié murder in 2000, the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, and, more recently, the death of baby Peter Connelly through child abuse in 2007, highlight the requirement for a robust information-sharing framework. This paper presents a novel syntax that supports information-sharing requests, within strict data-sharing policy definitions. Such requests may form the basis for any information-sharing agreement that can exist between the police and their community partners. It defines a role-based architecture, with partner domains, with a syntax for the effective and efficient information sharing, using SPoC (Single Point-of-Contact) agents to control in-formation exchange. The application of policy definitions using rules within these SPoCs is inspired by network firewall rules and thus define information exchange permissions. These rules can be imple-mented by software filtering agents that act as information gateways between partner domains. Roles are exposed from each domain to give the rights to exchange information as defined within the policy definition. This work involves collaboration with the Scottish Police, as part of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), and aims to improve the safety of individuals by reducing risks to the community using enhanced information-sharing mechanisms.