“On Deposit”: animal acquisition at the Zoological Society of London, 1870–1910 (Patron's review)

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Eleanor Larsson

When the zoological gardens in Regent's Park opened to the public in 1847, they immediately became very popular, providing a source of both entertainment and instruction for visitors and a vital stream of revenue for the Zoological Society of London. However, the ongoing popularity of the gardens was endangered by the consistently high mortality rates which afflicted the Society's animals throughout the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. This paper examines how the Society's efforts to combat this challenge led them to foster and sustain relationships which centred on the act of animal “deposit”. Often a temporary arrangement, somewhat like a loan, depositing involved a range of individuals involved in the animal trade, including commercial animal dealers and the naturalist Lionel Walter Rothschild. Through the system of depositing, the Zoological Society became the custodians of a wide range of animals which they could exhibit. However, their lack of ownership of these animals, combined with a lack of knowledge about how to care for them, ultimately constrained the Society's management of them and impeded its longer-term goals of reducing both animal mortality and the impact of high mortality rates on the menagerie's ability to attract visitors and sustain its economy.

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
K J Raman ◽  
A Marcus

Raman and Marcus (2007) have studied the impact of Automation in Public sector Banks as per the reflections of bank customers and bank officials belong to Chennai region. Marcus (2006) studied the public sector banks with special reference to selected branches in Chennai city and the perception of customers due to inception of Information Technology in the banking sector. Customers vary in their perception on information technology. In reality, customers are not against for automation and IT inception. The main concern for them is the delay in transaction due to technical snag and the increased cost of operation due to automation. Most of the customers have accounts in the private sector banks and they are well informed about the new development and up gradation that is happening in those banks. The customers believe that crores of money is being spent by the banks in the name of developing software, training the staff in IT and in providing better ambience to keep abreast with the private banks, but the ultimate outcome of which is not noteworthy.The present study is based on the reflections of 674 bank customers of the public sector banks who have various types of bank accounts in the branches of Chennai city. Branches of public sector banks in Chennai city, consisting of 19 nationalized banks and State Bank of India with its 7 Associates were covered in the process. A wide range of customers through various domains of banking operations have been studied to identify their overall perception.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Green

Abstract On March 29th 2019, the United Kingdom (UK) was due to exit the EU in a process known informally as ’Brexit’. This exit and entry into a 2-year transition is a period of unprecedented political and social upheaval - with many unknowns and much uncertainty attached to the outcomes and future impact. In preparation for Brexit, Public Health Wales commissioned the Wales HIA Support Unit to carry out a health impact assessment of Brexit in Wales to support and inform its and other public bodies planning and future work. This paper examines the unique HIA carried out between July and December 2018 on the impact of the UK withdrawal from the EU in Wales. It discusses the robust, participatory process undertaken, the stakeholders involved and the benefits reaped from this. It highlights the evidence gathered and analysed including the collection methods, the complex nature of the work and disseminates the main findings from the HIA including the potential determinants of health and population groups identified. Finally, it describes the challenges faced, how these were overcome, and the huge benefits, impact and influence it has had to date across a wide range of UK and Welsh organisations and public bodies. This work demonstrates continued leadership in the field of impact assessment and spearheads the requirement for public bodies to carry out HIAs as part of the forthcoming statutory requirements of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 an can inform practice at a global level. Key messages HIA can inform and influence action in response to important strategic decisions. The Brexit HIA is a unique example which can inform international HIA practice.


Author(s):  
І. І. Шупик

Обґрунтована важливість туристичної галузі якодного з перспективних напрямів вирішення широкогокола макроекономічних проблем у період трансфор-мації суспільства, що дозволить стабілізувати соці-ально-економічну ситуацію у країні й поліпшити які-сні характеристики життя населення. Визначеніпровідні напрями впливу туристичної діяльності нарозвиток країни та причини, що їх обумовлюють.Наголошується, що досягнення поставлених цілейбуде можливим лише за умови послідовних і відпові-дальних дій влади, її постійної взаємодії з громадські-стю, бізнесом. Proved the importance of the tourism industry as one of the promising directions of solving a wide range of macroeconomic problems in the period of transformation of society, which will allow stabilizujace socio - economic situation in the country and to improve the quality characteristics of living. Defined major directions of the impact of tourism activities on socio-economic development of the country and the reasons for their cause. Emphasized that the achievement of goals is possible only if a consistent and responsible actions of the government, its constant interaction with the public, business.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1685-1708
Author(s):  
Loes Opgenhaffen

Abstract Archaeologists are the mediators between fragmented, and often contested, pasts and the momentary present. To record, organise, interpret, and reconstruct complex narratives of the past and to communicate these to present-day peers and the public, they use a wide range of visualisation methods. As such, visualisation methods form an intrinsic part of the representation of practical and intellectual findings, being crucial to knowledge production in archaeology. The adoption and adaptation of digital visualisation technology changes the way archaeologists shape new knowledge. However, for a discipline that is particularly concerned with how technology had an effect on past societies, for example, the impact of the potter’s wheel on local ceramic production strategies, archaeologists have a remarkably limited awareness of how current (digital) technology has an impact on their own visualisation practice and the subsequent knowledge production. This study presents the conceptual framework “tradition in transition,” which integrates technological and visualisation methodologies, and aims to provide a framework to analyse the underlying processes and mechanisms that shape and change the practice of creating visualisations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Wakeling ◽  
Sophie Rutter ◽  
Briony Birdi ◽  
Stephen Pinfield

This paper presents the results of a mixed methods study of interlending and resource sharing in UK public libraries, based on the results of a survey distributed to both senior library managers and interlending staff, and in-depth follow-up interviews with 20 respondents. We present an analysis of perspectives towards rates of interlending, the rationales and strategies for providing the service, the perceived value for money offered by various interlending schemes, the impact of the current digital environment, and views on the future of interlending in the UK. Our findings suggest that while interlending services are undoubtedly threatened by the drastic cuts to public library funding, and that demand for the service is more generally in decline, resource sharing is viewed by some as a potential means of mitigating the effects of increasingly limited acquisitions budgets, and ensuring the public library system continues to provide access to a wide range of resources for its users.


Author(s):  
Lisa-Maria N. Neudert

As concerns over misinformation, political bots, and the impact of social media on public discourse manifest in Germany, this chapter explores the role of computational propaganda in and around German politics. The research sheds light on how algorithms, automation, and big data are leveraged to manipulate the German public, presenting real-time social media data and rich evidence from interviews with a wide range of German Internet experts—bot developers, policymakers, cyberwarfare specialists, victims of automated attacks, and social media moderators. In addition, the chapter examines how the ongoing public debate surrounding the threats of right-wing political currents and foreign election interference in the Federal Election 2017 has created sentiments of concern and fear. Imposed regulation, multi-stakeholder actionism, and sustained media attention remain unsubstantiated by empirical findings of computational propaganda. The chapter provides an in-depth analysis of social media discourse during the German parliamentary election 2016. Pioneering the methodological assessment of the magnitude of automation and junk news, the author finds limited evidence of computational propaganda in Germany. The author concludes that the impact of computational propaganda, nonetheless, is substantial in Germany, promoting a dispersed civic debate, political vigilance, and restrictive countermeasures that leave a deep imprint on the freedom and openness of the public discourse in Germany.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie S. Lord ◽  
Dann M. Mitchell

<p>Hazards associated with the combined effects of temperature and humidity can have a wide range of impacts, particularly on human health and agriculture. The human body removes metabolic heat through sweating and heat conduction, and the efficiency of these processes is reduced when ambient temperatures and humidity are high, resulting in heat stress. The effects of this range from general discomfort to increased morbidity and mortality rates, trends that have been observed during recent severe heatwaves such as those that occurred during the summer of 2019 in Europe. A number of factors may exacerbate heat stress, including intense physical activity and being located in an urban area as opposed to a rural area.</p><p>As global temperatures increase, the risk associated with heat stress hazards is expected to increase, and this signal is expected to emerge from natural variability over the coming decades, if not sooner. Here, simulations from the new CMIP6 models are analysed to investigate the timing of emergence of heat stress hazards, in order to identify regions of the globe that are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat stress and/or imminent emergence of these hazards. Event attribution techniques are also applied to estimate the impact of anthropogenic warming on the hazard risk.</p>


2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Gaughan ◽  
R. W. Mitchell ◽  
S. J. Blight

During progression of a mass mortality of Australian pilchards in late 1998 and early 1999, quantities of dead pilchards on the sea-surface, sea-floor and along beaches were estimated in three regions along southern Western Australia (WA) by use of transects. Total mortality was estimated at 17 590, 11193 and 144.4 t for Esperance, Bremer Bay and Albany respectively. Mortality rates at Esperance and Bremer Bay were similar at 74.5% and 64.7% respectively, with a mean of 69.6%. In contrast, estimated mortality at Albany was only 2.4%. Although the difference in total mortality between regions is probably related to differences in stock size, as determined by simulation models, the much lower estimate for Albany is probably an artefact of an over-estimated pilchard biomass and not due to large differences in actual mortality rates. Variability in estimates of both pilchard biomass and quantities killed resulted in a wide range of estimated mortality rates, with lower estimates for Esperance and Bremer Bay of 28.0% and 22.9% respectively. This represents a significant decline in the breeding stock of WA pilchards. If the impact was closer to the mean (69.6%), then pilchard stocks in WA are severely depressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 3595
Author(s):  
María Martínez-Urbistondo ◽  
Ángela Gutiérrez-Rojas ◽  
Ane Andrés ◽  
Isabel Gutiérrez ◽  
Gabriela Escudero ◽  
...  

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a high mortality in certain group of patients. We analysed the impact of baseline immunosuppression in COVID-19 mortality and the role of severe lymphopenia in immunocompromised subjects. Methods. We analysed all patients admitted with COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in Madrid between March 1st and April 30th 2020. Epidemiological and clinical data, including severe lymphopenia (<500 lymphocytes/mm3) during admission, were analysed and compared based on their baseline immunosuppression condition. Results. A total of 1594 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were hospitalised during the study period. 166 (10.4%) were immunosuppressed. Immunocompromised patients were younger (64 vs. 67 years, p = 0.02) but presented higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, heart, neurological, lung, kidney and liver disease (p < 0.05). They showed more severe lymphopenia (53% vs 24.1%, p < 0.001), lower SapO2/FiO2 ratios (251 vs 276, p = 0.02) during admission and higher mortality rates (27.1% vs 13.5%, p < 0.001). After adjustment, immunosuppression remained as an independent factor related to mortality (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.24, p < 0.001). In the immunosuppressed group, age (OR = 1.06, p = 0.01), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (OR = 12.27, p = 0.017) and severe lymphopenia (OR = 3.48, p = 0.04) were the factors related to high mortality rate. Conclusion. Immunosuppression is an independent mortality risk factor in COVID-19. Severe lymphopenia should be promptly identified in these patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Kendall ◽  
Charlotte Vaughn ◽  
Charlie Farrington ◽  
Kaylynn Gunter ◽  
Jaidan McLean ◽  
...  

Impressionistic coding of sociolinguistic variables like English (ING), the alternation between pronunciations like talkin' and talking, has been a central part of the analytic workflow in studies of language variation and change for over a half-century. Techniques for automating the measurement and coding for a wide range of sociolinguistic data have been on the rise over recent decades but procedures for coding some features, especially those without clearly defined acoustic correlates like (ING), have lagged behind others, such as vowels and sibilants. This paper explores computational methods for automatically coding variable (ING) in speech recordings, examining the use of automatic speech recognition procedures related to forced alignment (using the Montreal Forced Aligner) as well as supervised machine learning algorithms (linear and radial support vector machines, and random forests). Considering the automated coding of pronunciation variables like (ING) raises broader questions for sociolinguistic methods, such as how much different human analysts agree in their impressionistic codes for such variables and what data might act as the “gold standard” for training and testing of automated procedures. This paper explores several of these considerations in automated, and manual, coding of sociolinguistic variables and provides baseline performance data for automated and manual coding methods. We consider multiple ways of assessing algorithms' performance, including agreement with human coders, as well as the impact on the outcome of an analysis of (ING) that includes linguistic and social factors. Our results show promise for automated coding methods but also highlight that variability in results should be expected even with careful human coded data. All data for our study come from the public Corpus of Regional African American Language and code and derivative datasets (including our hand-coded data) are available with the paper.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document