scholarly journals Development of the European Ladybirds Smartphone Application: A Tool for Citizen Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Skuhrovec ◽  
Helen E. Roy ◽  
Peter M. J. Brown ◽  
Karolis Kazlauskis ◽  
Alberto F. Inghilesi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Main Color ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
Mass Participation ◽  
Near Future

Wildlife observations submitted by volunteers through citizen science initiatives are increasingly used within research and policy. Ladybirds are popular and charismatic insects, with most species being relatively easy to identify from photographs. Therefore, they are considered an appropriate taxonomic group for engaging people through citizen science initiatives to contribute long-term and large-scale datasets for use in many different contexts. Building on the strengths of a mass participation citizen science survey on ladybirds in the United Kingdom, we have developed a mobile application for ladybird recording and identification across Europe. The main aims of the application are to: (1) compile distribution data for ladybird species throughout Europe, and use this to assess changes in distribution over time; (2) connect and engage people in nature and increase awareness about the diversity and ecological importance of ladybirds. In developing the application we first constructed a database including ladybird species from the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal with associated information on relevant morphological features (e.g., size, main color, pronotum pattern) to inform identification. Additionally, the species were assessed on the basis of probability of occurrence within each country which enables users to reduce the number of species to only those with relevance to the location of the recorder. This is amongst the first collaborative citizen science approaches aimed at involving participants across Europe in recording a group of insects. In the near future, we aim to expand the use of the application to all countries in Europe.

scholarly journals Immigration Into the United Kingdom

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 957-967
Author(s):  
Lukáš Nevěděl ◽  
Michaela Novotná
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Identity Cards ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Strong System

Migration is a process which results in an increase or a decrease of population. When analysing the immigration policy of the United Kingdom, it is important to be aware of two key factors which influenced it: the country’s location and its colonial history. As an island, the UK has developed a very strong system of border control while at the same time there is limited control within its borders which can be demonstrated e.g. by the absence of identity cards. The aim of this article is to evaluate immigration into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland based on available statistical data between 2004 and 2012. The data will be also used for a forecast of development of the numbers of immigrants from different countries and for illustrating possible immigration trends in the future. The article will mainly focus on a question whether in the near future the UK will experience an increase or a decrease in immigration or whether the number of immigrants will stay constant. Convergence analysis will be used to evaluate the data for individual administrative regions at the NUTS II level. The article will also detail numbers of immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants and it will answer a question whether there is convergence or divergence in the number of immigrants among different regions.

Discourse and Democracy

2020 ◽  
pp. 233-261
Author(s):  
Chris Heffer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Common Theme ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Voter Fraud

This chapter summarizes the main analytical moves in the TRUST heuristic for analyzing untruthfulness. It then applies the heuristic to three short texts that have been widely called out as lies: Trump’s tweet about large-scale voter fraud just before the 2016 presidential elections; the “Brexit Battle Bus” claim that the United Kingdom sent £350 million per week to the European Union; and Tony Blair’s 2002 statement to Parliament about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction. The cases share a common theme: the capacity of untruthful public discourse to undermine democratic legitimacy by, respectively, questioning the integrity of electoral procedures, harming the capacity of voters to make a rational choice, and undermining faith in the rational and responsible deliberation of one’s leaders. The chapter troubles the simple attribution of lying in these cases and shows how a TRUST analysis can lead to a deeper understanding of the types and ethical value of untruthfulness.

How Do Children of Mixed Partnerships Fare in the United Kingdom? Understanding the Implications for Children of Parental Ethnic Homogamy and Heterogamy

2012 ◽  
Vol 643 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucinda Platt
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Majority Group ◽  
Extensive Analysis ◽  
Mixed Ethnicity

Many claims are made about the significance of interethnic partnerships for individuals and for society. Such partnerships continue to be seen as a “barometer” of the openness of society and have spawned extensive analysis investigating their patterns, trends, and determinants. But we know little about the experience of children growing up in families of mixed parentage. In the United Kingdom, the increase in the self-defined “mixed” population is often celebrated. But there has been little quantitative sociological analysis that has investigated the circumstances of the children of mixed ethnicity partnerships. Using two large-scale UK datasets that cover a similar period, this article evaluates the extent to which mixed parentage families are associated with circumstances (both economic and in terms of family structure) that tend to be positive or negative for children’s future life chances and how these compare to those of children with parents from the same ethnic group. It shows that there is substantial variation according to the outcome considered but also according to ethnic group. Overall, children in mixed parentage families do not unequivocally experience the equality of outcomes with majority group children that the assimilation hypothesis implies.

'Golden visas' will persist despite EU clampdown

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transparency International ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Background Checks ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Eu

Subject The 'golden visa' controversy in the EU. Significance The European Commission's announcement on October 10 that it would investigate so-called 'golden visa' schemes follows a report by Global Witness and Transparency International warning that insufficient applicant background checks exposed the EU to large-scale money laundering and corruption. Impacts Greater public knowledge of golden visas will increase domestic pressure on governments. Scandals could worsen relations between the EU and non-EU countries. Applications for visas in the United Kingdom will likely decline if there is a Brexit deal.

scholarly journals The 23–26 September 2012 U.K. Floods: Using PV Surgery to Quantify Sensitivity to Upper-Level Forcing

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (10) ◽  
pp. 4055-4079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Hardy ◽  
David M. Schultz ◽  
Geraint Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
River Flooding ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Accumulated Rainfall ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
The Impact

Major river flooding affected the United Kingdom in late September 2012 as a slow-moving extratropical cyclone brought over 150 mm of rain to parts of northern England and north Wales. The cyclone deepened over the United Kingdom on 24–26 September as a potential vorticity (PV) anomaly approached from the northwest, elongated into a PV streamer, and wrapped around the cyclone. The strength and position of the PV anomaly is modified in the initial conditions of Weather Research and Forecasting Model simulations, using PV surgery, to examine whether different upper-level forcing, or different phasing between the PV anomaly and cyclone, could have produced an even more extreme event. These simulations reveal that quasigeostrophic (QG) forcing for ascent ahead of the anomaly contributed to the persistence of the rainfall over the United Kingdom. Moreover, weakening the anomaly resulted in lower rainfall accumulations across the United Kingdom, suggesting that the impact of the event might be proportional to the strength of the upper-level QG forcing. However, when the anomaly was strengthened, it rotated cyclonically around a large-scale trough over Iceland rather than moving eastward as in the verifying analysis, with strongly reduced accumulated rainfall across the United Kingdom. A similar evolution developed when the anomaly was moved farther away from the cyclone. Conversely, moving the anomaly nearer to the cyclone produced a similar solution to the verifying analysis, with slightly increased rainfall totals. These counterintuitive results suggest that the verifying analysis represented almost the highest-impact scenario possible for this flooding event when accounting for sensitivity to the initial position and strength of the PV anomaly.

Communicating Public Health Advice After a Chemical Spill: Results From National Surveys in the United Kingdom and Poland

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. Pearce ◽  
G. James Rubin ◽  
Richard Amlôt ◽  
Simon Wessely ◽  
M. Brooke Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Hazardous Substance ◽  
Crisis Communications ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Cost ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to enhance public health preparedness for incidents that involve the large-scale release of a hazardous substance by examining factors likely to influence public responses to official guidance on how to limit their exposure.MethodsAn online demographically representative survey was conducted in the United Kingdom (n = 601) and Poland (n = 602) to test the strength of association of trust in authorities, anxiety, threat, and coping appraisals with the intention to comply with advice to shelter in place following a hypothetical chemical spill. The impact of ease of compliance and style of message presentation were also examined.ResultsParticipants were more likely to comply if at home when the incident happened, but message presentation had little impact. Coping appraisals and trust were key predictors of compliance, but threat appraisals were associated with noncompliance. Anxiety was seen to promote behavioral change. UK participants were more likely to comply than Polish participants.ConclusionsSuccessful crisis communications during an emergency should aim to influence perceptions regarding the efficacy of recommended behaviors, the difficulties people may have in following advice, and perceptions about the cost of following recommended behaviors. Generic principles of crisis communication may need adaptation for national contexts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;7:65-74)

Asylum and the Expansion of Deportation in the United Kingdom

2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Gibney
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Policy Innovation ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Secondary Instrument ◽  
Migration Control

AbstractDeportation has traditionally been seen as a secondary instrument of migration control, one used by liberal democratic states relatively infrequently and with some trepidation. This secondary status has been assured by the fact that deportation is both a complicated and a controversial power. It is complicated because tracking individuals down and returning them home are time-consuming and resource-intense activities; it is controversial because deportation is a cruel power, one that sometimes seems incompatible with respect for human rights. In the light of these constraints, how can one explain the fact that since 2000 the United Kingdom has radically increased the number of failed asylum seekers deported from its territory? I argue in the article that this increase has been achieved through a conscious and careful process of policy innovation that has enabled state officials to engage in large-scale expulsions without directly violating liberal norms.

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