How do tourists consume a rural wine destination in central Portugal?

Space-time tourist behaviour is influenced by numerous factors related both to tourists and the destination. Yet, however complex it may be, understanding and to some extent managing the way tourists move in space and time is crucial to ensuring the quality of their experience, as well as the effective and sustainable management of destinations and attractions. In the rural wine tourism context, studies on space-time behaviour are rare. The present study uses empirical data collected from tourists staying in hotels of the Bairrada Wine Route territory (N = 116), combining a GPS tracking study with a questionnaire survey. Using a time-geographical analytical approach, the GPS tracking data were mapped for a more detailed analysis of the tourists’ movements in the Bairrada terroir. The findings highlight specificities of tourist consumption in the context of rural wine regions and provide valuable insights for destination planning, service design and marketing of the Bairrada Wine Route.

Deconvolution well test analysis applied to a long-term data set of the Waiwera geothermal reservoir (New Zealand)

The geothermal reservoir at Waiwera has been subject to active exploitation for a long time. It is located below the village on the Northern Island of New Zealand and has been used commercially since 1863. The continuous production of geothermal water, to supply hotels and spas, had a negative impact on the reservoir. So far, the physical relation between abstraction rates and water level change of the hydrogeological system is only fairly understood. The aim of this work was to link the influence of rates to the measured data to derive reservoir properties. For this purpose, the daily abstraction history was investigated by means of a variable production rate well test analysis. For the analysis, a modified deconvolution algorithm was implemented. The algorithm derives the reservoir response function by solving a least square problem with the unique feature of imposing only implicit constraints on the solution space. To further investigate the theoretical performance of the algorithm a simulation with synthetic data was conducted for three possible reservoir scenarios. Results throughout all years indicate radial flow during middle-time behaviour and a leaky flow boundary during late-time behaviour. For middle-time behaviour, the findings agree very well with prior results of a pumping test. For the future, a more extensive investigation of different flow conditions under different parametrisations should be conducted.

Moving Forward: Understanding Correlates of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour during COVID-19—An Integrative Review and Socioecological Approach

Population-level physical activity (PA) and sedentary time/behaviour estimates represent a significant public health issue exacerbated by restrictions enforced to control COVID-19. This integrative review interrogated available literature to explore the pandemic’s impact on correlates of such behaviours in adults (≥18 years). Five electronic databases were systematically searched in January 2021. Data extracted from 64 articles were assessed for risk-of-bias using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool, with correlates identified, coded, and themed via thematic analysis. A socioecological model of during-pandemic PA was conceptualized and mapped to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behaviour (COM-B) model of behaviour change mechanisms, which illustrates influences over five levels: Individual (biological)—general health; Individual (psychological)—mental health, cognition, motivation, and behaviour; Social—domestic situation, sociodemographic factors, support, and lifestyle choices; Environmental—resources and area of residence; and Policy—COVID-19-related rules. For sedentary time/behaviour, individual level factors, namely general and mental health, may be important correlates. Neither age or sex were clearly correlated with either behaviour. As we transition into a new normal, understanding which behaviour mechanisms could effectively challenge physical inactivity is essential. Targeting capability on a psychological level may facilitate PA and limit sedentary time/behaviour, whereas, on a physical level, maximizing PA opportunities could be crucial.

Probabilistic modelling and verification using RoboChart and PRISM

RoboChart is a timed domain-specific language for robotics, distinctive in its support for automated verification by model checking and theorem proving. Since uncertainty is an essential part of robotic systems, we present here an extension to RoboChart to model uncertainty using probabilism. The extension enriches RoboChart state machines with probability through a new construct: probabilistic junctions as the source of transitions with a probability value. RoboChart has an accompanying tool, called RoboTool, for modelling and verification of functional and real-time behaviour. We present here also an automatic technique, implemented in RoboTool, to transform a RoboChart model into a PRISM model for verification. We have extended the property language of RoboTool so that probabilistic properties expressed in temporal logic can be written using controlled natural language.

One Dimensional Reduction of a Renewal Equation for a Measure-Valued Function of Time Describing Population Dynamics

Despite their relevance in mathematical biology, there are, as yet, few general results about the asymptotic behaviour of measure valued solutions of renewal equations on the basis of assumptions concerning the kernel. We characterise, via their kernels, a class of renewal equations whose measure-valued solution can be expressed in terms of the solution of a scalar renewal equation. The asymptotic behaviour of the solution of the scalar renewal equation, is studied via Feller’s classical renewal theorem and, from it, the large time behaviour of the solution of the original renewal equation is derived.

Spectrum and convergence of eventually positive operator semigroups

An intriguing feature of positive $$C_0$$ C 0 -semigroups on function spaces (or more generally on Banach lattices) is that their long-time behaviour is much easier to describe than it is for general semigroups. In particular, the convergence of semigroup operators (strongly or in the operator norm) as time tends to infinity can be characterized by a set of simple spectral and compactness conditions. In the present paper, we show that similar theorems remain true for the larger class of (uniformly) eventually positive semigroups—which recently arose in the study of various concrete differential equations. A major step in one of our characterizations is to show a version of the famous Niiro–Sawashima theorem for eventually positive operators. Several proofs for positive operators and semigroups do not work in our setting any longer, necessitating different arguments and giving our approach a distinct flavour.