Measuring area-level disadvantage in Australia: development of a locally sensitive indicator

Background In Australia, the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), which includes the Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD), captures the socioeconomic characteristics of areas. Because SEIFA rankings are relative to the country or state, the decile categorisations may not reflect an area’s socioeconomic standing relative to areas nearby. Aims The aim of the research was to explore whether IRSD rankings could be re-ranked to become locally sensitive. Data and methods Using existing SEIFA data to redistribute the membership of current decile IRSD groups, we tested three methods to re-rank all SA1 areas relative to the nearest areas capped at: (1) the nearest 99 neighbours, (2) a population threshold of 50,000 (3) a distance threshold of 10 km. Results The reclassification of SEIFA IRSD deciles was largest (up to 8 decile points of change) when comparing the nearest neighbour and population threshold local methods to current state-based rankings. Moreover, compared to using current national and state SEIFA IRSD rankings, the use of local rankings resulted in more evenly distributed deciles between cities, regional, and remote areas. Conclusions Because SEIFA IRSD rankings are used to allocate resources and health services, we encourage the combined use of a state and local ranking to refine areas considered the most disadvantaged.

Cost-effective surveillance of invasive species using info-gap theory

Invasive species can lead to community-level damage to the invaded ecosystem and extinction of native species. Most surveillance systems for the detection of invasive species are developed based on expert assessment, inherently coming with a level of uncertainty. In this research, info-gap decision theory (IGDT) is applied to model and manage such uncertainty. Surveillance of the Asian House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril and Bibron, 1836 on Barrow Island, is used as a case study. Our research provides a novel method for applying IGDT to determine the population threshold ($$K$$ K ) so that the decision can be robust to the deep uncertainty present in model parameters. We further robust-optimize surveillance costs rather than minimize surveillance costs. We demonstrate that increasing the population threshold for detection increases both robustness to the errors in the model parameter estimates, and opportuneness to lower surveillance costs than the accepted maximum budget. This paper provides guidance for decision makers to balance robustness and required surveillance expenditure. IGDT offers a novel method to model and manage the uncertainty prevalent in biodiversity conservation practices and modelling. The method outlined here can be used to design robust surveillance systems for invasive species in a wider context, and to better tackle uncertainty in protection of biodiversity and native species in a cost-effective manner.

Cost-effective surveillance of an invasive species: application of info-gap theory to the Asian House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

Invasive species can lead to community-level damage to the invaded ecosystem and extinction of native species. Most surveillance systems for the detection of invasive species are developed based on expert assessment, inherently coming with a level of uncertainty. In this research, info-gap decision theory (IGDT) is applied to model and manage such uncertainty; surveillance of the Asian House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril and Bibron, 1836 on Barrow Island, is used as a case study. Our research provides a novel method for applying IGDT to determine the robust population threshold (K) to trigger detection, robust-optimizing surveillance costs rather than minimizing surveillance costs. We demonstrate that increasing the population threshold for detection increases both robustness to the errors in the model parameter estimates, and opportuneness to lower surveillance costs than the accepted maximum budget. This paper provides guidance for decision makers to balance robustness and required surveillance expenditure. IGDT offers a novel method to model and manage the uncertainty prevalent in biodiversity conservation practices and modelling. The method outlined here can be used to design robust surveillance systems for invasive species in a wider context, and to better tackle uncertainty in protection of biodiversity and native species in a cost-effective manner.

INFLUENCE OF POPULATION NUMBER ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF AGLOMERATION

В статье с помощью матрицы расстояний выявляется вероятная численность населения в зоне возможного влияния территории, далее определяется способность к преодолению отраслью народного хозяйства порогового ограничителя по численности населения. В результате разработаны рекомендации по приоритету развития отраслей на территории. In the article, using the distance matrix, the probable population size in the area of possible influence of the territory is revealed, then the ability of the industry to overcome the population threshold limit is determined. As a result, recommendations were developed on the priority of the development of industries in the territory.

PROCESOS RECIENTES DE SEGREGACIÓN E INCORPORACIÓN DE MUNICIPIOS EN ANDALUCÍA. ¿LA FUSIÓN O LA COOPERACIÓN COMO SOLUCIÓN AL MINIFUNDISMO LOCAL? / / / \ \ \ RECENT PROCESSES OF SEGREGATION AND INCORPORATION OF MUNICIPALITIES IN ANDALUCÍA. FUSION OR COOPERATION AS A SOLUTION TO LOCAL MINIFUNDISM?

Resumen. El mapa municipal andaluz está compuesto en la actualidad por 785 municipios, aunque esta realidad política, administrativa y territorial ha experimentado un auge importante de los fenómenos segregacionistas durante el período constitucional, siendo especialmente numerosos durante la última década, con la creación de 14 municipios, con base jurídica mayoritaria en la Ley de Autonomía Local de Andalucía (2010). Con la Ley, estatal, de Racionalización y Sostenibilidad de la Administración Local (2013), se han endurecido las condiciones para la segregación, estableciéndose el umbral poblacional mínimo de 5.000 habitantes y su viabilidad financiera. El objetivo de esta investigación es profundizar en la posición actual de la Junta de Andalucía en los procesos de segregación e incorporación de términos municipales, así como en las posibilidades segregacionistas futuras. Para ello se aplicará, a modo de metodología, una revisión de toda la normativa sobre régimen local y de sus repercusiones en el mapa municipal andaluz. Los principales resultados exponen la panorámica actual al respecto. Y como conclusión, se presentarán diversas alternativas: bien la fusión de municipios de escasa entidad poblacional y con problemas financieros, o bien el reforzamiento de figuras de cooperación territorial (mancomunidades, consorcios) o la creación de entidades supramunicipales (comarcas administrativas, áreas metropolitanas). Palabras clave: Autonomía Local, Mapa municipal, Nuevos ayuntamientos, Segregación, Andalucía. Abstract. The Andalusian municipal map is currently composed of 785 municipalities, although this political, administrative and territorial reality has experienced a significant boom in segregationist phenomena during the constitutional period, being especially numerous during the last decade, with the creation of 14 municipalities, with a majority legal basis in the Local Autonomy Law of Andalusia (2010). With the State Law on Rationalization and Sustainability of the Local Administration (2013), the conditions for segregation have been tightened, establishing a minimum population threshold of 5,000 inhabitants and their financial viability. The objective of this research is to deepen the current position of the Junta de Andalucía in the processes of segregation and incorporation of municipality, as well as future segregationist possibilities. For this end, a review of all the regulations on local government and their repercussions on the Andalusian municipal map will be applied as a methodology. The main results set out the current overview in this regard. And as a conclusion, various alternatives will be presented: either the merger of municipalities with small population and financial problems, or the strengthening of territorial cooperation figures (communities of municipalities, consortiums) or the creation of supra-municipal entities (administrative regions, metropolitan areas). Key words: Local autonomy, Municipal map, New councils, Segregation, Andalucía.

Efficient Algorithm for Discretization of Metocean Data Into Clusters of Arbitrary Size and Dimension

In order to run a fatigue analysis on a floating structure, it is common practice among ocean engineers to rely upon a large set of test cases, each with a unique set of environmental conditions. For a specific test site, the issue remains of how to obtain a limited set of environmental conditions for these test cases, sometimes known as bins, which can accurately recreate the conditions. When considering a floating offshore wind turbine, it is necessary to obtain a timeseries of not only the wave conditions, but also the wind conditions (and perhaps current, if possible). Thus, it is common to have greater than 5 dimensions in the time-series (e.g., significant wave height, wave period, wave direction, wind speed, wind direction, etc). The creation of bins in two dimensions is quite easily solved by creating an arbitrary grid and taking the mean of all the observations which fall in a specific cell. In higher dimensions, an N-dimensional cell is not easily visualized and so the resulting set of bins cannot easily be graphically represented. In this paper, an efficient, iterative algorithm is developed to convert N-dimensional metocean data into a set of discrete bins of arbitrary size. The algorithm works by setting a tolerance level on the number of observations that must be included in a cell in order to create a bin. If the population threshold is not met, the observations remain unbinned and another iteration is required. Generally, the population threshold can be a function of iteration number so that all observations will be binned. The algorithm can properly take into account extreme data by setting a tolerance level on the N-dimensional distance by which an observation can be included in a certain bin. A quality measure, q, is created to measure the level of representation of the original data by a set of bins, independent of the number of bins. Depending on the tolerance levels, the algorithm can be completed in seconds on a normal laptop for the available data set of 20 years with a 3-hour sampling rate. The observations and bins from a case study are shown as an example of how the bins can be created and visualized.

Ketahanan Plasma Nutfah Kapas terhadap Hama Pengisap Daun, Amrasca biguttula (ISHIDA)

<p>Resistance of Cotton Germplasms Against Sucking Insect Pest, Amrasca biguttula (ISHIDA). IGAA. Indrayani and Siwi Sumartini. Morphological characteristics of cotton leaf have an important role on the resistance against sucking insect pest. Among the characters, leaf hair density is the most important in preventing the attack of sucking insect and it can be used to identify the resistance of cotton germplasms against sucking insect pest, A. biguttula. Study on resistance of cotton germplasms against sucking insect pest, A. biguttula (Ishida) was carried out at Asembagus Experimental Station of Indonesian Tobacco and Fiber Crops Research Institute (IToFCRI) in Malang from January to December 2009. The objective of study was to find out resistant cotton germplasms to A. biguttula. Fifty accessions of cotton germplasm were used as treatment and arranged in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Plot size used was 10 m x 3 m that consists of two rows of tested accession and one row of Tamcot SP 37 as an atractant plant for A. biguttula. Parameters observed were leaf hair density, length of hair, population of A. biguttula nymph, and plant damage. Cotton accessions with higher hair density and length of leaf hair significantly reduced the frequency of action threshold population of A. biguttula and plant damage. Eleven cotton accessions, viz., SATU 65; VAR 78443; Sukothai 14; GM5U/4/2; Samir 730; L1; L4 x Rex/1; Paymaster 404; ISA 205B; Albar 72B; dan Tashkent 2 were showed more resistant to A. biguttula because of higher leaf hair density (121-360 hairs/cm2), lower nymph population (0-2 times of population threshold) and lower damage score (1.0-1.8). These cotton accessions could be promising to be genetic resources of resistance to sucking insect pest, A. biguttula.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstrak</strong></p><p>Karakteristik morfologi daun kapas mempunyai peran penting pada ketahanan terhadap hama pengisap. Di antara sifat morfologi tersebut, kerapatan bulu daun sangat berperan dalam menghambat serangan pengisap sehingga sifat ini dapat digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi aksesi kapas yang tahan A. biguttula. Penelitian ketahanan aksesi kapas terhadap hama pengisap, A. biguttula dilakukan di KP. Asembagus Balai Penelitian Tanaman Tembakau dan Serat mulai Januari hingga Desember 2009. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan aksesi kapas tahan A. biguttula. Sebanyak 50 aksesi kapas digunakaan sebagai perlakuan yang masing-masing disusun dalam Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) dengan tiga kali ulangan. Ukuran petak adalah 10 m x 3 m yang terdiri atas 2 baris aksesi yang diuji dan 1 baris Tamcot SP 37 sebagai tanaman penarik A. biguttula. Parameter yang diamati adalah kerapatan (jumlah) bulu daun, panjang bulu daun, populasi nimfa A. biguttula, dan skor kerusakan tanaman. Aksesi dengan kerapatan bulu daun yang tinggi dan berbulu panjang secara nyata menurunkan frekuensi pencapaian populasi ambang kendali dan kerusakan tanaman. Sebelas aksesi kapas dengan jumlah bulu berkisar 121-360 helai/cm2, populasi nimfa rendah (frekuensi ambang rendah, 0-2 kali) dan skor kerusakan rendah (1,0-1,8) adalah SATU 65; VAR 78443; Sukothai 14; GM5U/4/2; Samir 730; L1; L4 x Rex/1; Paymaster 404; ISA 205B; Albar 72B; dan Tashkent 2. Aksesi ini berpotensi sebagai materi genetik untuk ketahanan terhadap A. biguttula.</p>

The Relationship between Automated Low-Level Velocity Calculations from the WSR-88D and Maximum Tornado Intensity Determined from Damage Surveys

The relationship between automated low-level velocity derived from WSR-88D severe storm algorithms and two groups of tornado intensity were evaluated using a 4-yr climatology of 1975 tornado events spawned from 1655 supercells and 320 quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs). A comparison of peak velocity from groups of detections from the Mesocyclone Detection Algorithm and Tornado Detection Algorithm for each tornado track found overlapping distributions when discriminating between weak [rated as category 0 or 1 on the enhanced Fujita scale (EF0 and EF1)] and strong (EF2–5) events for both rotational and delta velocities. Dataset thresholding by estimated affected population lowered the range of observed velocities, particularly for weak tornadoes while retaining a greater frequency of events for strong tornadoes. Heidke skill scores for strength discrimination were dependent on algorithm, velocity parameter, population threshold, and convective mode, and varied from 0.23 and 0.66. Bootstrapping the skill scores for each algorithm showed a wide range of low-level velocities (at least 7 m s−1 in width) providing an equivalent optimal skill at discriminating between weak and strong tornadoes. This ultimately limits identification of a single threshold for optimal strength discrimination but the results match closely with larger prior manual studies of low-level velocities.