An analysis of assessment outcomes from eight years' operation of the Australian border weed risk assessment system

The majority of Australian weeds are exotic plant species that were intentionally introduced for a variety of horticultural and agricultural purposes. A border weed risk assessment system (WRA) was implemented in 1997 in order to reduce the high economic costs and massive environmental damage associated with introducing serious weeds. We review the behaviour of this system with regard to eight years of data collected from the assessment of species proposed for importation or held within genetic resource centres in Australia. From a taxonomic perspective, species from the Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae were most likely to be rejected and those from the Arecaceae and Flacourtiaceae were most likely to be accepted. Dendrogram analysis and classification and regression tree (TREE) models were also used to analyse the data. The latter revealed that a small subset of the 35 variables assessed was highly associated with the outcome of the original assessment. The TREE model examining all of the data contained just five variables: unintentional human dispersal, congeneric weed, weed elsewhere, tolerates or benefits from mutilation, cultivation or fire, and reproduction by vegetative propagation. It gave the same outcome as the full WRA model for 71% of species. Weed elsewhere was not the first splitting variable in this model, indicating that the WRA has a capacity for capturing species that have no history of weediness. A reduced TREE model (in which human-mediated variables had been removed) contained four variables: broad climate suitability, reproduction in less or than equal to 1year, self-fertilisation, and tolerates and benefits from mutilation, cultivation or fire. It yielded the same outcome as the full WRA model for 65% of species. Data inconsistencies and the relative importance of questions are discussed, with some recommendations made for improving the use of the system.     

Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (warp) Models for Predicting Atrazine Concentrations in Corn Belt Streams1

Stone, Wesley W. and Robert J. Gilliom, 2012. Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) Models for Predicting Atrazine Concentrations in Corn Belt Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 970‐986. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00661.x Abstract: Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) models, previously developed for atrazine at the national scale, are improved for application to the United States (U.S.) Corn Belt region by developing region‐specific models that include watershed characteristics that are influential in predicting atrazine concentration statistics within the Corn Belt. WARP models for the Corn Belt (WARP‐CB) were developed for annual maximum moving‐average (14‐, 21‐, 30‐, 60‐, and 90‐day durations) and annual 95th‐percentile atrazine concentrations in streams of the Corn Belt region. The WARP‐CB models accounted for 53 to 62% of the variability in the various concentration statistics among the model‐development sites. Model predictions were within a factor of 5 of the observed concentration statistic for over 90% of the model‐development sites. The WARP‐CB residuals and uncertainty are lower than those of the National WARP model for the same sites. Although atrazine‐use intensity is the most important explanatory variable in the National WARP models, it is not a significant variable in the WARP‐CB models. The WARP‐CB models provide improved predictions for Corn Belt streams draining watersheds with atrazine‐use intensities of 17 kg/km² of watershed area or greater.     

Survivor needs or logistical convenience? Factors shaping decisions to deliver relief to earthquake‐affected communities,Pakistan 2005–06

In Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan , Waters (2001) argues that bureaucratic rationality distracts humanitarian agencies from the needs of the people they are supposed to assist, in favour of other values that their institutional frameworks dictate. We test his claim by investigating the response to the Pakistan 2005 earthquake. One of us (Dittemore) worked with the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre in the theatre, managing a relief cargo shipment database. The response, known as 'Operation Winter Race', was hampered by extreme logistical challenges, but ultimately succeeded in averting a second disaster resulting from cold and starvation. We use statistical models to probe whether survivor needs significantly guided decisions to deliver relief to affected communities. Needs assessments remained incomplete and incoherent. We measure needs through proxy indicators and integrate them, on a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, with logistics and relief delivery data. We find that, despite strong logistics effects, needs orientations were significant. However, the strength of decision factors varies between commodity types (food versus clothing and shelter versus reconstruction materials) as well as over the different phases of the response. This study confirms Thomas's observation that logistics databases are rich 'repositories of data that can be analyzed to provide post-event learning' (Thomas, 2003, p. 4). This article is an invitation for others to engage in creative humanitarian data management.     

城乡二元制度对农民工市民化影响的实证分析

将影响农民工市民化的制度因素归结为城乡分割、城市偏向的城乡二元制度,分析了这一制度的内涵和基本特征,并运用Logistic回归模型和入户调查数据对这一制度对农民工市民化意愿、市民化能力和市民化进程的影响进行实证分析,结果发现,虽然农民工具有比较强烈的市民化愿望,但由于受到市民化能力的制约,绝大多数农民工无法转化为市民,因此尽快提离农民工的市民化能力成为促进农民工市民化的关键;在城乡二元制度中,除了城乡二元户籍制度之外,城乡二元就业制度、城乡二元社会保障制度、城乡二元土地制度和城乡二元教育制度对农民工市民化意愿和市民化能力,进而对农民工的市民化进程具有明显的阻碍作用:因此,未来城乡二元制度的创新重点不能再继续停留在形式化的城乡二元户籍制度层面,而应该尽快切换到对农民工的预期和收入等权利和待遇具有实质性影响的城乡二元就业制度、城乡二元社会保障制度、城乡二元土地制度和城乡二元教育制度上来.     

Modeling perceived collision risk in port water navigation

An increase in the likelihood of navigational collisions in port waters has put focus on the collision avoidance process in port traffic safety. The most widely used on-board collision-avoidance system is the automatic radar plotting aid which is a passive warning system that triggers an alert based on the pilot’s pre-defined indicators of distance and time proximities at the closest point of approaches in encounters with nearby vessels. To better help pilot in decision making in close quarter situations, collision risk should be considered as a continuous monotonic function of the proximities and risk perception should be considered probabilistically. This paper derives an ordered probit regression model to study perceived collision risks. To illustrate the procedure, the risks perceived by Singapore port pilots were obtained to calibrate the regression model. The results demonstrate that a framework based on the probabilistic risk assessment model can be used to give a better understanding of collision risk and to define a more appropriate level of evasive actions.     

Assessment Tools for Urban Catchments: Defining Observable Biological Potential1

Abstract: Urbanization represents a strong and increasingly more prevalent impact on stream quality worldwide. One of the characteristic effects of increased urbanization is a consistent decline in biological stream condition. The characterization of this biological degradation with increasing urbanization presents a number of advantages for the study and management of urban streams and catchments. In this paper, the limitation of biological condition with urbanization, called observed biological potential, is characterized. Using an urban intensity index and a biological index developed specifically for urban systems in the Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; and San Jose, California regions, two principal techniques were compared (quantile regression and bin regression) to define observed biological potential along urban gradients. Quantile regression was selected as the preferable tool for describing observed biological potential given the consistency with which it can be applied and its statistical efficiency, however, bin quantile regression performed similarly. Having identified a numeric approximation of observed biological potential, two methods for identifying factors related to distance from potential as a way of identifying critical environmental factors affecting biological condition in urban areas were explored. The results of this work can be used for identifying benchmarks for urban stream biological condition, identifying limiting catchment characteristics, and prioritizing urban stream management efforts.     

Theoretical and Empirical Analysis on Influence Factors of Modern Agricultural Equipment Level in the Processof Agricultural Sustainable Development

To promote modern agricultural equipment level is one characteristic of constructing and developing modern agriculture in China.This paper makes up stepwise linear regression analysis model of influence factors of modern agricultural equipment level,and chooses rural labor,per capita income of rural residents,rural investment,proportion of people at secondary education level and at higher level in per hundred rural labor force and arable land area as independent variables,and total power of machine as induced variable.The major results show that the relativity of modern agricultural equipment level,rural investment and education level of peasants is remarkable,and they are the major influence factors of modern agricultural equipment level.Raising investment level of rural infrastructure construction as well as and research and development and promotion of advanced and applicable modern agricultural equipment,improving quality and education level of peasants can accelerate the development of China’s modern agricultural equipment effectively in the process of agricultural sustainable development.     

农户采用节约耕地型与节约劳动型技术的差异

研究农户技术采用行为,对于解决农业技术转化与扩散问题具有重要意义.本文以6个省1672户农户的问卷调查结果为依据,从农户技术采用率和采用行为模型2个层面,研究农户采用节约耕地型技术与节约劳动型技术是否存在差异及影响农户技术采用行为的因素.农户技术采用率调查表明.有60%以上的农户采用了机耕技术,只有23.5%的农户采用了高产品种.采用行为模型的定量分析表明,具有不同家庭特征、外部环境特征的农户基于技术自身特征差异会表现出不同的技术采用行为.具体表现为,同一变量对农户采用不同属性技术的影响各不相同.本村地形、耕地面积、技术作用认知、出行频率对节约耕地型技术和节约劳动型技术采用都有较为显著的影晌;户主年龄、专业技能、家庭人均收入、参加技术培训、借款难易对一种技术的采用影响显著,对另一种技术的采用则影响不显著.     

遗传投影寻踪回归在城市环境质量评价中的应用

引入投影降维的思想,将遗传投影寻踪与回归分析技术运用到城市环境质量评价中。将此技术与神经网络方法进行实例比较,投影寻踪回归方法不但可以合理地作出环境质量的综合评价,而且消除了神经网络方法中类别判断不够精确的影响。     

基于回归分析的火灾发生气象因子的研究

利用二元回归分析法,对火灾发生次数、空气湿度、风速进行回归分析并检验,得出了火灾发生次数、空气湿度、风速三者之间的显著线性关系。