Optimal Sampling Design for Variables with Varying Spatial Importance

It is often desirable to sample in those locations where uncertainty associated with a variable is highest. However, the importance of knowing the variable's value may vary across space. We are interested in the spatial distribution of Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a measure of the signal strength from a cell tower received at a particular location. It is crucial to estimate RSSI values accurately in order to evaluate the effectiveness of mayday systems designed for rapid emergency notification following vehicle crashes. RSSI estimation is less important for locations where the probability of a crash is low and where the likelihood of call completion is either close to zero or one. We develop a method for augmenting an initial spatial sample of RSSI values to achieve a high‐precision estimate of the probability of call completion following a crash. We illustrate the approach using data on RSSI and vehicle crashes in Erie County, NY.     

Watercourses and Discourses: Coalmining in the Upper Hunter Valley,New South Wales

ABSTRACT Water is a resource that both unites and divides people in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, where many communities are facing the prospect of large‐scale open‐cut coalmining developments on productive mixed use land, or already live in proximity to mines and power stations. This article analyses conflicts over a proposed coal mine at Bickham in the Upper Hunter Valley, by contrasting the various protagonists' discourses of water scarcity, supply, and connectivity. It examines the ways in which the terms of opposition are narrowed to the arena of state and industry supported science and economic development, marginalising other cultural values and environmental ethics that are integral to opponents' discourses. Opponents have achieved some measure of success through contestation of the uncertain science of hydrological modelling, bolstered by the context of drought and increasing public acceptance of climate change science.     

汉画风伯形象及其功能探析

在山东、江苏等地的汉画像中均可见到一种力士鼓唇吹气的形象,这一形象就是汉代人塑造的风神风伯。风伯或出现于雷电云雨之神出行的队列中,或张口弄舌地吹掀屋顶,或与箕星为伴驰骋于月夜星空。通过对诸类图像的分析可以看出,汉代风伯神话是在先秦流行的箕星信仰与飞廉崇拜的基础上发展、演变而来的,而风伯画像作为汉代丧葬艺术的有机组成部分,又承载着佑助墓主灵魂升仙的宗教功能。