title: Response to Questionnaire - Focus: Taiwan

authors: Rolls, Mark G.

abstract: The desire of China to potentially invade Taiwan, mirroring historical actions like the annexation of Tibet, is met with significant challenges due to the unique circumstances surrounding Taiwan's status. Recent incursions into Taiwan's airspace by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) coincide with domestic and international factors, including President Xi's political positioning and international tensions. Despite President Biden's ambiguous statements, the U.S. exhibits a firm stance in supporting Taiwan, albeit with occasional policy confusion. Japan, recognizing the strategic importance of Taiwan, strengthens ties and prepares for potential conflict. European Union support for Taiwan grows amid concerns about China's global behavior. Taiwan faces external pressure from China to limit its diplomatic ties and international engagement. Efforts by countries like India to strengthen ties with Taiwan risk provoking China and complicating existing regional tensions. Despite international challenges, Taiwan remains resilient, seeking diplomatic support and strategic partnerships to counter Chinese pressure and maintain its sovereignty.

text: Response to Questionnaire - Focus: Taiwan The desire of China to potentially invade Taiwan, mirroring historical actions like the annexation of Tibet, is met with significant challenges due to the unique circumstances surrounding Taiwan's status. Recent incursions into Taiwan's airspace by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) coincide with domestic and international factors, including President Xi's political positioning and international tensions. Despite President Biden's ambiguous statements, the U.S. exhibits a firm stance in supporting Taiwan, albeit with occasional policy confusion. Japan, recognizing the strategic importance of Taiwan, strengthens ties and prepares for potential conflict. European Union support for Taiwan grows amid concerns about China's global behavior. Taiwan faces external pressure from China to limit its diplomatic ties and international engagement. Efforts by countries like India to strengthen ties with Taiwan risk provoking China and complicating existing regional tensions. Despite international challenges, Taiwan remains resilient, seeking diplomatic support and strategic partnerships to counter Chinese pressure and maintain its sovereignty.

year: 2021

title: The digital parrot: Combining context-awareness and semantics to augment memory

authors: Schweer, Andrea

subjects: computer science

abstract: People of all ages and backgrounds are prone to forgetting information, even about their personal experiences. Existing systems to support people in remembering such information either continuously record a person’s experiences or provide means to store and retrieve clearly defined, isolated pieces of data. We propose a new approach: combining context-awareness with semantic information. We believe this approach to be superior to the existing systems in certain types of situations.
This position paper introduces this approach and our own ongoing project, the Digital Parrot.

text: The digital parrot: Combining context-awareness and semantics to augment memory People of all ages and backgrounds are prone to forgetting information, even about their personal experiences. Existing systems to support people in remembering such information either continuously record a person’s experiences or provide means to store and retrieve clearly defined, isolated pieces of data. We propose a new approach: combining context-awareness with semantic information. We believe this approach to be superior to the existing systems in certain types of situations.
This position paper introduces this approach and our own ongoing project, the Digital Parrot.

year: 2007

title: Does artificial intelligence modelling have anything to offer traditional management of freshwater food resources?

authors: Death, Russell G.

abstract: Management of freshwater systems and the ecosystem services they provide has become a multi-stakeholder activity. This requires information on resources and how to manage them to be disseminated to a wide range of users. While artificial intelligence modelling can provide a powerful tool in managing and understanding resources and their drivers, they can be confusing to many users. In this study, we explored the potential use of two alternative modelling approaches (Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) and Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN)) for managing three species of freshwater mahinga kai species-kākahi or kaeo (freshwater mussel), koura (freshwater crayfish) and tuna (freshwater eel). While the BBN model I sbetter for stakeholder communication, the BRT produced more accurate models for all species. However, variables identified as being important for predicting abundance and biomass of these species were often environmental parameters that cannot be managed to improve yield. The artificial intelligence modelling does provide some accurate linkages between the target species and their environmental drivers. Nevertheless, translating these relationships into management plans remains challenging. The models are clearly not a panacea for better resource management, but provide one more tool that might assist multi-stakeholder understanding of how best to manage freshwater resources.

text: Does artificial intelligence modelling have anything to offer traditional management of freshwater food resources? Management of freshwater systems and the ecosystem services they provide has become a multi-stakeholder activity. This requires information on resources and how to manage them to be disseminated to a wide range of users. While artificial intelligence modelling can provide a powerful tool in managing and understanding resources and their drivers, they can be confusing to many users. In this study, we explored the potential use of two alternative modelling approaches (Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) and Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN)) for managing three species of freshwater mahinga kai species-kākahi or kaeo (freshwater mussel), koura (freshwater crayfish) and tuna (freshwater eel). While the BBN model I sbetter for stakeholder communication, the BRT produced more accurate models for all species. However, variables identified as being important for predicting abundance and biomass of these species were often environmental parameters that cannot be managed to improve yield. The artificial intelligence modelling does provide some accurate linkages between the target species and their environmental drivers. Nevertheless, translating these relationships into management plans remains challenging. The models are clearly not a panacea for better resource management, but provide one more tool that might assist multi-stakeholder understanding of how best to manage freshwater resources.

year: 2017