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Aim: Large databases of species records such as those generated through citizen science projects, archives or museum collections are being used with increasing frequency in species distribution modelling (SDM) for conservation and land management. Despite the broad spatial and temporal coverage of the data, its application is often limited by the issue of sampling bias and consequently, zero inflation; there are more zeros (which are potentially ‘false absences’) in the data than expected. Here, we demonstrate how pooling species presence data into a ‘pseudo-abundance’ count can allow identification and removal of sampling bias through the use of zero-inflated (ZI) models, and thus solve a common SDM problem. Location: All locations. Taxon: All taxa. Methods: We present the results of a series of simulations based on hypothetical ecological scenarios of data collection using random and non-random sampling strategies. Our simulations assume that the locations of occurrence records are known at a high spatial resolution, but that the absence of occurrence records may reflect under-sampling. To simulate pooling of presence–absence or presence-only data, we count occurrence records at intermediate and coarse spatial resolutions, and use ZI models to predict the counts (species abundance per grid cell) from environmental layers. Results: ZI models can successfully identify predictors of bias in species data and produce abundance prediction maps that are free from that bias. This phenomenon holds across multiple spatial scales, thereby presenting an advantage over presence-only SDM methods such as binomial GLMs or MaxEnt, where information about species density is lost, and model performance declines at coarser scales. Main Conclusions: Our results highlight the value of converting presence–absence or presence-only species data to ‘pseudo-abundance’ and using ZI models to address the problem of sampling bias. This method has huge potential for ecological researchers when using large species datasets for research and conservation.

Ancient trees have important ecological, historical and social connections, and are a key source of dead and decaying wood, a globally declining resource. Wood-pastures, which combine livestock grazing, open spaces and scattered trees, are significant reservoirs of ancient trees, yet information about their true abundance within wood-pastures is limited. England has extensive databases of both ancient trees and wood-pasture habitat, providing a unique opportunity for the first large-scale, national case study to address this knowledge gap. We investigated the relationship between the abundance of ancient trees in a large sample of English wood-pastures (5,571) and various unique environmental, historical and anthropogenic predictors, to identify wood-pastures with high numbers of undiscovered ancient trees. A major challenge in many modelling studies is obtaining independent data for model verification: here we introduce a novel model verification step using series of historic maps with detailed records of trees to validate our model predictions. This desk-based method enables rapid verification of model predictions using completely independent data across a large geographical area, without the need for, or limitations associated with, extensive field surveys. Historic map verification estimates correlated well with model predictions of tree abundance. Model predictions suggest there are ~101,400 undiscovered ancient trees in all wood-pastures in England, around 10 times the total current number of ancient tree records. Important predictors of ancient tree abundance included wood-pasture area, distance to several features including cities, commons, historic Royal forests and Tudor deer parks, and different types of soil and land classes. Synthesis and applications. Historical maps and statistical models can be used in combination to produce accurate predictions of ancient tree abundance in wood-pastures, and inform future targeted surveys of wood-pasture habitat, with a focus on those deemed to have undiscovered ancient trees. This study provides support for improvements to conservation policy and protection measures for ancient trees and wood-pastures.

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Professor/a d'Educació Secundària Obligatòria i Batxillerat, Formació Professional i Ensenyaments d'Idiomes. Codi.: SAP419. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017. One of the main aims of this paper was to first of all, enquire into whether present day “digital age” fourth year secondary school students have an interest in reading in general, but more particularly in English. Another aim was to actually introduce an “authentic” literary work in the classroom with the intention of demonstrating to students how beneficial literature can actually be on numerous levels; in the hope of trigging an interest in them reading other works afterwards. In order to do so, an initial questionnaire was first of all administered to students. Based on the results, a didactic unit was prepared and implemented, and finally, a second questionnaire was administered and analysed so as to obtain all of the necessary information. It is essential to include that certain unexpected modifications had to be made in order to comply with classroom dynamics. Nonetheless, and as will be further discussed, the results of this study exhibit some unanticipated but positive results.

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Ensenyament i Adquisició de la Llengua Anglesa en Contextos Multilingües (Pla de 2013). Codi: SAY031. Curs: 2015/2016 Multilingualism, as the term indicates, is the ability to communicate in more than one language however, when we use this term we are not only referring to one’s linguistic capacity but other enshrouded social, political and institutional aspects also. It is only over the past two decades that a significant interest has been taken in the study of multilingualism (Portolés, 2015) in the attempt to comprehend the multilingual mind; and as a consequence numerous premises and theories have emerged (Hoffmann, 2000, Herdina & Jesner, 2002, Cenoz, 2009). At present, a focal point within this field of research is language acquisition. Up until recently, multilingualism was looked at from monolingual perspective i.e. multiple monolinguals in one (Jessner, 2008b) instead of from a multilingual perspective whereby languages are thought to be in continuous interaction with one another on both a cognitive and social level Jessner (2013). Language acquisition is a complex and demanding process that is unique to each and every human being. Extensive research has been carried out in order to inquire into how a language is learned and aspects such as cognitive factors, affective factors, metacognitive factors, and demographic factors are all thought to play a paramount role (Henter, 2014). Here, the main focus will be on affective factors and in particular language attitudes. A large body of research has shown that language attitudes play a pivotal role in language acquisition and achievement (Gardner, 1968, 1991, Stern, 1985). A 5 fundamental feature of language attitudes is upbringing; hence making parental influences an essential characteristic of their formation and evolution in children (Gardner and Smythe, 1975a). Due to the scarcity of studies on this subject matter within a multilingual context, the main purpose of the present study is two-fold. First of all, parents’ and children’s attitudes towards the majority language (Spanish), the minority language (Catalan) and the foreign language (English) will be taken into account. Secondly, both the qualitative and quantitative data obtained will be analysed so as to determine whether or not there is a relationship between parents’ and children’s language attitudes towards the aforementioned languages. In doing so, and because language attitudes are learned Garrett (2010), and therefore may be modified, this study may serve as an incentive to work with any negative attitudes towards not only the languages in question but towards any language with the overall objective of bettering the language acquisition process.

Treball Final de Grau en Estudis Anglesos.Codi: EA0938. Curs: 2014/2015 Both Ireland’s literary history and how such a small country could produce such a vast amount of prestigious writers are aspects that have been of interest to many. The basis of this research was to, first of all, briefly enquire into the lives and works of prominent, influential, past Irish authors so as to see whether or not contemporary Irish authors follow the literary tradition created by them. In order to do this it was necessary to introduce the term ‘Irishness’, and provide a complete and comprehensive definition as to its veridical significance. From this definition different categories were created in order to classify and analyse both past and present authors’ works. Aspects such as Irish history, politics, mythology, storytelling, and humour along with concise background information of each individual author are discussed throughout. Upon completion, satisfactory results were obtained with regards to contemporary Irish authors, their works, and their influence on Irish literature in general.

Ancient, veteran and notable trees are ecologically important keystone organisms and have tangible connections to folklore, history and sociocultural practices. Although found worldwide, few countries have such a rich history of recording and treasuring these trees as the UK, which has resulted in the formation over the past 15 years of a large, comprehensive database of ancient and other noteworthy trees, the Ancient Tree Inventory (ATI). Although the ATI contains over 200,000 recorded trees, there are still thought to be many more that are undiscovered across the UK, and information about their status, condition and distribution is lacking. The primary aim of this thesis is to use the ATI to gain novel and detailed insights into the true distribution of ancient and veteran trees across the UK, important predictors of their presence, and key habitat types in which they are found. The ATI suffers many of the problems of large species databases, including sampling bias, which is a major focus of this thesis. To address this problem, sampling bias is first identified and quantified, and then established and novel bias correction methods are employed to improve predictions of ancient and veteran tree distributions. By combining mathematical models at various scales, from specific habitats to the whole of England, with additional independent data from desk and field surveys, robust accurate distribution maps of ancient and other noteworthy trees are produced and verified. The models suggest that wood-pasture is a particularly important habitat for ancient and veteran trees, and that their distributions are highly influenced by historical features of the environment and human factors. A key result emerging from multiple chapters of this thesis is the potentially large number of undiscovered ancient and veteran trees predicted across England: diverse alternative models produced similar and impressive total estimates of around two million trees. These results can be used to inform the conservation and protection of ancient trees, and highlight the need for more targeted surveying, tree planting and implementation of policy measures to ensure their persistence and survival into the future.