High resolution satellite and reanalysis-based air temperature estimates have huge potential to complement the sparse networks of air temperature measurements from ground stations in Africa. The recently released Climate Hazards Center Infrared Temperature with Stations (CHIRTS-daily) dataset provides daily minimum and maximum air temperature estimates on a near-global scale from 1983 to 2016. This study assesses the performance of CHIRTS-daily in comparison with measurements from eight ground stations in diverse locations across Africa from 1983 to 2016, benchmarked against the ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis to understand its potential to provide localized temperature information. Compared to ERA5 and ERA5-Land, CHIRTS-daily maximum temperature has higher correlation and lower bias of daily, annual mean maximum and annual extreme maximum temperature. It also exhibits significant trends in annual mean maximum temperature, comparable to those from the station data. CHIRTS-daily minimum temperatures generally have higher correlation, but larger bias than ERA5 and ERA5-Land. However, the results indicate that CHIRTS-daily minimum temperature biases may be largely systematic and could potentially be corrected for. Overall, CHIRTS-daily is highly promising as it outperforms ERA5 and ERA5-Land in many areas, and exhibits good results across a small, but diverse set of sites in Africa. Further studies in specific geographic areas could help support these findings.
The African Data Initiative started as a crowd-sourced campaign to improve the teaching of statistics in African universities. The analysis of climate data provides one suitable context to illustrate ideas that lead to a radical new form of teaching. The problem within the context comes first, the technicalities are largely reduced – mathematics is supported by meta knowledge and backed up by modelling; calculations are reduced by user-friendly software that is also used by experts. The problems are treated similarly to research questions and the results are often easier to interpret, making sense as potential answers in their context. The criteria of this approach are compared to the framework proposed by W. G. Cobb to reform statistics education in the light of the latest developments in statistics, driven by the huge increase of data. Implementation details are presented around three components: case studies, data, and the required skills. Together, these three components describe an alternative education pathway centred around statistical problem solving. The focus on interpretations of results within a real context enables software, mathematical thinking and modelling to play a supportive role, which flattens the prerequisites of complex methods and encourages their use across all levels of education. First published February 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives
Each year increasing amounts of data are being produced and there are growing trends towards data becoming more accessible, particularly online. Here we present a range of examples where data are conveniently arranged in multiple linked rectangles or data frames. They are often omitted from all but advanced statistics courses. However, they are common in practice, hence their omission leaves graduates poorly prepared for real world problems. The obvious example is a survey that is at multiple levels. Other examples include multiple time series with spatial data, where the spatial information is in a separate data frame; and data sets in a single rectangle (data frame) but where the analyses are on summary data. The statistical software, R-Instat, resulting from the African Data Initiative is designed to make it easy to handle such data.
High resolution satellite and reanalysis-based air temperature estimates have huge potential to complement the sparse networks of air temperature measurements from ground stations in Africa, and support vital studies in health, agriculture, diseases, and climate change. The recently released Climate Hazards Center Infrared Temperature with Stations (CHIRTS-daily) dataset provides daily minimum and maximum air temperature estimates on a near-global scale from 1983 to 2016. This study assesses the performance of CHIRTS-daily in comparison with measurements from eight ground stations in diverse locations across Africa from 1983 to 2016 and benchmarked against the ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis in order to understand its potential to provide localised temperature information. CHIRTS-daily maximum temperature exhibits good performance across the sites, measures and time scales. Compared to ERA5 and ERA5-Land, CHIRTS-daily has higher correlation and lower bias of daily, annual mean maximum and annual extreme maximum temperature, often within 1.0° on average. It also exhibits significant trends in annual mean maximum temperature, comparable to those from the station data. CHIRTS-daily minimum temperatures generally has higher correlation, but larger bias than ERA5 and ERA5-Land, at more than 2° at four sites. However, the results indicate that CHIRTS-daily minimum temperature biases may be largely systematic, and therefore could potentially be corrected for. Overall, CHIRTS-daily is highly promising as it outperforms ERA5 and ERA5-Land in many areas, and exhibits good results across a small, but diverse set of sites in Africa. Further studies to understand performance in specific geographic areas and terrains could help support these findings.
MEDICAL JOURNAL capitation fee of £2 lOs. per patient. These fees could be subject to negotiation from time to time, and if a practice with a high consistent morbidity-for example, five items of service per year-wished such practice could submit figures and be paid a higher capitation fee. The capitation fee would apply only to general medical services, and maternity work, immunizations, temporary residents, and anaesthetics would be extra. The then adequate salary would enable general practitioners to finance their own ancillary help, service any loans, pay locums, and set aside an annual sum towards a new car. The Government would be reasonably well informed as to the global sum needed to finance general medical services. Adoption of my plan would make for a happy, contented general-practitioner force, and would greatly simplify the negotiations of the B.M.A. Publication of the facts that general practitioners were paid on the basis of one visit and three surgery consultations per year would create a better public image than the news that the average general practitioner, whoever that is, earns £2,750 per year plus £1,500 practice expenses. An adequate gross capitation fee, kept up to date with cost of living, would in my opinion solve all the general-practice problems that are capable of solution. It would certainly solve mine.-I am, etc., Lanark. T. M. GLAISTER.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.