Bruce Gittings - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Bruce Gittings

Diversity and Distributions, 2016

AimIn this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations... more AimIn this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations over the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, to provide new insights into the evolutionary history and interconnectivity between populations of this endangered species.LocationAsia.MethodsWe used an ecological niche approach and applied a maximum entropy (Maxent) framework to model potential distributions of tigers. Bioclimatic conditions for the present day and mid‐Holocene, and for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), were used to represent interglacial and glacial conditions of the Late Pleistocene, respectively.ResultsOur results show that the maximum potential tiger range during modern climates (without human impacts) would be continuous from the Indian subcontinent to north‐east Siberia. During the LGM, distributions are predicted to have contracted to southern China, India and Southeast Asia and remained largely contiguous. A potential distribution gap between Peninsular Malaya and Sumatra...

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2007

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Jun 17, 2024

Antiquarian exploration of the archaeological features on Rubers Law (NGR: NT 58030 15567), a lar... more Antiquarian exploration of the archaeological features on Rubers Law (NGR: NT 58030 15567), a large hill in the Scottish Borders, found approximately 30 worked Roman stones on the summit of the hill. Based on the prominent location and visibility from the site, these stones led to the conclusion that there had been a Roman tower on the hill, despite a lack of further supporting evidence. In order to investigate the possibility of a Roman structure on the hill, two surface surveys of the stone tumble were conducted in 2016 and 2017, locating almost 300 sandstone blocks around the summit of Rubers Law. The distribution of the stones was analysed using point density analysis in GIS and was examined in relation to the remaining archaeological features on the summit. Based on the hotspots in the distribution of the stones, the majority were in a tertiary context after being reused in the construction of a post-Roman nucleated hillfort. In light of recording a much larger number of Roman stones on Rubers Law, this paper also reinterprets the evidence for a Roman tower and explores other possible structures that could have been built on the summit.

Some Definitions • Short-form gazetteers:-often used in conjunction with computer mapping and GIS... more Some Definitions • Short-form gazetteers:-often used in conjunction with computer mapping and GIS systems, may simply contain a list of place-names together with their locations in latitude and longitude or other spatial referencing systems (eg. British National Grid reference). Short-form gazetteers appear as a place-name index in the rear of major published atlases. • Long-form (or Descriptive) gazetteers: may include lengthy textual descriptions of the places they contain, including explanation of industries, government, geography, together with historical perspectives, maps and / or photographs. • Thematic gazetteers: list places or geographical features by theme; for example fishing ports, nuclear power stations or historic buildings. Their common element is that the geographical location is an important attribute of the features listed.

Future Internet, Nov 10, 2009

This is the first comprehensive guide to Scotland since the 19th century, edited by the Director ... more This is the first comprehensive guide to Scotland since the 19th century, edited by the Director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. It is remarkable that in this age of information there is no up-to-date guide to the places of Scotland. That situation is about to be remedied with the publication of "Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscape", edited by Dr David Munro, Director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. This authoritative, comprehensive gazetteer will include over 8,000 entries on cities, towns and villages, mountains, lochs and rivers, visitor attractions and monuments throughout the nation. Each entry places its subject in an appropriate historical, geological or environmental context, providing essential information of interest to a wide range of potential users. The book starts with an introductory essay on the Landscapes of Scotland. There is also an extensive glossary of terms (including Gaelic words incorporated into many place names), and a detailed bibliography. Street plans are provided for over 100 main towns and cities, as are maps of each administrative area, spread throughout the book. There is a fully indexed full-colour atlas, providing a wealth of extra cartographic information.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 19, 2023

A significant amount of spatial information can be derived from unstructured datasets available i... more A significant amount of spatial information can be derived from unstructured datasets available in web pages, e-books, and digital archives. Geoparsing is one such concept that is very useful in extracting spatial data from any unstructured text source. Geoparsing complemented with Natural Language Processing algorithms can effectively automate this process of identifying and geo-tagging the extracted spatial data. The research illustrates the power of geoparsing by extracting place names from a corpus of biographies of famous Scots who travelled to India from the 18 th to the early 20 th Century to give an impression of the spread of the Scottish diaspora at that time.

CRC Press eBooks, Nov 25, 2020

Diversity and Distributions, 2016

AimIn this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations... more AimIn this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations over the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, to provide new insights into the evolutionary history and interconnectivity between populations of this endangered species.LocationAsia.MethodsWe used an ecological niche approach and applied a maximum entropy (Maxent) framework to model potential distributions of tigers. Bioclimatic conditions for the present day and mid‐Holocene, and for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), were used to represent interglacial and glacial conditions of the Late Pleistocene, respectively.ResultsOur results show that the maximum potential tiger range during modern climates (without human impacts) would be continuous from the Indian subcontinent to north‐east Siberia. During the LGM, distributions are predicted to have contracted to southern China, India and Southeast Asia and remained largely contiguous. A potential distribution gap between Peninsular Malaya and Sumatra...

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2007

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Jun 17, 2024

Antiquarian exploration of the archaeological features on Rubers Law (NGR: NT 58030 15567), a lar... more Antiquarian exploration of the archaeological features on Rubers Law (NGR: NT 58030 15567), a large hill in the Scottish Borders, found approximately 30 worked Roman stones on the summit of the hill. Based on the prominent location and visibility from the site, these stones led to the conclusion that there had been a Roman tower on the hill, despite a lack of further supporting evidence. In order to investigate the possibility of a Roman structure on the hill, two surface surveys of the stone tumble were conducted in 2016 and 2017, locating almost 300 sandstone blocks around the summit of Rubers Law. The distribution of the stones was analysed using point density analysis in GIS and was examined in relation to the remaining archaeological features on the summit. Based on the hotspots in the distribution of the stones, the majority were in a tertiary context after being reused in the construction of a post-Roman nucleated hillfort. In light of recording a much larger number of Roman stones on Rubers Law, this paper also reinterprets the evidence for a Roman tower and explores other possible structures that could have been built on the summit.

Some Definitions • Short-form gazetteers:-often used in conjunction with computer mapping and GIS... more Some Definitions • Short-form gazetteers:-often used in conjunction with computer mapping and GIS systems, may simply contain a list of place-names together with their locations in latitude and longitude or other spatial referencing systems (eg. British National Grid reference). Short-form gazetteers appear as a place-name index in the rear of major published atlases. • Long-form (or Descriptive) gazetteers: may include lengthy textual descriptions of the places they contain, including explanation of industries, government, geography, together with historical perspectives, maps and / or photographs. • Thematic gazetteers: list places or geographical features by theme; for example fishing ports, nuclear power stations or historic buildings. Their common element is that the geographical location is an important attribute of the features listed.

Future Internet, Nov 10, 2009

This is the first comprehensive guide to Scotland since the 19th century, edited by the Director ... more This is the first comprehensive guide to Scotland since the 19th century, edited by the Director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. It is remarkable that in this age of information there is no up-to-date guide to the places of Scotland. That situation is about to be remedied with the publication of "Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscape", edited by Dr David Munro, Director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. This authoritative, comprehensive gazetteer will include over 8,000 entries on cities, towns and villages, mountains, lochs and rivers, visitor attractions and monuments throughout the nation. Each entry places its subject in an appropriate historical, geological or environmental context, providing essential information of interest to a wide range of potential users. The book starts with an introductory essay on the Landscapes of Scotland. There is also an extensive glossary of terms (including Gaelic words incorporated into many place names), and a detailed bibliography. Street plans are provided for over 100 main towns and cities, as are maps of each administrative area, spread throughout the book. There is a fully indexed full-colour atlas, providing a wealth of extra cartographic information.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 19, 2023

A significant amount of spatial information can be derived from unstructured datasets available i... more A significant amount of spatial information can be derived from unstructured datasets available in web pages, e-books, and digital archives. Geoparsing is one such concept that is very useful in extracting spatial data from any unstructured text source. Geoparsing complemented with Natural Language Processing algorithms can effectively automate this process of identifying and geo-tagging the extracted spatial data. The research illustrates the power of geoparsing by extracting place names from a corpus of biographies of famous Scots who travelled to India from the 18 th to the early 20 th Century to give an impression of the spread of the Scottish diaspora at that time.

CRC Press eBooks, Nov 25, 2020