Michael Hastings

Michael Hastings

Extraction of oil from Canadian tar sands is becoming increasingly contentious as it is claimed the process is one of the highest in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. But now, along with environmental campaigners, some shareholders in the companies that mine and fund tar sand oil are beginning to protest at the activity. British companies spearheading the drive to exploit the Canadian tar sand...

Hastings Constitutional

Avoiding East Hastings.

I was one of the 3000 doctors who descended on Vancouver, BC, in mid-October 2010 for Family Medicine Forum. My first trip to Vancouver meant there were many sights to see: Stanley Park, Chinatown, the waterfront, and Robson Street were all on my list. On planning my sightseeing, I asked the receptionist at the front desk of our hotel for directions to Chinatown. “Straight up Granville and then...

Implementing componentwise Hastings algorithms

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) routines have revolutionized the application of Monte Carlo methods in statistical application and statistical computing methodology. The Hastings sampler, encompassing both the Gibbs and Metropolis samplers as special cases, is the most commonly applied MCMC algorithm. The performance of the Hastings sampler relies heavily on the choice of sweep strategy, that i...

QnAs with Alan Hastings.

Theoretical ecology uses conceptual and mathematical models, computer simulations, and data analysis to study ecological systems. Alan Hastings, a Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis, has contributed significantly to the development of this field over the past four decades. Much of his research uses mathematical models of population...