Statistics of weighted Poisson events and its applications

The statistics of the sum of random weights where the number of weights is Poisson distributed has important applications in nuclear physics, particle physics and astrophysics. Events are frequently weighted according to their acceptance or relevance to a certain type of reaction. The sum is described by the compound Poisson distribution (CPD) which is shortly reviewed. It is shown that the CPD can be approximated by a scaled Poisson distribution (SPD). The SPD is applied to parameter estimation in situations where the data are distorted by resolution effects. It performs considerably better than the normal approximation that is usually used. A special Poisson bootstrap technique is presented which permits to derive confidence limits for observations following the CPD.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Confronting classical and Bayesian confidence limits to examples

Classical confidence limits are compared to Bayesian error bounds by studying relevant examples. The performance of the two methods is investigated relative to the properties coherence, precision, bias, universality, simplicity. A proposal to define error limits in various cases is derived from the comparison. It is based on the likelihood function only and follows in most cases the general practice in high energy physics. Classical methods are discarded because they violate the likelihood principle, they can produce physically inconsistent results, suffer from a lack of precision and generality. Also the extreme Bayesian approach with arbitrary choice of the prior probability density or priors deduced from scaling laws is rejected.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Towards Governance or the Management of Cultural Landscapes

Many (World Heritage) cultural landscapes are a living environment for thousands of inhabitants, visitors, entrepreneurs, farmers and other land users. In order to manage such landscapes we have to consider the legal framework and the reality of the regional planning culture. The ‘landscape of regional players’ consists of a wide range of stakeholders. How should regions tackle natural and cultural heritage as an integrated part of regional development? The discussion of Austria’s Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut World Heritage region involves vertical and horizontal dimensions of governance, including politics, administration, private businesses and civil society