Digital Commons Network^™

Town Of Ludlow Master Plan. Part Ii: Envisioning 2030, Rachael Cain, Euripedes De Oliveria, Paul W. Gagnon, Peter Gillo, Meredith Hill, Mark Kresge, Alyssa Larose, Walter Ramsey, Joshua Rickman, Sonya C. Smith, Ryan Wallace, Rebecca Williams

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The Master Plan Committee for the town of Ludlow contracted with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) to prepare a new Master Plan. PVPC engaged the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to assist with a portion of the Master Plan work. This work included: executing analysis and assessment of existing community conditions, conducting a weekend visioning workshop, and developing land use scenarios for the purpose of providing concrete visualization of possible futures for the Town of Ludlow in 2030.

Town Of Ludlow Master Plan. Part I: Envisioning 2030, Rachael Cain, Euripedes De Oliveria, Paul W. Gagnon, Peter Gillo, Meredith Hill, Mark Kresge, Alyssa Larose, Walter Ramsey, Joshua Rickman, Sonya C. Smith, Ryan Wallace, Rebecca Williams, Barbara Constable, Helena Farrell, Brian C. Giggey, Chris Jennett, Zhujun Kong, Megan Plante, Ben Eli Webb, Deborah A. Zervas

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The Master Plan Committee for the town of Ludlow contracted with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) to prepare a new Master Plan. PVPC engaged the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to assist with a portion of the Master Plan work. This work included: executing analysis and assessment of existing community conditions, conducting a weekend visioning workshop, and developing land use scenarios for the purpose of providing concrete visualization of possible futures for the Town of Ludlow in 2030.

Graduate Education In Research Ethics For Scientists And Engineers: Final Report, Jorge Ferrer-Negron, William Frey, Efrain O'Neill-Carrillo, Didier Valdes, Carlos Rios-Valazquez

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

No abstract provided.

Successful And Abandoned Sourceforge.Net Projects In The Initiation Stage, Charles Schweik

National Center for Digital Government

[first paragraph] Chapter 6 provided an open source project success and abandonment dependent variable. Chapter 7 described data available in the Sourceforge.net repository and linked these data to various independent variable concepts and hypotheses presented in the theoretical part of this book. Chapter 7 also described the Classification Tree and Random Forest statistical approaches we use in this and the following chapter. This chapter presents the results of the Classification Tree analysis for successful and abandoned projects in the Initiation Stage, which in Chapter 3 (Figure 3.2), we defined as the period before and up to the time when a …

The Dependent Variable: Defining Open Source "Success" And "Abandonment" Using Sourceforge.Net Data, Charles Schweik

National Center for Digital Government

[first paragraph] From the very beginning of this research project, we understood that we needed to define what success meant in open source so that we could use that definition to create a dependent variable for our empirical studies. Does success mean a project has developed high quality software, or does it mean that the software is widely used? How might extremely valuable software that is used by only a few people, such as software for charting parts of the human genome, fit into this definition? In this chapter, we establish a robust success and abandonment measure that satisfies these …

New Directions In Participatory Visual Ethnography: Possibilities For Public Anthropology, Krista Harper

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

New visual technologies are changing the ways that anthropologists do research and opening up new possibilities for participatory approaches appealing to diverse audiences. Participatory digital methodologies include digital storytelling, PhotoVoice, and participatory geographic information systems (GIS), as well as community-based filmmaking, and participatory digital archival research. Over twenty years ago, feminist and postmodern anthropologists led a discipline-wide discussion of the ways that we produce and represent culture through ethnographic fieldwork and writing. Few of these critics, however, challenged the notion of the written text as the central medium of anthropological knowledge. More recently, public anthropology has reinvigorated discussion of the …

Presence And Prevalence Of Viruses In Local And Migratory Honeybees (Apis Mellifera) In Massachusetts, Anna Welch, Francis Drummond, Sunil Tewari, Anne L. Averill, John P. Burand

Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences Graduate Student Publication Series

Migratory and local bees in Massachusetts were analyzed for seven viruses. three were detected: black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), and sacbrood virus (SBV). DWV was most common, followed closely by BQCV and then by SBV. BQCV and SBV were present at significantly higher rates in the migratory bees assayed, bringing into question the impact that these bees have on the health of local bee populations.

A Unilateral Grading Contract To Improve Learning And Teaching, Peter Elbow

English Department Faculty Publication Series

Contract grading has achieved some prominence in our field as a practice associated with critical pedagogy. In this context, we describe a hybrid grading contract where students earn a course grade of B based not on our evaluation of their writing quality but solely on their completion of the specified activities. The contract lists activities we’ve found most reliable in producing B-quality writing over fourteen weeks. Higher grades are awarded to students who produce exemplary portfolios. Thus we freely give students lots of evaluative feedback on their writing, but students can count on a course grade of B if they …

Improving Higher Education Through User-Inspired Research: Findings From Multi-National Needs Assessments, Joseph B. Berger

Center for International Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Limits Of Integration: Ethnicity And Nationalism In Modern Europe (Introduction), Oriol Pi-Sunyer

Research Report 09: The Limits of Integration: Ethnicity and Nationalism in Modern Europe

No abstract provided.

Improving Higher Education Through User-Inspired Research: Findings From Multi-National Needs Assessments, Joseph B. Berger

Center for International Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Lives, Images, Audiences, Intentions: Participatory Visual Anthropology In A Hungarian Romani Neighborhood, Krista Harper

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

Participatory visual methodologies open up new possibilities for community collaboration in the research process, appeal to diverse audiences, and produce rich visual and narrative data guided by participant interests and priorities. Presenting a recent research collaboration with a grassroots Romani (Gypsy) community organization in northern Hungary, I discuss ethical and epistemological questions raised in participatory visual research. In this project, our team used the PhotoVoice method to generate knowledge and documentation related to environment, health, and the lived experiences of social exclusion. I explore power relationships in the research process as well as historical and contemporary issues of documentary photography …

Case Study: Recruitment Of Egg Donors By South Korean Stem Cell Researchers, Mj Peterson, Osman Kiratli, Ilke Ercan

International Dimensions of Ethics Education in Science and Engineering

This case study examines the controversy surrounding Dr. Hwang Woo-suk's recruitment of egg donors for his team's stem cell research from 2002 through 2005. It explores the international dimensions of ethical standards, the political decentralization of global regulation, and the internationalization of science.

Four Billion Little Brothers?: Privacy, Mobile Phones, And Ubiquitous Data Collection, Katie Shilton

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques And Unheated Greenhouses, Madeleine K. Charney

University Libraries Publication Series

No abstract provided.

Proceedings For The International Conference On The Environmental Implications And Applications Of Nanotechnology

The Environmental Institute (TEI) Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Web 2.0 In The Process Of E-Participation: The Case Of Organizing For America And The Obama Administration, Aysu Kes-Erkul, R. Erdem Erkul

National Center for Digital Government

The presidential campaign of Barack Obama during the 2008 elections sparked new discussion about the public engagement issue in the political processes. The campaign used Web 2.0 tools intensively to reach the general public and seek support and collect feedback from voters. In this paper, we analyze the major website of this project, “Organizing for America” (OFA) from the perspective of e-participation, which is a concept that include all the processes of public involvement via information and communication technologies.

The Mother’S Gaze And The Model Child: Reading Print Ads For Designer Children’S Clothing, Chris Boulton

Graduate Students Author Gallery

This audience analysis considers how two groups of mothers, one affluent and mostly white and the other low-income and mostly of color, responded to six print ads for designer children’s clothing. I argue that the gender and maternal affiliations of these women—which coalesce around their common experience of the male gaze and a belief that children’s clothing represents the embodied tastes of the mother—are ultimately overwhelmed by distinct attitudes towards conspicuous consumption, in-group/out-group signals, and even facial expressions. I conclude that, when judging the ads, these mothers engage in a vicarious process referencing their own daily practice of social interaction. …

Making Connections - Envisioning Springfield's North End, David M. Ahronian, Kelly R. Ashton, Erin G. Bassett, Maxwell A. Cohen, Victor J. Czulak, Gregory S. Dunbar, Brendan T. Farragher, Jonathan L. Gorman, Peter L. Guy Ii, Timothy J. Iles, Piyawut Inthasorn, Travis A. Johnson, Jonathan Koch, Justin J. Kronewitter, Zachary B. Livingston, Matthew Morano, Brian Mulvehill, Kevin C. Murphy, Sean P. O'Connell, Peter W. Stephens Jr., Christopher Tourigny, Bryce P. White, Timothy E. Young

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

This work explores a service learning strategy in the context of the senior Urban Design Studio taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The primary goal of this project is to stimulate a conversation in the neighborhoods of the North End, to develop green design strategies, to improve services and businesses for residents and the employees of local businesses, and to foster cultural engagement and interaction in the North End that will enhance the vibrancy, resilience, and quality of life of this urban community. Making connections - Envisioning Springfield's North End …

The Mother’S Gaze And The Model Child: Reading Print Ads For Designer Children’S Clothing, Chris Boulton

Communication Graduate Student Publication Series

This audience analysis considers how two groups of mothers, one affluent and mostly white and the other low-income and mostly of color, responded to six print ads for designer children’s clothing. I argue that the gender and maternal affiliations of these women—which coalesce around their common experience of the male gaze and a belief that children’s clothing represents the embodied tastes of the mother—are ultimately overwhelmed by distinct attitudes towards conspicuous consumption, in-group/out-group signals, and even facial expressions. I conclude that, when judging the ads, these mothers engage in a vicarious process referencing their own daily practice of social interaction. …

Designing The Personal Data Stream: Enabling Participatory Privacy In Mobile Personal Sensing, Katie Shilton, Jeffrey A. Burke, Deborah Estrin, Ramesh Govindan, Mark Hansen, Jerry Kang, Min Mun

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

For decades, the Codes of Fair Information Practice have served as a model for data privacy, protecting personal information collected by governments and corporations. But professional data management standards such as the Codes of Fair Information Practice do not take into account a world of distributed data collection, nor the realities of data mining and easy, almost uncontrolled, dissemination. Emerging models of information gathering create an environment where recording devices, deployed by individuals rather than organizations, disrupt expected flows of information in both public and private spaces. We suggest expanding the Codes of Fair Information Practice to protect privacy in …

Information & Communication Technologies And Digital Government: The Turkish Case, Turhan Mentes

National Center for Digital Government

The technological innovations of the last decades have opened the doors to a new and different world for businesses and governments. As access to the Internet penetrates more populations each day, ICTs continue to shape societies all over the world. This presentation will explore the development of ICTs and e-government in Turkey. It will include significant figures and statistics about e-government in Turkey and discuss the social consequences of such developments.

Ethical Issues In Graduate Research, William J. Frey

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

(Caution! This module is being published in an incomplete, preliminary version. Later edited and fuller versions will follow.) "Graduate Education in Research Ethics for Scientists and Engineers" is a project funded by the National Science Foundation (SES 0629377) to design a pilot program in research ethics for graduate students in science and engineering. This project is built around three workshops: (1) a Graduate Awareness Workshop introduces students to fundamental ethical issues in research, (2) a Moral Deliberation Workshop acquaints students with the skills of moral deliberation, (3) a Case Analysis Workshop uses realistic scenarios to allow students to practice decision-making …

Characterization Of Proteins In Effluents From Three Wastewater Treatment Plants That Discharge To The Connecticut River, Pamela J. Westgate

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

This research characterizes the proteins in domestic wastewater treatment plant effluents in order to understand the organic fraction of effluent nitrogen. Domestic wastewater treatment plants have been identified as a major source of excess nitrogen that leads to eutrophication in marine environments in general, and the Long Island Sound, in particular. Initiatives to reduce the nitrogen load into Long Island Sound are underway. In Connecticut, regulators have instituted a cap and trade program for nitrogen releases from wastewater treatment plants, and in western Massachusetts new NPDES permits are requiring facilities that release into receiving waters that flow into the sound …

Minimizing Energy Use In Large Groundwater Supply Systems, Mikaela Martin

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

Two optimization formulations have been developed. The first formulation minimizes the energy required to pump water from an aquifer. This formulation is non- linear, requiring the use of quadratic terms in the objective function. The second formulation minimizes the maximum lift in an aquifer and is called the MINIMAX formulation. This formulation is linear and may be an acceptable substitution for the minimize energy formulation under conditions where there are small differences in initial lifts at the wells and where the demand is sufficient to require pumping at all wells such that the lifts at all wells are equal.

The …

Program Schedule: The University's Role In The Dissemination Of Research & Scholarship, A Call To Action, Marilyn S. Billings, Marla Michel

Digital Quadrangle Series

Scholarworks at UMass Amherst has made great progress in improving the campus's dissemination of research and scholarship, But, is it enough? The 4th Annual Digital Quadrangle series will be devoted to discussing the university's role in this process. Featured will be Harvard's Stuart Shieber and MIT's Ann Wolpert, two authors of a recently released report by the AAU, ARL, CNI, and APLU entitled, "The University's Role in the Dissemination of Research and Scholarship - A Call to Action." Provost James Staros and members of the faculty will respond with what the campus is doing and how it is working. The …

The Impacts Of Casino Development On Demographic And Land Use Changes Over Time: Planning For Palmer Massachusetts, Erin E. Wilson

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This project uses spatial analysis tools to examine the impact of casino development on the demographic make-up of local communities. This was conducted in order to inform future casino communities as to how their communities may be impacted by casino development. First, this project uses Geographic Information System (GIS) based methods of descriptive spatial analysis to analyze demographic changes over time to see what, if any, economic and demographic impacts may likely occur around a casino. Second, this project also interviews key local officials in casino communities to gain on the ground incite regarding the impacts of casinos. While the …

Craigmillar Castle Park: Design Parameters In A Historic Designed Landscape And Scheduled Ancient Monument: Planning To Restore Attraction To A Dilapidated Park, Aaron M.N. Crowell

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The castle of Craigmillar was begun in the late 14th century and was developed until the late 17th century when it was abandoned and the lands surrounding it which today comprise Craigmillar Castle Park (CCP) developed into a picturesque park and a plant nursery. This land has been a retreat from Edinburgh's city center recorded as early as the time of King James the IV of Scotland, six centuries ago (Tabraham, 2003). The castle and its parkland have seen significant development of the gardens in the Tudor, Restoration, Georgian, Regency, and the Victorian British historical periods. The park like setting …

Professional Ethics-Responsible Conduct Of Research Training: Making Sense Of Complex Problems, Michael D. Mumford, Shane Connelly, Ryan P. Brown, Lynn D. Devenport, Stephen T. Murphy, Alison L. Antes

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

General Course Abstract

This two-day seminar format course exposes students to the complexities involved in real-world ethical decision-making. It provides students with strategies, or tools, for understanding and thinking through ethical problems to arrive at a decision. Students practice working with these strategies by applying them to realistic, complex cases.

Day 1 Abstract

During the first day of the course, guidelines and principles for ethical research practices are discussed. It is emphasized that students must apply guidelines in a context to arrive at a decision, and the course provides guidance on this decision-making process. Next, students learn about the personal …

Direct-To-Business And Direct-To-Institution Marketing And Distribution Arrangements For Ethically-Based Farms: Reduced Value Chains And Other Strategies For Increasing The Viability Of Mid-Sized Southern New England Farms, Evan C. Aird

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This Master's Project aims to examine the issues involved in the creation and enhancement of direct-to-business and direct-to-institution marketing and distribution arrangements for mid-sized farms in Southern New England. Previous scholarly and professional literature has indicated that regional food systems are less costly from an environmental perspective than national or local ones, identity-preserved products have inherent marketing advantages over untraced farm products, and these advantages can be enhanced through cooperative efforts by major farm customers. This research study involves reviewing leading examples of local farm marketing and distribution networks, analyzing regional spatial and statistical data, and conducting interviews with farms, …