Digital Commons Network^™

Interactive Visualization: Video Walls For Collaborative Research And Discovery (Snapshot Of Curve), Krista Graham, Khyle Hannan, Joseph Hurley, Bryan Sinclair

Joe A. Hurley

Discusses large-scale video walls in libraries designed for collaboration that can change users’ perspective and reframe and amplify digital content in shared physical spaces. Georgia State University Library’s newly-opened CURVE: Collaborative University Research & Visualization Environment features a 24-by-4.5-foot, high-resolution CURVE interactWall that expands student and faculty access to digital resources, data visualization, and more.

Space Use And Home-Range Size Of Barn Owls On Santa Barbara Island, Sarah K. Thomsen, Caitlin E. Kroeger, Peter H. Bloom, A. Laurie Harvey

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

Spatial overlap between predators and prey is often a key component of predator-prey interactions. Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are important predators of some species of conservation concern on the Channel Islands in southern California; therefore, understanding patterns of owl space use on these islands could provide insights on variations in predation risk that may be useful for conservation efforts of Barn Owl prey. In this study, our objectives were to investigate home-range size and space use by individual owls on Santa Barbara Island, which at 2.6 km² is the smallest island within the Channel Islands National Park. …

Terrain Referenced Navigation Using Sift Features In Lidar Range-Based Data, Matthew T. Leines

Theses and Dissertations

The use of GNSS in aiding navigation has become widespread in aircraft. The long term accuracy of INS are enhanced by frequent updates of the highly precise position estimations GNSS provide. Unfortunately, operational environments exist where constant signal or the requisite number of satellites are unavailable, significantly degraded, or intentionally denied. This thesis describes a novel algorithm that uses scanning LiDAR range data, computer vision features, and a reference database to generate aircraft position estimations to update drifting INS estimates. The algorithm uses a single calibrated scanning LiDAR to sample the range and angle to the ground as an aircraft …

Improving Non-Linear Approaches To Anomaly Detection, Class Separation, And Visualization, Todd J. Paciencia

Theses and Dissertations

Linear approaches for multivariate data analysis are popular due to their lower complexity, reduced computational time, and easier interpretation. In many cases, linear approaches produce adequate results; however, non-linear methods may generate more robust transformations, features, and decision boundaries. Of course, these nonlinear methods present their own unique challenges that often inhibit their use. In this research, improvements to existing non-linear techniques are investigated for the purposes of providing better, timely class separation and improved anomaly detection on various multivariate datasets, culminating in application to anomaly detection in hyperspectral imagery. Primarily, kernel-based methods are investigated, with some consideration towards other …

The Future Of Public Health Informatics: Alternative Scenarios And Recommended Strategies, Margo Edmunds, Lorna Thorpe, Martin Sepulveda, Clem Bezold, David A. Ross

Publications and Research

Background: In October 2013, the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) convened a multidisciplinary group of experts to evaluate forces shaping public health informatics (PHI) in the United States, with the aim of identifying upcoming challenges and opportunities. The PHI workshop was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of its larger strategic planning process for public health and primary care. Workshop Context: During the two-day workshop, nine experts from the public and private sectors analyzed and discussed the implications of four scenarios regarding the United States economy, health care system, information technology …

Geocoding Location Expressions In Twitter Messages: A Preference Learning Method, Wei Zhang, Judith Gelernter

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Resolving location expressions in text to the correct physical location, also known as geocoding or grounding, is complicated by the fact that so many places around the world share the same name. Correct resolution is made even more difficult when there is little context to determine which place is intended, as in a 140-character Twitter message, or when location cues from different sources conflict, as may be the case among different metadata fields of a Twitter message. We used supervised machine learning to weigh the different fields of the Twitter message and the features of a world gazetteer to create …

The Influence Of Topographic And Dynamic Cyclic Variables On The Distribution Of Small Cetaceans In A Shallow Coastal System, Marijke N. De Boer, Mark P. Simmonds, Peter J.H. Reijnders, Geert Aarts

Mark P. Simmonds, OBE

The influence of topographic and temporal variables on cetacean distribution at a fine-scale is still poorly understood. To study the spatial and temporal distribution of harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena and the poorly known Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus we carried out land-based observations from Bardsey Island (Wales, UK) in summer (2001–2007). Using Kernel analysis and Generalized Additive Models it was shown that porpoises and Risso’s appeared to be linked to topographic and dynamic cyclic variables with both species using different core areas (dolphins to the West and porpoises to the East off Bardsey). Depth, slope and aspect and a low variation …

Analytical Modeling And Performance Assessment Of Micropulse Photon-Counting Lidar System, Jiashu Zhang

Theses

The melting of polar ice sheets and evidence of global warming continue to remain prominent research interests among scientists. To better understand global volumetric change of ice sheets, NASA intends to launch Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) in 2017. ICESat-2 employs a high frequency photon-counting laser altimeter, which will provide significantly greater spatial sampling. However, the combined effects of sub-beam complex surfaces, as well as system effects on returning photon distribution have not been systematically studied. To better understand the effects of various system attributes and to help improve the theory behind lidar sensing of complex surfaces, an …

Visualizing Hydropower Across The Himalayas: Mapping In A Time Of Regulatory Decline, Kelly D. Alley, Ryan Hile, Chandana Mitra

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

This paper introduces the busy field of hydropower development in the Himalayan region of the GBM basin to press the urgency for greater information and data exchange. The paper provides an example of a mapping method and a database that will add to the existing online sources of information and analysis offered by nongovernmental agencies and some government departments. This project contributes to the general aim of many citizen groups to limit, monitor and regulate the practices of hydropower companies and the management of their infrastructure in the GBM. The monitoring pressure from citizen groups and science projects continues to …

A Gis-Centric Approach For Modeling Vessel Management Behavior System Data To Determine Oyster Vessel Behavior On Public Oyster Grounds In Louisiana, David X. Gallegos

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The satellite communications system called the Vessel Management System was used to provide geospatial data on oyster fishing over the nearly 1.7 million acres of the public water bottoms in Louisiana. An algorithm to analyze the data was developed in order to model vessel behaviors including docked, gearing, fishing and traveling. Vessel speeds were calculated via the Haversine formula at small and large intervals and compared to derive a measure of linearity. The algorithm was implemented into software using Python and inserted into a PostgreSQL database supporting geospatial information. Queries were developed to obtain reports on vessel activities and daily …

Visualizing Spatio-Temporal Data, Ayush Shrestha

Computer Science Dissertations

The amount of spatio-temporal data produced everyday has sky rocketed in the recent years due to the commercial GPS systems and smart devices. Together with this, the need for tools and techniques to analyze this kind of data have also increased. A major task of spatio-temporal data analysis is to discover relationships and patterns among spatially and temporally scattered events. However, most of the existing visualization techniques implement a top-down approach i.e, they require prior knowledge of existing patterns. In this dissertation, I present my novel visualization technique called Storygraph which supports bottom-up discovery of patterns. Since Storygraph presents and …

Intellectual Property In Outer Space: International Law, National Jurisdiction, And Exclusive Rights In Geospatial Data And Databases, Lee Ann Lockridge

Lee Ann W. Lockridge

No abstract provided.

Land Surface Anomalies Preceding The 2010 Russian Heat Wave And A Link To The North Atlantic Oscillation, C. K. Wright, K. M. De Beurs, G. M. Henebry

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

The Eurasian wheat belt (EWB) spans a region across Eastern Ukraine, Southern Russia, and Northern Kazakhstan; accounting for nearly 15% of global wheat production. We assessed land surface conditions across the EWB during the early growing season (April–May–June; AMJ) leading up to the 2010 Russian heat wave, and over a longer-term period from 2000 to 2010. A substantial reduction in early season values of the normalized difference vegetation index occurred prior to the Russian heat wave, continuing a decadal decline in early season primary production in the region. In 2010, an anomalously cold winter followed by an abrupt shift to …

Examining The Influence Of Healthy Eating Identity On Shopping Behaviors, Jordan Brittingham

Theses and Dissertations

Eating identity is shown to be a promising measure capable of enhancing our understanding of nutrition behavior. Persons with healthy eating identities are less likely to consume the typical American diet and report healthier diets in general. While there are several studies linking healthy eating identity and diet, there is currently no research examining healthy eating identity in relation to food shopping behavior, an important aspect of nutritional intake. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of healthy eating identity on shopping behaviors including supermarket utilization, supercenter utilization, likelihood of shopping at the nearest store, distance to …

Remote Sensing Satellite Image Acquisition Planning: Framework, Methods And Application, Shufan Liu

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the theories and methods of satellite remote sensing image acquisition planning within a spatial temporal context. For many time sensitive applications, such as disaster emergency response, timely acquisition of critical information is the key to intelligent and effective decision making. Remote sensing plays an important role in information collection for these time sensitive applications. Imagery collected from hundreds of remote sensing satellite sensors offer accurate, frequent and almost instantaneous data covering the Earth in a relatively short time. However, determining which satellite sensors can provide an appropriated kind of imageries during a restricted collection window for the …

Graduate Council Meeting : 2014 : 12 : 15, Graduate Council

USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Senate Committee: Graduate Council: Meetings

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Primary Care Physician Density On Late Stage Cervical Cancer Diagnosis, Emily Haanschoten

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Late-stage cervical cancer diagnosis is an important contributing factor to the cervical cancer mortality rate. Screening for cervical cancer is a vital tool in reducing the number of late-stage cases, preventing incident cases and reducing mortality. Access to care is often a significant barrier to receiving these services. Women who have no usual source of care report significantly lower percentages of Pap tests than women who have a usual source. South Carolina ranks 13th in the US in cervical cancer incidence and 7th in cervical cancer mortality. South Carolina also struggles with a primary care physician shortage, ranking 39th …

Reforming The U.S. Intelligence Community: Successes, Failures And The Best Path Forward, Christopher John Sheehy

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the wake of the 9/11 and Iraqi WMD catastrophes, an increased spotlight was placed upon the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). The widespread criticism of the IC, from both government and public sources, ultimately culminated in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) in 2004. Today, with a wide array of transnational threats to the homeland, as well as the complex, globalized, high-tech world they thrive in, the role of intelligence remains essential to the national security apparatus.

A new shape for the intelligence reform debate is necessary, one that recognizes the unique role the IC plays in policy …

Why Haven't Technologies Fixed Open Source Intelligence?, Timothy Sparks

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract

The Intelligence Community (IC) reached consensus after 9/11/2001 on the importance of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) due to the changing nature of the global threat environment, the information explosion, and the changing intelligence requirements of the IC. Voluminous amounts of information, much of it with potential application for use in intelligence operations, continue to challenge IC intelligence analysts’ capabilities to harness, and effectively use in finished all-source intelligence production. Government reform commissions, senior IC officials, along with OSINT and technology advocates, have all espoused the growing importance of OSINT, and have outlined many ways in which the IC should …

A State And Territorial Survey Regarding Utilization Of Environmental Health Shelter Assessments During Disasters, And A Secondary Analysis Of Available Shelter Assessment Data, Miguel A. Cruz

Miguel A. Cruz

Disasters are complex events characterized by damage to key infrastructure and population displacements into disaster shelters. Assessing the living environment in shelters during disasters is a crucial health security concern. Until now, jurisdictional knowledge and preparedness on those assessment methods, or types of deficiencies found in shelters is limited. A cross-sectional survey (STUSA survey) ascertained knowledge and preparedness for those assessments in all 50 states, DC, and 5 US territories. Descriptive analysis of overall knowledge and preparedness was performed. Fisher’s exact statistics analyzed differences between two groups: jurisdiction type and population size. Two logistic regression models analyzed earthquakes and hurricane …

The Public Health Exposome: A Population-Based, Exposure Science Approach To Health Disparities Research, Paul D. Juarez, Patricia Matthews-Juarez, Darryl B. Hood, Wansoo Im, Robert S. Levine, Barbara J. Kilbourne, Michael A. Langston, Mohammad Z. Al-Hamdan, William L. Crosson, Maurice G. Estes, Sue M. Estes, Vincent K. Agboto, Paul Robinson, Sacoby Wilson, Maureen Y. Lichtveld

Sociology Faculty Research

The lack of progress in reducing health disparities suggests that new approaches are needed if we are to achieve meaningful, equitable, and lasting reductions. Current scientific paradigms do not adequately capture the complexity of the relationships between environment, personal health and population level disparities. The public health exposome is presented as a universal exposure tracking framework for integrating complex relationships between exogenous and endogenous exposures across the lifespan from conception to death. It uses a social-ecological framework that builds on the exposome paradigm for conceptualizing how exogenous exposures “get under the skin”. The public health exposome approach has led our …

The Role Of Sectoral Initiatives In Solving The Employment Problems Of Opportunity Youth, Kevin M. Hollenbeck

Upjohn Institute Policy Papers

An estimated 6.7 million individuals in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24 and are not employed, not in school, and have not earned a postsecondary credential. This paper examines the extent to which sectoral initiatives, which operate on the demand side of the labor market, can play a role in facilitating pathways into productive careers for these individuals, who we refer to in the paper as opportunity youth (OY). It is mainly a review of the literature about the effectiveness of workforce development sectoral initiatives and other programs specifically focused on OY. It first reviews …

Land Use Interactions Drive Southwestern Ontario Stream Nutrient Concentrations, Renee L. Lazor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Human activities have transformed the landscape and altered natural habitats through intensive land uses including agriculture and urbanization. Identifying land use drivers of tributary nutrient concentrations and describing the magnitude and direction of their relationship are critical activities to improvement management of water quality in basins draining into the Great Lakes. The overarching goal of my thesis was to quantify the cumulative influence of spatial patterns in land use and land cover on variation of nutrient concentrations in tributaries of the Great Lakes. Biweekly water chemistry samples were collected in 29 streams located in southern Ontario between May and November, …

Speleoclimate Dynamics In Santana Cave (Petar, São Paulo State, Brazil): General Characterization And Implications For Tourist Management, Heros Augusto Santos Lobo, Paulo Cesar Boggiani, José Alexandre De Jesus Perinotto

International Journal of Speleology

Show caves provide tourists with the opportunity to have close contact with natural underground spaces. However, visitation to these places also creates a need for management measures, mainly the definition of tourist carrying capacity. The present work describes the results of climate monitoring and atmospheric profiling performed in Santana Cave (Alto Ribeira State and Tourist Park – PETAR, Brazil) between 2008 and 2011. Based on the results, distinct preliminary zones with different levels of thermal variation were identified, which classify Santana Cave as a warm trap. Two critical points along the tourist route (Cristo and Encontro Halls) were identified where …

The Economics Of Implementing Population Health Strategies: Progress In Public Health Services & Systems Research, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Successful strategies to scale up and spread complex community-level interventions require an understanding of the resources required for implementation, how best to distribute them among supporting institutions, and how resource consumption and distribution varies across settings. This session reviews methods and early findings from the RWJF’s Public Health Delivery and Cost Studies (DACS) Initiative, which includes 12 inter-related studies examining the causes and consequences of variation in the costs of delivering complex community-level prevention strategies across more than 300 community settings in 12 states. Findings from these studies highlight the value of studying the economics of implementation, the measurement and …

The Economics Of Implementing Population Health Strategies, Glen P. Mays

Glen Mays

Successful strategies to scale up and spread complex community-level interventions require an understanding of the resources required for implementation, how best to distribute them among supporting institutions, and how resource consumption and distribution varies across settings. This session reviews methods and early findings from the RWJF’s Public Health Delivery and Cost Studies (DACS) Initiative, which includes 12 inter-related studies examining the causes and consequences of variation in the costs of delivering complex community-level prevention strategies across more than 300 community settings in 12 states. Findings from these studies highlight the value of studying the economics of implementation, the measurement and …

Water-Level Changes And Change In Water In Storage In The High Plains Aquifer, Predevelopment To 2013 And 2011-13, Virginia L. Mcguire

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area (about 1950). This report presents water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from predevelopment (generally before 1950) to 2013 and from 2011 to 2013. The report also presents change in water in storage in the High Plains aquifer from predevelopment to 2013 and from 2011 to 2013.

The methods to …

Climate Change And Stream Temperature Projections In The Columbia River Basin: Habitat Implications Of Spatial Variation In Hydrologic Drivers, Darren L. Ficklin, B. L. Barnhart, J. H. Knouft, Iris T. Stewart-Frey, Edwin P. Maurer, Sally L. Letsinger, G. W. Whittaker

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

Water temperature is a primary physical factor regulating the persistence and distribution of aquatic taxa. Considering projected increases in air temperature and changes in precipitation in the coming century, accurate assessment of suitable thermal habitats in freshwater systems is critical for predicting aquatic species' responses to changes in climate and for guiding adaptation strategies. We use a hydrologic model coupled with a stream temperature model and downscaled general circulation model outputs to explore the spatially and temporally varying changes in stream temperature for the late 21st century at the subbasin and ecological province scale for the Columbia River basin (CRB). …

Data Visualization For Network Simulations, Luiz Felipe Perrone, Greg L. Shrock, Christopher S. Main

Faculty Journal Articles

As many other kinds of simulation experiments, simulations of computer networks tend to generate high volumes of output data. While the collection and the statistical processing of these data are challenges in and of themselves, creating meaningful visualizations from them is as much an art as it is a science. A sophisticated body of knowledge in information design and data visualization has been developed and continues to evolve. However, many of the visualizations created by the network simulation community tend to be less than optimal at creating compelling, informative narratives from experimental output data. The primary contribution of this paper …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, December 4, 2014, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Department of Art and Design

• Prerequisite Change
• Prerequisite Change, Remove Repeatable for Credit
• Remove Repeatable for Credit
• Course Number Change, Course Description Change, Prerequisite Change

School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education

• Prerequisite Change
• Change to Standard Letter Grade

Biological Engineering

• Course No. Change
• Prerequisite Change

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Prerequisite Change

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Prerequisite Change

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

• Prerequisite Change

History

• Inactivate Course
• Add Multiple List
• New Course
• Title Change
• Remove DHA

Language, Philosophy and Communication Studies

• New Course
• Prerequisite Change

Military Science

• Prerequisite Change

Political Science

• Course Description (there was not one)

Communicative Disorders and …