Digital Commons Network^™

Managing Geography Learning Objects Using Personalized Project Spaces In G-Portal, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Aixin Sun, Wenbo Zong, Dan Wu, Ee Peng Lim, Yin-Leng Theng, John Hedberg, Chew-Hung Chang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The personalized project space is an important feature in G-Portal that supports individual and group learning activities. Within such a space, its owner can create, delete, and organize metadata referencing learning objects on the Web. Browsing and querying are among the functions provided to access the metadata. In addition, new schemas can be added to accommodate metadata of diverse attribute sets. Users can also easily share metadata across different projects using a “copy-and-paste” approach. Finally, a viewer to support offline viewing of personalized project content is also provided.

Tme Volume 2, Number 2

The Mathematics Enthusiast

No abstract provided.

On Organizing And Accessing Geospatial And Georeferenced Web Resources Using The G-Portal System, Zehua Liu, Ee Peng Lim, Yin-Leng Theng, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Wee-Keong Ng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In order to organise and manage geospatial and georeferenced information on the Web making them convenient for searching and browsing, a digital portal known as G-Portal has been designed and implemented. Compared to other digital libraries, G-Portal is unique for several of its features. It maintains metadata resources in XML with flexible resource schemas. Logical groupings of metadata resources as projects and layers are possible to allow the entire metadata collection to be partitioned differently for users with different information needs. These metadata resources can be displayed in both the classification-based and map-based interfaces provided by G-Portal. G-Portal further incorporates …

Changes In Summer Irrigated Crop Area And Water Use In Southeastern Turkey From 1993 To 2002: Implications For Current And Future Water Resources, Mutlu Ozdogan, Curtis E. Woodcock, Guido D. Salvucci, Hüseyin Demir

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Changes in summer irrigated cropland acreage and related water use are estimated from satellite remote sensing and ancillary data in semi-arid Southeastern Turkey where traditionally dry agricultural lands are being rapidly transformed into irrigated fields with the help of water from the Euphrates-Tigris Rivers. An image classification methodology based on thresholding of Landsat NDVI images from the peak summer period reveals that the total area of summer irrigated crops has increased three-fold (from 35,000 ha to over 100,000) in the Harran Plain between 1993 and 2002. Coupled analysis of annual irrigated crop area from remote sensing and potential evapotranspiration based …

Challenging Policies That Do Not Play Fair: A Credential Relevancy Framework Using Trust Negotiation Ontologies, Travis S. Leithead

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis challenges the assumption that policies will "play fair" within trust negotiation. Policies that do not "play fair" contain requirements for authentication that are misleading, irrelevant, and/or incorrect, based on the current transaction context. To detect these unfair policies, trust negotiation ontologies provide the context to determine the relevancy of a given credential set for a particular negotiation. We propose a credential relevancy framework for use in trust negotiation that utilizes ontologies to process the set of all available credentials C and produce a subset of credentials C' relevant to the context of a given negotiation. This credential relevancy …

Variation In Glacier Length And Ice Volume Of Rabots Glaciar, Sweden, In Response To Climate Change, 1910–2003, Keith A. Brugger, Kurt A. Refsnider, Matthew F. Whitehill

Geology Publications

Historical records, photographs, maps and measurements were used to determine changes in the length, geometry and volume of Rabots Glaciar, Sweden, in response to a warming that occurred early in the 20th century.

Street Trees In The Urban Forest Canopy: Portland, Oregon, Joseph Poracsky, David Banis

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Attempts to identify the contribution of street trees to the overall urban forest of a city have been rare and lack consensus on how to measure that contribution – percentage of trees, percentage of canopy cover, or percentage of leaf area. The actual numeric values presented in the literature also vary over a broad range and often are based on estimates, extrapolations from aggregated data, or simply stated with no empirical data referenced. This study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of street trees to canopy in Portland, Oregon. The study involved both visual and digital analysis of multi-band aerial …

Geogdl: A Web-Based Approach To Geography Examination, Ee Peng Lim, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Yin-Leng Theng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The traditional educational approach with students as passive recipients has been the subject of criticism. A constructivist learner-centered approach towards education has been argued to produce greater internalization and application of knowledge compared to the traditional teacher-centered, transmission-oriented approach. Nevertheless, contemporary instructional design models argue for the use and integration of both approaches especially in complex learning tasks. This paper describes GeogDL, a Web-based application developed above a digital library of geographical resources for Singapore students preparing to take a national examination in geography. GeogDL is unique in that it not only provides an environment for active learning, it also …

Estimated Ultraviolet Radiation Doses In Wetlands In Six National Parks, Stephen A. Diamond, Peter C. Trenham, Michael J. Adams, Blake R. Hossack, Roland A. Knapp, Stacey L. Stark, David Bradford, P. Stephen Corn, Ken Czarnowski, Paul D. Brooks, Dan Fagre, Bob Breen, Naomi E. Detenbeck, Kathy Tonnessen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280–320-nm wavelengths) doses were estimated for 1024 wetlands in six national parks: Acadia (Acadia), Glacier (Glacier), Great Smoky Mountains (Smoky), Olympic (Olympic), Rocky Mountain (Rocky), and Sequoia/ Kings Canyon (Sequoia). Estimates were made using ground-based UV-B data (Brewer spectrophotometers), solar radiation models, GIS tools, field characterization of vegetative features, and quantification of DOC concentration and spectral absorbance. UV-B dose estimates were made for the summer solstice, at a depth of 1 cm in each wetland. The mean dose across all wetlands and parks was 19.3 W-h m^-2 (range of 3.4–32.1 W-h m^-2). The mean …

Real-Time Power Aware Routing In Wireless Sensor Networks, Octav Chipara, Zhimin He, Guoliang Xing, Qin Chen, Xiaorui Wang, Chenyang Lu, John Stankovic, Tarek Abdelzaher

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Many mission-critical wireless sensor network applications must resolve the inherent conflict between the tight resource constraints on each sensor node, particularly in terms of energy, with the need to achieve desired quality of service such as end-to-end real-time performance. To address this challenge we propose the Real-time Power-Aware Routing (RPAR) protocol. RPAR achieves required communication delays at minimum energy cost by dynamically adapting the transmission power and routing decisions based on packet deadlines. RPAR integrates a geographic forwarding policy cognizant of deadlines, power, and link quality with new algorithms for on-demand power adaptation and efficient neighborhood discovery. Simulations based on …

The July 2003 Dakota Hailswaths: Creation, Characteristics, And Possible Impacts, Matthew D. Parker, Ian Ratcliffe, Geoffrey M. Henebry

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The authors investigate the meteorology associated with two elongated swaths of crop damage produced by severe hailstorms that crossed North Dakota and South Dakota on 4 July and 20 July 2003. These hailswaths, which were observed in a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) image time series, each persisted for more than a month and were associated with local temperature increases, presumably owing to the enhanced Bowen ratio over dry, crop-free ground. This paper documents the creation and evolution of the convective storms that produced the hailswaths, and then presents evidence that devegetated hailswaths may impact …

Fire-Induced Albedo Change And Its Radative Forcing At The Surface In Northern Austrailia, Y. Jin, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the impact of fire on surface albedo and the associated radiative forcing over 56% of continental Australia encompassing the fire-prone northern tropical savanna. Fire-affected areas and albedos are derived for the 2003 fire season using daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance data. Near-infrared and total shortwave albedos are observed to generally decrease after fire occurrence. Regionally, the total shortwave albedo drops by an average of 0.024, with increasing reductions as the dry season progresses and larger reductions in grasslands than woody savannas. These fire-induced albedo changes exert a positive forcing at the surface that increases …

Loss, Attachment, And Place: A Case Study Of Grand Isle, Louisiana, David Burley, Pam Jenkins, Joanne Darlington, Brian Azcona

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

This study examines how residents of a Louisiana barrier island think about place in light of slow and rapid onset of coastal land loss. The island community has always faced change due to hurricanes, development, and erosion. Today the island, as well as the region, is faced with great environmental change due to coastal land loss. This paper uses a phenomenological approach to examine how change, caused by a range of environmental factors, is transmitted and understood by residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana. Residents convey a heightened awareness of place attachment, communicated through elements of fragility and uniqueness, that we …

Interannual Variation Of Stratification In Lower Chesapeake Bay, Christopher S. Katzenmiller

OES Theses and Dissertations

Stratification in the water column can prove to be an important indicator to the state of the water column and ecosystem. The focus of this research is to evaluate trends in stratification in the Lower Chesapeake Bay. Detailed analysis was performed on a 14 year data set to study interannual variation in the region of study. Potential energy anomaly was used to quantify stratification. Potential energy anomaly is the amount of energy required to mix a water column. It is determined from the vertical density structure of density. Potential energy anomaly is the departure of potential energy from climate conditions. …

Slides: Ecotrust Forests, Bettina Von Hagen

Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)

Presenter: Bettina Von Hagen, Ecotrust Forests, OR

25 slides

Slides: Gila River Indian Community Water Settlement, Rodney B. Lewis

Hard Times on the Colorado River: Drought, Growth and the Future of the Compact (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Presenter: Rodney B. Lewis, Gila River Tribal Attorney.

60 slides.

Applications Of Integrated Data Viewer – Idv In An Introductory Meteorology Class For Non-Science Majors, Ricardo C. Nogueira

Masters Theses

Computer products developed to visualize and integrate meteorological products with real-time data can create a virtual reality of the atmosphere. These advanced technologies help educators to improve teaching techniques in the classroom for science and non-science majors and increase the students' interest in learning as well. One of these products, the Integrated Data Viewer (IDV), was recently developed by University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) project, Unidata, to visualize and integrate geoscience data. This study compares students' performance in the laboratory sessions using IDV-based and MANUAL-based exercises. Comparison of lab scores with exam scores of questions on the same topic …

Water Current, Volume 37, No. 3. Summer 2005

Water Current Newsletter

• Water Initiative Helps Attract Six New Faculty Members by Steve Ress

• June Tour Encompasses Diversity of Mining, Logging, Water Use and Natural Resources Management by Steve Ress

• From the Director

• Meet the Faculty

• Montana Water Center, Montana State University, Bozeman

• Use Available Water Efficiently With Furrow Irrigation By Sandi Alswager-Karstens

• 2005 Water & Natural Resources Tour: A Year of Experience with Nebraska’s New Water Use Regulations and Mining & Timber Production in the Pine Ridge

• Rainmakers: A Photographic Story of Center Pivots

• What Agricultural Chemicals Are In the Maple Creek Watershed? …

The Analysis Of A Link Between A Remote Local Area Network And Its Server Resources, Theresa D. Beaver

Theses and Dissertations

As the Air Force transitions to an expeditionary force, the service's ability to provide computer capabilities at remote locations becomes more and more paramount. One way to provide this support is to create a Local Area Network (LAN) in which the workstations are positioned at the deployed location while the servers are maintained at a Main Operating Base (MOB). This saves the military money, because it eliminates the need to purchase and deploy server equipment as well as eliminating the need to deploy personnel to set-up and maintain the servers. There is, however, a tradeoff. As the number of personnel …

Evaluating G-Portal For Geography Learning And Teaching, Chew-Hung Chang, John G. Hedberg, Yin-Leng Theng, Ee Peng Lim, Tiong-Sa Teh, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper describes G-Portal, a geospatial digital library of geographical assets, providing an interactive platform to engage students in active manipulation and analysis of information resources and collaborative learning activities. Using a G-Portal application in which students conducted a field study of an environmental problem of beach erosion and sea level rise, we describe a pilot study to evaluate usefulness and usability issues to support the learning of geographical concepts, and in turn teaching.

On Assigning Place Names To Geography Related Web Pages, Wenbo Zong, Dan Wu, Aixin Sun, Ee Peng Lim, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we attempt to give spatial semantics to web pages by assigning them place names. The entire assignment task is divided into three sub-problems, namely place name extraction, place name disambiguation and place name assignment. We propose our approaches to address these sub-problems. In particular, we have modified GATE, a well-known named entity extraction software, to perform place name extraction using a US Census gazetteer. A rule-based place name disambiguation method and a place name assignment method capable of assigning place names to web page segments have also been proposed. We have evaluated our proposed disambiguation and assignment …

Energy Balanced Broadcasting Through Delayed Intelligence, Michael R. Gosnell, Ryan Arbarelli, Maggie Xiaoyan Cheng, Bruce M. Mcmillin

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ad hoc wireless networks are growing in popularity and usefulness, however they rely on broadcasting as a fundamental process for routing. Improvements to broadcasting have made ad hoc networks more feasible, but sometimes benefit only specific situations. Delayed intelligence (DI) is proposed as a new load balancing approach where small delays are introduced to allow distributed responsibility delegation. Preliminary results show delayed intelligence, when applied in existing broadcasting methods such as passive clustering, can be used to improve the energy disparity and therefore extend ad hoc network lifetime.

Hyperspectral Simulation And Recovery Of Submerged Targets In Turbid Waters, Charles R. Bostater

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Modeled hyperspectral reflectance signatures just above the water surface are obtained from radiative transfer models to create synthetic images of targets below the water surface. Images are displayed as 24 bit RGB images of the water surface using selected channels. Example model outputs are presented in this paper for a hyperspectral Monte Carlo and a hyperspectral layered analytical iterative model of radiative transport within turbid shallow water types. Images at the selected wavelengths or channels centered at 490, 530 and 680 nm suggests the two models provide quite similar results when displayed as RGB images. The techniques are demonstrated to …

Using A Systems Dynamics Approach To Determine What Can Be Done To Minimize Ozone Production, Jusdi Mcdonald

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ground level ozone is an air pollutant that affects people of all ages and origins in many urban areas including the Las Vegas Valley. The purpose of this study is to examine the best strategy to minimize tropospheric ozone generation through using a system dynamics approach via LUTAQ is used to formulate a solution to the reduction of ozone in the Clark County non-attainment area. By increasing housing density, decreasing average distance per trip, and decrease average number of trips per person per day is the most effective strategies to improving ozone levels in Las Vegas Valley.

Graph Theory For The Secondary School Classroom., Dayna Brown Smithers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After recognizing the beauty and the utility of Graph Theory in solving a variety of problems, the author decided that it would be a good idea to make the subject available for students earlier in their educational experience. In this thesis, the author developed four units in Graph Theory, namely Vertex Coloring, Minimum Spanning Tree, Domination, and Hamiltonian Paths and Cycles, which are appropriate for high school level.

A Multi-Scale Analysis Of Census-Based Land Surface Temperature Variations And Determinants In Indianapolis, Indiana, Bingqing Liang

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mapping urban temperatures are one of the major foci in urban climatology studies due to its close relationships with environmental, economic, and social issues. Most previous urban temperature studies were based on a single scale. This study utilized remote sensing and GIS data to perform a multiple scale analysis of urban temperatures. Land surface temperatures (LST) data derived from a Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image were used to examine census-based variations and to model their numerical relationships with urban morphology in Marion County, Indiana. Selected variables for the urban morphology include Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NOVI), buildings, roads, …

The Effect Of Scaling-Up On Remotely Derived Leaf Area Index Estimators In The Brazilian Amazon, John I. Menzies

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research compared a traditional statistical technique with artificial neural networks to determine their effectiveness for modeling LAI in the Santarem region of the Brazilian Amazon. In addition, different satellite sensors in the form of ETM+, ASTER, MO DIS, and IKONOS were used to assess if spatial and spectral resolutions play a role in the ability to estimate LAI. This study focused on the following: (1) Determining if neural networks perform more accurately than multiple regression for LAI modeling (2) the effectiveness of different resolution satellite data including ETM+, ASTER, MODIS, and IKONOS for LAI estimation; (3) determining if spatial …

Water Current, Volume 37, No. 2. Spring 2005

Water Current Newsletter

• Gleick Headlines April Water Management and Policy Conference by Steve Ress

• Water and Natural Resources Tour Looks at LB962, Sandhills, Pine Ridge Issues by Steve Ress

• From the Director

• Meet the Faculty

• Holz Named Water Center Assistant Director

• Water Resources Research Initiative One of 11 “Programs of Excellence”

• Cooperative Extension Ready With Algae Test Kits by Steve Ress

• Blue-green Algae a Known Health Risk

• Revisions to Water Well Construction, Pump Installation and Water Well Decommissioning Standards by Sharon Skipton • “Optimizer” Computer Tool Helps With Crop Production Under Limited Irrigation By …

Alternative Futures For The Bear River Watershed, Bioregional Planning Program, Department Of Environmental Society, College Of Natural Resources, Utah State University, R. E. Toth, J. B. Baker, C. L. Bryner, J. Evans, K. E. Hinman, K. R. Kilpatrick, K. Seegmiller

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Disease Outbreaks In Coupled Populations : An Application To Measles Spread In Cameroon, Kirsten Maggie Viz

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Many childhood diseases can be modeled mathematically using a system of differential equations that group the overall population into compartments. Much research has been done to understand and control the spread of these diseases within a single population and between coupled populations with constant parameters. In this thesis, we are concerned with how a disease is spread through and between coupled populations using models with time-varying parameters and asymmetric coupling.

Measles outbreaks in the West African country of Cameroon present a good example of disease spread with seasonality. By dividing Cameroon into two subpopulations and using parameters that reflect recent …