Digital Commons Network^™

The Multisided Complexity Of Fairness In Recommender Systems, Nasim Sonboli, Robin Burke, Michael Ekstrand, Rishabh Mehrotra

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recommender systems are poised at the interface between stakeholders: for example, job applicants and employers in the case of recommendations of employment listings, or artists and listeners in the case of music recommendation. In such multisided platforms, recommender systems play a key role in enabling discovery of products and information at large scales. However, as they have become more and more pervasive in society, the equitable distribution of their benefits and harms have been increasingly under scrutiny, as is the case with machine learning generally. While recommender systems can exhibit many of the biases encountered in other machine learning settings, …

Whalers In “A Post-Whaling World”: Sustainable Conservation Of Marine Mammals And Sustainable Development Of Whaling Communities—With A Case Study From The Eastern Caribbean, Russell Fielding

Honors College Faculty Publications

The sustainable conservation of marine mammals depends not only upon considerations made for the marine mammals themselves. In many parts of the world, human societies have developed a deep reliance upon marine mammals as a food source. The sustainability and the equitable, sustainable development of these communities should be considered alongside efforts to conserve the marine mammals upon which people rely. As an example of the complexity inherent to simultaneous efforts on both fronts, this paper reviews and synthesizes two lines of research related to a small-scale whaling operation for odontocetes (dolphins and toothed whales) based in the Eastern Caribbean. …

Tropical Cyclone Storm Surge Detection In Slash Pine Radial Growth Along The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Coastline, Alyssa C. Crowell

Master's Theses

My thesis examines the ecological impact of tropical cyclone (TCs) storm surge on coastal slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm) communities along the Gulf of Mexico in the southern United States (U.S.). Previous research has shown slash pine radial growth trends can be examined to identify long and short-term growth changes associated with TC passage, providing insight into overall stand health and resiliency through time. However, this previous research encompasses just one site in Mississippi. My thesis expands the spatial footprint of TC-surge impact on slash pine radial growth with the addition of three new sites.

I examined …

Differentiating Pleistocene Alloformations In The South Carolina Coastal Plain Through Lithologic, Textural, Mineralogical, And Cluster Analyses, Charles Andrew Wykel

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there is no textural or mineralogic basis for identifying and differentiating Pleistocene strand deposits in the South Carolina (SC) Lower Coastal Plain (LCP). Historically, geologic mapping of the SC coastal plain uses geomorphologic and biostratigraphic techniques for identifying and mapping LCP surficial strand deposits. While useful, both approaches have problems. The aim of this study is to develop a cost-effective approach to differentiate and identify strand deposits of different Pleistocene alloformations occurring in the SC LCP. To accomplish this task, four strand samples were taken from the Ten Mile Hill, the Ladson, and Wicomico alloformations in Horry County, SC. …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 4 - July - Sept 2022, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Key Publications
• News
• Reflections from IGHD’s Associate Faculty
• Reflections from IGHD’s Summer Interns
• Webinars and Dialogues
• Mark your Calendars: Upcoming Event
• Obituary
• Collaborate With Us

Galactic Component Mapping Of Galaxy Ugc 2885 By Machine Learning Classification, Robin J. Kwik, Jinfei Wang, Pauline Barmby, Benne Holwerda

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Automating classification of galaxy components is important for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. Traditionally, only the larger galaxy structures such as the spiral arms, bulge, and disc are classified. Here we use machine learning (ML) pixel-by-pixel classification to automatically classify all galaxy components within digital imagery of massive spiral galaxy UGC 2885. Galaxy components include young stellar population, old stellar population, dust lanes, galaxy center, outer disc, and celestial background. We test three ML models: maximum likelihood classifier (MLC), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM). We use high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) digital …

Genomic Prediction Accuracy Of Stripe Rust In Six Spring Wheat Populations By Modeling Genotype By Environment Interaction, Kassa Semagn, Muhammad Iqbal, Diego Jarquin, Harpinder Randhawa, Reem Aboukhaddour, Reka Howard, Izabela Ciechanowska, Momna Farzand, Raman Dhariwal, Colin W. Hiebert, Amidou N’Diaye, Curtis Pozniak, Dean Spaner

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Some previous studies have assessed the predictive ability of genome-wide selection on stripe (yellow) rust resistance in wheat, but the effect of genotype by environment interaction (GEI) in prediction accuracies has not been well studied in diverse genetic backgrounds. Here, we compared the predictive ability of a model based on phenotypic data only (M1), the main effect of phenotype and molecular markers (M2), and a model that incorporated GEI (M3) using three cross-validations (CV1, CV2, and CV0) scenarios of interest to breeders in six spring wheat populations. Each population was evaluated at three to eight field nurseries and genotyped with …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Weathering The Storm: Community Socio-Economic And Physical Vulnerability Assessment Of Informal Settlements To Disasters In Arusha City, Tanzania, Herbert Hambati

Tanzania Journal of Science

Urban population growth has demonstrated a synergetic relationship with the growth of informal settlements and vulnerability to disasters in urban areas. This study employed Community Participatory Vulnerability Assessment (CPVA) to analyse vulnerability in informal settlements in Arusha City, Tanzania. The results show that a plethora of factors, including socio-economic and physical realities interact in complex non-linear ways to shape vulnerability to disasters in informal settlements in the city. The study shows that coping strategies of some individuals in informal settlements reinforce their risks to disasters. This is particularly demonstrated by the stones that are positioned on weak roof structures for …

Charcoal Whirlwinds And Post-Fire Observations In Serengeti National Park Savannahs, Colin J. Courtney Mustaphi, Heleen C. Vos, Rob Marchant, Colin Beale

Tanzania Journal of Science

Whirlwinds and visible dust devils occur over semi-arid ecosystems and entrain particles from the ground surface. Fires produce abundant charcoal across savannahs and the resulting blackened surfaces create a large albedo contrast. Whirlwinds have been observed associated with active fires; yet, there are few published observations on post-fire landscapes. Spatiotemporal patterns of whirlwinds have been documented for a limited number of regions and have not been made for the ecosystems of eastern Africa. From field-based sightings in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, we report on whirlwinds over burned savannah patches that entrained large quantities of charcoal to produce black coloured …

We Must Stop Fossil Fuel Emissions To Protect Permafrost Ecosystems, Benjamin W. Abbott, Michael Brown, Joanna C. Carey, Jessica G. Ernakovich, Jennifer M. Frederick, Laodong Guo, Gustaf Hugelius, Raymond M. Lee, Michael M. Loranty, Robie Macdonald, Paul J. Mann, Susan M. Natali, David Olefeldt, Pam Pearson, Abigail Rec, Martin Robards, Verity G. Salmon, Sara Sayedi, Christina Schadel, Edward A. G. Schuur, Sarah Shakil, Arial J. Shogren, Jens Strauss, Suzanne E. Tank, Brett F. Thornton, Rachael Treharne, Merritt Turetsky, Carolina Voigt, Nancy Wright, Yuanhe Yang, Jay P. Zarnetske, Qiwen Zhang, Scott Zolkos

Faculty Publications

Climate change is an existential threat to the vast global permafrost domain. The diverse human cultures, ecological communities, and biogeochemical cycles of this tenth of the planet depend on the persistence of frozen conditions. The complexity, immensity, and remoteness of permafrost ecosystems make it difficult to grasp how quickly things are changing and what can be done about it. Here, we summarize terrestrial and marine changes in the permafrost domain with an eye toward global policy. While many questions remain, we know that continued fossil fuel burning is incompatible with the continued existence of the permafrost domain as we know …

Rainbow Perfect And Near-Perfect Matchings In Complete Graphs With Edges Colored By Circular Distance, Shuhei Saitoh, Naoki Matsumoto, Wei Wu

Theory & Applications of Graphs

Given an edge-colored complete graph K_n on n vertices, a perfect (respectively, near-perfect) matching M in K_n with an even (respectively, odd) number of vertices is rainbow if all edges have distinct colors. In this paper, we consider an edge coloring of K_n by circular distance, and we denote the resulting complete graph by K^●_n. We show that when K^●_n has an even number of vertices, it contains a rainbow perfect matching if and only if n=8k or n=8k+2, where k is a nonnegative integer. In the case of an odd …

Cross Wavelet Analysis Between Layered Monitoring Data Of Stratum Deformation And Groundwater Level Regime, Kong Xiangru

Coal Geology & Exploration

Land subsidence is usually caused by over-exploitation of groundwater, and its occurrence and development have a certain lag relative to the change in groundwater level. Obtaining the accurate lag time of land subsidence has always been an important topic in land subsidence research. Based on the layered monitoring data of the long-time series of land subsidence and groundwater level regime from 2008 to 2018 by Land Subsidence Monitoring Station in Pinggezhuang, Beijing, the lag effect between stratum deformation in layers at different depths and groundwater level regime is analyzed in this paper by adopting methods of Mann Kendall trend test, …

Research On Interpolation Error Analysis Of Geological Modeling Of Intelligent Working Face, An Lin, Han Baoshan, Li Peng, Dai Zhenhua, Wang Xinmiao

Coal Geology & Exploration

Working face modeling generally obtains the actual distribution of the working face through detection methods such as three-dimensional seismic, tunnel and borehole surveys, and then it establishes the corresponding model using interpolation algorithms. During the modeling process, sampling data are the foundation and interpolation is the necessary way to realize the working face model. The interpolation algorithm and the amount of sampled data affect the accuracy of the face model to varying degrees. Quantitative research on the factors affecting the accuracy of the face model will provide important reference value for the optimization of the interpolation algorithm and the amount …

Typical Characteristics Of Geological Hazards And Ecological Environment Of Coal Base In The Bends Area Of The Yellow River, Shen Yanjun, Yang Bohan, Wang Shuangming, Kou Haibo, Chen Xing, Xu Yali, Han Senlei

Coal Geology & Exploration

“The ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin” has now been upgraded to a major national strategy. The bends area (the “几” shaped area, also known as the Jiziwan area) is an important part of the Yellow River Basin, and it is also an important gathering area of China’s coal energy. Now the region has six large modern coal bases, coal production accounts for about 40% of the country, in China’s energy security supply security occupies the “ballast” position. However, the region is located in the western arid-semi-arid region, with fragile ecological environment and poor anti-disturbance ability, …

Forecasting Country Conflict Using Statistical Learning Methods, Sarah Neumann, Darryl K. Ahner, Raymond R. Hill

Faculty Publications

Purpose — This paper aims to examine whether changing the clustering of countries within a United States Combatant Command (COCOM) area of responsibility promotes improved forecasting of conflict. Design/methodology/approach — In this paper statistical learning methods are used to create new country clusters that are then used in a comparative analysis of model-based conflict prediction. Findings — In this study a reorganization of the countries assigned to specific areas of responsibility are shown to provide improvements in the ability of models to predict conflict. Research limitations/implications — The study is based on actual historical data and is purely data driven. …

Differentiating Fissure-Fed Lava Flow Types And Facies Using Radar And Lidar: An Example From The 2014–2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field, Gavin Douglas Tolometti, Catherine D. Neish, Christopher W. Hamilton, Gordon R. Osinski, Antero Kukko, Joana R.C. Voigt

Earth Sciences Publications

Distinguishing between lava types and facies using remote sensing data is important for interpreting the emplacement history of lava flow-fields on Earth and other planetary bodies. Lava facies typically include a mixture of lava types and record the collective emplacement history of material preserved at a particular location. We seek to determine if lava facies in the 2014–2015 Holuhraun lava flow-field are discernible using radar roughness analysis. Furthermore, we also seek to distinguish between lava types using high resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. We extracted circular polarization ratios (CPR) from the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar and …

Constructing Green Gdp Evaluation System By Using Think Tank Double Helix Methodology, Hongbing Wang, Yijun Liu, Dawei Song

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In the new development stage, taking green GDP as the starting point for the development of green economy, low-carbon economy, and circular economy and an important indicator to measure high-quality development, sustainable development, and modernization is an effective way to ensure the construction of "beautiful China", basically realize socialist modernization and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. This study uses the double helix theory of think tank to innovate a new paradigm of green GDP research and broaden the research path of GDP evaluation system. In terms of epistemology, the think tank double helix methodology provides a new systematic perspective …

Identifying The Geographic Origins Of Invasive Megathyrsus Maximus In The United States Using Molecular Data, John F. Gaskin, John A. Goolsby, Marie Claude Bon, Massimo Cristofaro, Paul André Calatayud

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Megathyrsus maximus is nonnative in the neotropics, with a tall form that is commonly used as a forage grass and a smaller-statured form that is considered invasive in south Texas, USA. Biological control researchers are challenged to find an agent that will attack the short form, but not the desirable tall form in other parts of the neotropics. We conducted molecular analyses on 155 Megathyrsus maximus samples from its native range in Africa and compared them with U.S. short-form samples to help determine the geographic origins of its invasion. We found eight distinct genotypes in 34 short-form samples from Texas …

An Absence Of Elephants In The Room: Religion, Philosophy, And Negative Numbers In Albert Girard’S A New Discovery In Algebra, Ethan Wilmes

Lawrence University Honors Projects

In early seventeenth-century Europe, the lines separating theology, science, and humanism were thin; what the modern reader understands as three distinct spheres of knowledge considerably overlapped with one another. Scientific discoveries and innovations coming from new technologies and foreign lands were laden with implications about theology and the human condition. While bland to all but the most fringe historians of mathematics today, the discovery of negative numbers led to a passionate and occasionally fierce epistemological debate throughout Europe. Falling outside of traditional mathematical knowledge, negative numbers found themselves in a sort of existential limbo; however useful they proved themselves to …

Evaluation Of Measurement Data Across Eight Gis Basemaps Using Drumlins: Combining Basemaps Is Optimal, Gretchen A. Wambach, Alexander K. Stewart

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Choosing the best basemap for landform data collection and analysis is fundamental for accurate measurements and usability. Different types of basemaps may affect how we perceive relief through a map (Phillips et al., 1975); thereby, affecting the precision of data collected. This project collected length and azimuth data of 60 drumlins in Western, NY from four different, ArcGIS online (AGOL)-provided basemaps, as well as two parallel-to-strike and two perpendicular-to-strike hillshades (n=4). Testing the mean length (1,662m, ±529) and azimuth (171°, ±0.3) data for uniformity across basemaps determined if any basemap is more or less reliable for data collection. The Terrain …

Gigapan® Photogrammetry For Outcrop Description, 3d Modeling, And 3d Printing, Preston Liles, Logan Pearson, Samantha Barnett, Dakota G. Simpson, David B. Fitzpatrick, Erik B. Larson, Maurice Testa

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The collection of 3D information on geological media is fundamental for field geology, however it can be both time consuming and expensive. This report proposes a new method for the collection of 3D information of outcrops using simple to use and inexpensive technology. GigaPan® systems can be used to take high resolution images of outcrops and these images then be either left in 2D for additional description of the outcrop in the lab, or they can be processed in Autodesk 3ds Max® to create realistic 3D models of the outcrops which can then be 3D printed. The collection of this …

Bathymetry Based Modeling Of Subaxial Magma Flows Under The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 0 To 30° N, Adam R. Tjoelker, Neil Van Kanegan, Simon Detmer, C. Renee Sparks

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Fracture patterns of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) provide evidence of tectonic forces related to divergence and magma upwelling at the ridge axis. In this study, we focus on the MAR from 0 to 30° N, where the N-S ridge exhibits slow spreading rates (2-4 cm/yr) and pronounced axial topography. Ridge segments and transform faults identified in bathymetry data were analyzed for strike orientation and axial depth profiles. Azimuths of transform faults and ridge segments exhibit increasing clockwise rotation with latitude, and all have left lateral displacement. Bathymetric sampling along ridge segments occurred at 9 km intervals with 20 km sampling …

Sand Microtextures As Indicators Of Depositional Environment – A Comparison Of Fluvial, Marine And Aeolian Sediments, Brian Hanson, Diane M. Burns

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) has been used to examine sediment surfaces since the late 1960’s. More recently, results of SEM analyses of grains have been used to link depositional environments and modes of transport for sediments and sandstones (Krinsely and Trusty, 1986; Mahaney and Kalm 2000; Mahaney et al., 2001). This technique has been considered to be a viable, though time consuming, option for researchers interpreting depositional environments. V-pits are a microfeature which is claimed to indicate a littoral deposition environment (Krinsley and Trusty, 1986; Middleton and Kassera, 1987), while others claim it is a result of fluvial processes …

Machine Learning With Kay, Lasith Niroshan, James Carswell

Conference Papers

Computational power is very important when training Deep Learning (DL) models with large amounts of data (Wooldridge, 2021). Hence, High-Performance Computing (HPC) can be leveraged to reduce computational cost, and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) provides significant infrastructure and services for research and development to both academia and industry. A portion of ICHEC's HPC system has been allocated for institutional access, and this paper presents a case study of how to use Kay (Ireland's national supercomputer) in the remote sensing domain. Specifically, this study uses clusters of Kay Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for training DL models to extract …

"Examining Continent-Scale Variation In Aerial Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Communities Using Edna, Raechel Hearth

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form an important symbiosis with plants that make these fungi critical for plant health and ecosystem functioning. Although previous studies have shown that AM fungi disperse through the air, few studies have examined which environmental factors may be impacting their dispersal and aerial community composition, especially at large geographical scales. The goal of this study was to determine which environmental factors influenced air-dispersed AM fungal species composition across five different research sites in the Midwest and Western regions of the United States. By collecting dust at three different heights in the air, using modified Wilson and …

The Dynamic Floor Of Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, Usa: The Last 14 K.Y. Of Hydrothermal Explosions, Venting, Doming, And Faulting, L. A. Morgan, W. C.P. Shanks, K. L. Pierce, N. Iverson, C. M. Schiller, S. R. Brown, P. Zahajska, R. Cartier, R. W. Cash, J. L. Best, C. Whitlock, Sherilyn C. Fritz, U.S. Geological Survey, H. Lowers, D. A. Lovalvo, J. M. Licciardi

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Hydrothermal explosions are significant potential hazards in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. The northern Yellowstone Lake area hosts the three largest hydrothermal explosion craters known on Earth empowered by the highest heat flow values in Yellowstone and active seismicity and deformation. Geological and geochemical studies of eighteen sublacustrine cores provide the first detailed synthesis of the age, sedimentary facies, and origin of multiple hydrothermal explosion deposits.New tephrochronology and radiocarbon results provide a four-dimensional view of recent geologic activity since recession at ca. 15–14.5 ka of the >1-km-thick Pinedale ice sheet.

The sedimentary record in Yellowstone Lake contains multiple hydrothermal explosion …

Mapping Narrations, Narrating Maps: Concepts Of The World In The Middle Ages And The Early Modern Period, Ingrid Baumgartner, Daniel Gneckow, Anna Hollenbach, Phillip Landgrebe

Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

This volume offers the author's central articles on the medieval and early modern history of cartography for the first time in English translation. A first group of essays gives an overview of medieval cartography and illustrates the methods of cartographers. Another analyzes world maps and travel accounts in relation to mapped spaces. A third examines land surveying, cartographical practices of exploration and the production of Portolan atlases.

"We've Created Cheap Energy Off The Backs Of Salmon": Dam Removal Politics And Alliances In The Lower Snake River Basin, Krista Harrington

Dissertations and Theses

Dams, once considered by many to be good for water development in the Western U.S., might not be a part of a climate resilient future. Dams have come under increasing scrutiny due to undesirable ecological implications. Although dam removal proposals are growingly popular in recent decades, they are controversial since they impact different stakeholders in different ways. In the Pacific Northwest, the Lower four Snake River dams have long been criticized for their negative impacts on salmon. In February 2021, US Congressman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) proposed a comprehensive framework to deconstruct the Lower four Snake River dams as an attempt …

Mapping Ecosystem Service Flows Of Estuary Restoration Projects On The Oregon Coast To Identify Impacted Stakeholders, Shersten King Finley

Dissertations and Theses

The recent impetus for estuarine restoration has largely focused on resolving key ecological problems; however, less is known about how people might benefit or be impacted by restoration. By mapping benefits that flow from functional salt marshes and estuarine systems I examined how different social groups might be impacted by restoration based on race and class. In this study, I considered three ecosystem services (recreation, aesthetics, cultural/historical/spiritual) and where they might impact surrounding communities. In this paper I argue that stakeholder groups can be identified by mapping ecosystem service flow areas. I hypothesized that these three ecosystem services would have …