Digital Commons Network^™

Faculty Involvement In The North American Coordinating Committee On Japanese Library Resources (Ncc): The Background, Sachie Noguchi

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

Parenting Stress In Families With Children With Disabilities, Timothy B. Smith, Matthew N. I. Oliver, Mark S. Innocenti

Faculty Publications

Parenting stress is an important variable to consider in families with children with disabilities. This study evaluated 880 such families, using measures of child and family functioning. Results suggest that factors such as income, time available for interaction with the child, and social support predict parenting stress much better than do aspects of child functioning.

Image Reconstruction Using Data-Dependent Triangulation, Thomas W. Sederberg, Xiaohua Yu, Bryan S. Morse

Faculty Publications

Image reconstruction based on data-dependent triangulation with new cost functions and optimization can create higher quality images than traditional bilinear or bicubic spline reconstruction. The article presents a novel method for image reconstruction using a piecewise linear intensity surface whose elements don't generally align with the coordinate axes. This method is based on the technique of data-dependent triangulation (DDT) that N. Dyn et al. (1990) introduced and has proven capable of producing more pleasing reconstructions than axis-aligned methods.

Interpolating Implicit Surfaces From Scattered Surface Data Using Compactly Supported Radial Basis Functions, Bryan S. Morse, David T. Chen, Penny Rheingans, Kalpathi Subramanian, Terry S. Yoo

Faculty Publications

We describe algebraic methods for creating implicit surfaces using linear combinations of radial basis interpolants to form complex models from scattered surface points. Shapes with arbitrary topology are easily represented without the usual interpolation or aliasing errors arising from discrete sampling. These methods were first applied to implicit surfaces by Savchenko, et al. and later developed independently by Turk and O'Brien as a means of performing shape interpolation. Earlier approaches were limited as a modeling mechanism because of the order of the computational complexity involved. We explore and extend these implicit interpolating methods to make them suitable for systems of …

Effective Bandwidth For Traffic Engineering, Mark J. Clement, Rob Kunz, Seth Nielson, Quinn O. Snell

Faculty Publications

In today’s Internet, demand is increasing for guarantees of speed and efficiency. Current routers are very limited in the type and quantity of observed data they can provide, making it difficult for providers to maximize utilization without the risk of degraded throughput. This research uses statistical data currents provided by router vendors to estimate the impact of changes in network configuration on the probability of link overflow. This allows service providers to calculate in advance, the effect of grooming on a network, eliminating the conservative trial-and-error approach normally used. These predictions are made using Large Deviation Theory, which focuses on …

Catastrophic Wildfire And Number Of Populations As Factors Influencing Risk Of Extinction For Gila Trout (Oncorhynchus Gilae), D. Kendall Brown, Anthony A. Echelle, David L. Propst, James E. Brooks, William L. Fisher

Western North American Naturalist

We used the computer program RAMAS to explore the sensitivity of an extinction-risk model for the Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae) to management of wildfires and number of populations of the species. The Gila trout is an endangered salmonid presently restricted to very few headwaters of the Gila and San Francisco river tributaries in southwestern New Mexico. Life history data for 10 extant populations were used to examine sensitivity of the species viability to changes in a variety of factors including population size, fecundity, life stage structure, number of populations, severity and probability of forest fires, and a regulated …

Variation In The Life History And Abundance Of Three Popluations Of Bruneau Hot Springsnails (Pyrgulopsis Bruneauensis), Greg C. Mladenka, G. Wayne Minshall

Western North American Naturalist

Bruneau hot springsnail density, size class structure, recruitment, and mortality were measured monthly over approximately 2 years and compared to environmental variables at 3 hot spring sites in southwestern Idaho. Food resources (attached algae) and water chemistry were similar among sites, but temperature, population density, and size structure differed significantly. Density was highest at a warm, fairly constant temperature site. A cooler, highly variable temperature site and a site where temperatures frequently approached or exceeded thermal maxima tolerance limits had lower densities. Size class structure varied seasonally and distinctly among sites, with recruitment occurring year-round at temperatures <36 °C. Mortality affected different size classes at different sites, with smaller snails incurring greatest mortality at site 3 (highest temperature variability). Growth rates were positively correlated with temperatures up to 36 °C. Mean snail size differed among sites and also appeared to be related to temperature, with the variable temperature sites having larger snails. Although these snail populations are found in a range of water temperatures, they appear best adapted to springs with mean temperatures between 32 °C and 33 °C and low thermal variance.

Breeding Biology Of Mountain Plovers (Charadrius Montanus) In The Uinta Basin, Ann E. Ellison Manning, Clayton M. White

Western North American Naturalist

The known Mountain Plover population breeding on the Myton Bench, Duchesne County, Utah, is small, composed roughly of 30 adults and young after each breeding season. Currently, its location is peripheral to the species main range. This shrub-steppe breeding habitat differs from the shortgrass prairie habitat with which this bird is historically associated. Between 1996 and 1998 we made observations at nesting sites located consistently in 2 concentrated areas surrounded by large tracts of similar habitat. Activity may be focused in these specific areas because of breeding-site fidelity; this behavior is common among most shorebirds and has been documented for …

Relationship Between Home Range Characteristics And The Probability Of Obtaining Successful Global Positioning System (Gps) Collar Positions For Elk In New Mexico, James R. Biggs, Kathryn D. Bennett, Phil R. Fresquez

Western North American Naturalist

We compared the ability of global positioning system (GPS) radio collars deployed on elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) to obtain valid positions (position acquisition rate [PAR]) in seasonal home ranges with differing vegetation and topographical characteristics. We also compared GPS collar PARs under varying levels of cloud cover and within differing daily time periods. We recorded a mean PAR of 69% (n = 10 elk, s = 14%) for collared elk. Multiple regression analysis of seasonal home range characteristics indicated that vegetation cover type and slope, either as individual variables or in combination with one another, were not …

Nest Site Selection By Mountain Plovers (Charadrius Montanus) In A Shrub-Steppe Habitat, Ann E. Ellison Manning, Clayton M. White

Western North American Naturalist

Habitat use by Mountain Plovers was studied in Duchesne County, Utah, from 1996 to 1998. This area is a shrub-steppe habitat and is different from the shortgrass prairie where current Mountain Plover breeding densities are greatest. Mountain Plovers prefer areas of short, sparse vegetation. Habitat surveys quantified vegetation and open space composition at nest and randomly selected sites. Data gathered in 1998 showed significant differences between nest and random sites in maximum vegetation height (P = 0.0021) and percentage total rock cover (P = 0.0027). As percentage rock cover also reflects open space, these results are consistent with …

The Monogenean Haplocleidus Furcatus Mueller, 1937 (Phylum Platyhelminthes) On Lepomis Cyanellus Rafinesque, 1819 From Utah: A Range Extension, Michael N. Mcgee, Michael J. Whitney, Richard A. Heckmann

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Vol. 61 No. 2

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

What Determines The Emission Peak Energy Of The Blue Luminescence In Highly Mg-Doped P-Gan?, John S. Colton, P. Y. Yu

Faculty Publications

We report a study of the 2.8 eV blue luminescence (BL) in heaviliy Mg-doped p-GaN via resonant excitation with a tunable blue dye laser. The dependence of the BL on the excitation photon energy (Eex) is unlike that of the yellow luminescence found in n-type GaN. An Urbach-type band tail, with Urbach parameter of 33 meV is observed in the vicinity of the BL energy. We propose that the peak energy of the BL marks the transition from localized states to delocalized states within this band tail.

Blowup In A Mass-Conserving Convection-Diffusion Equation With Superquadratic Nonlinearity, Todd L. Fisher, Christopher P. Grant

Faculty Publications

A nonlinear convection-diffusion equation with boundary conditions that conserve the spatial integral of the solution is considered. Previous results on nite-time blowup of solutions and on decay of solutions to the corresponding Cauchy problem were based on the assumption that the nonlinearity obeyed a power law. In this paper, it is shown that assumptions on the growth rate of the nonlinearity, which take the form of weak superquadraticity and strong superlinearity criteria, are suffcient to imply that a large class of nonnegative solutions blow up in nite time.

How To Reduce Arrears In Microfinance Institutions, Norell, Dan Norell

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

Reducing arrears is crucial if MFIs are to achieve selfsufficiency. MFI staff must understand the causes of arrears--whether from clients' testing the MFI's determination to collect, crises in clients' lives, loans that are too large, or loans given on the basis of favoritism. Analytical tools for assessing and preventing arrears include key measures for analyzing arrears (e.g., portfolio quality ratios and performance ratios by credit officer) and financial ratio tests for determining appropriate loan size. The key to reducing arrears is to follow up late loans quickly, form strong solidarity groups, update and enforce credit policies, focus credit officers' services …

Vol. 03 No. 1 Journal Of Microfinance, Journal Of Microfinance

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

No abstract provided.

India's Regional Rural Banks: The Institutional Dimension Of Reforms, Nitin Bhatt, Y. S. P. Thorat

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

Efforts to reform India's failing Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have had limited impact, because reformers have paid little attention to the institutional dimensions of the problems facing the banks. Few efforts were made to redesign the perverse institutional arrangements that gave rise to incompatible incentive structures for key stakeholders, such as political leaders, policy makers, stockholders, bank staff, and clients. We recommend that the next leg of reforms focus on aligning the incentives of these stakeholders by giving greater importance to the RRBs' internal organizational contexts and larger policy environments.

Performance Measures For Microenterprise In The United States, Karen Doyle, Jerry Black

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

Microenterprise, while currently serving a small number of America's poor, is often the only option--other than receiving welfare--for a variety of individuals to improve their standard of living or quality of life. MicroTest, a project of the Aspen Institute, was created to improve the value of microenterprise services and the stability of microenterprise organizations over time by perfecting and promoting the use of measures to regularly assess performance. This article proposes a performance measurement framework for U.S. microenterprise development programs. The following key categories of outputs and outcomes can be used to assess the performance of microenterprise development providers: Reaching …

Cleaving: Thoughts On Building Strong Families, Sister Chieko N. Okazaki

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

The Comparability Of Ancient And Modern Civilizations, John K. Hord

Comparative Civilizations Review

One of the great questions in the comparative study of civilizations has been, how many civilizations are truly comparable? Are there factors which separate and differentiate civilizations so thoroughly that no comparison between them can be useful? This paper will address the problem of "the" difference between ancient and recent civilizations. It will be proposed that the major differences exist on a range of development rather than as some kind of unbridgeable gulf, and will suggest the possibility of a format for studying this range of development mathematically.

Leopold Bierwirth's Impressions Of Brigham Young And The Mormons, 1872, Donald Q. Cannon

BYU Studies

Tourists frequently passed through Salt Lake City after the trans-continental railroad was completed in 1869. Many visitors recorded their impressions of the city and its inhabitants. One visitor, Leopold Bierwirth, a New York City merchant, kept a diary during his 1872 railroad journey from New York to San Francisco. The diary is similar to other travel narratives but contains much more detail and insight than most others. Bierwirth's observations are particularly valuable because they were written during his visit rather than later. The portion of Bierwirth's diary reporting his visit to Salt Lake City, including his impressions of Brigham Young, …

1 Divorce Book 2 Marriage Books [Book Review], Alan J. Hawkins

Marriage and Families

No abstract provided.

Father Brigham In His Western Canaan, John K. Carmack

BYU Studies

If you were to paint a word picture of Brigham Young by comparing him to an earlier spiritual leader, to whom would you compare him? Maybe the most dramatic comparison comes from that pivotal moment when he spoke to nearly five thousand Saints gathered in Nauvoo to select those who would take the reins of leadership in the restored Church. To many, including my own forbears, as he delivered his address he looked and sounded like Joseph Smith. Or perhaps, as Leonard Arrington did, you would compare him to Moses leading the children of Israel on a long and perilous …

The Lion And The Lioness: Brigham Young And Eliza R. Snow, Jill Mulvay Derr

BYU Studies

He was born in 1801, she in 1804. He was a man known for his humor and gruffness, she a woman known for her sobriety and refinement. He preached unforgettable sermons, though he never learned to spell. She wrote reams of poetry and songs. He provided her a home as one of his wives for thirty years, but she never took his name. Both he and she were passionately devoted to the Prophet Joseph Smith and his expansive vision of eternity. President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and presidentess of its Relief Society, Brigham Young and …

“Cows To Milk Instead Of Novels To Read”: Brigham Young, Novel Reading, And Kingdom Building, Richard H. Cracroft

BYU Studies

To read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise.

—Henry David Thoreau

Read the true and the wise. The perusal of the rest is worse than time wasted, it is time abused.

—Brigham Young

“A Man That You Could Not Help Likeing”: Joseph Smith And Nauvoo Portrayed In A Letter By Susannah And George W. Taggart, Ronald O. Barney

BYU Studies

The Prophet Joseph Smith's call for members of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints to gather to Nauvoo, Illinois, had a wide effect once the settlement acquired the trappings of civilization. What had been the obscure riverside village of Commerce soon evidenced expansion and progress: new inhabitants and bustling construction. Among those who gathered to Nauvoo were Washington and Susannah Taggart, who converted to Mormonism in 1841 or 1842 in Peterborough, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. Taught the gospel by Elder Eli P. Maginn, the Taggarts soon planned their departure for the Mormon capital. Their eldest son, George Washington Taggart …

How Humans Domesticated Themselves, Invented Agriculture And Became Civilized, Stedman B. Nobel

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

“A Man Of God And A Good Kind Father”: Brigham Young At Home, Dean C. Jessee

BYU Studies

On January 31, 1857, Brigham Young (fig. 1) walked into the Church Historian's Office in Salt Lake City and gave instructions that he wanted very little about his family included in the history of the Church. His reticence no doubt stemmed form people's curiosity about the Mormon leader's polygamous lifestyle, which subjected his family to an inordinate amount of scrutiny and ridicule in the public press. Consequently, during his lifetime, the story of Brigham Young's family remained largely untold. Even now, the literature about Brigham Young focuses disproportionately on his public life, his accomplishments as Church President, colonizer, governor of …

Of Men And Mantles: Kierkegaard On The Difference Between A Genius And An Apostle, John S. Tanner

BYU Studies

I was once asked to introduce Elder Neal A. Maxwell to a group of BYU English majors. This assignment caused me some concern. I feared that my audience might be inclined to revere Elder Maxwell for the wrong reasons, or at least for secondary reasons—namely, for his considerable gifts as a writer rather than for his apostolic authority. So rather than rehearse Elder Maxwell's résumé, I decided to frame my introduction with insights borrowed from a remarkable essay by Søren Kierkeaard entitled "The Difference between a Genius and an Apostle." In it, Kierkegaard emphasizes that human genius does not confer …

And I Saw The Hosts Of The Dead, Both Small And Great : Joseph F. Smith, World War I, And His Visions Of The Dead, Richard E. Bennett

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.