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Droughtscape, Winter 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

NDMC partners with Sioux tribes to build climate resiliency

Drought intensifies in some regions of U.S. in fall

Fire danger and sequoia deaths in third quarter

2016: Year in review

MENA region forums elicit

feedback from stakeholders

Tech pass-off in Tunisia

Midwest DEWS meetings build collaboration, relationships

Workshop links drought, socioeconomic impacts/p>

Drought center helps ranchers prepare for drought

Drought tourney in Nebraska goes low tech

Nebraska Game And Parks Commission 2017 Annual Report

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

No abstract provided.

Mesonets: Meso-Scale Weather And Climate Observations For The U.S., Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Steel Pin And Hanger Assembly Replacement Options, Daniel Linzell, Chandana C. Balakrishna

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

A number of steel beam bridges exist in the United States that contain pin and hanger assemblies. Pin and hanger assemblies are fracture critical members whose failure would result in collapse of the bridge or render it unable to perform its expected functions. As these bridges continue to age, many assemblies have deteriorated to a point where retrofit or replacement has to be considered and performed to maintain intended safety and performance. States have taken various approaches to address the pin and hanger assembly retrofit and replacement options. However, there is no single report that summarizes these approaches. This report …

Taking Charge 2017: Satisfaction Of Residents Of Lincoln, Nebraska, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Janell C. Walther, Jake Kawamoto

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Between June and August of 2017, a satisfaction survey was completed by more than 1,200 randomly-selected Lincolnites (a random sample, yielding confidence intervals ranging from +/- 1-3% for the full sample, and +/- 2-8% at the district level, at the 95% confidence level1). Listed below are the main findings from that survey, including those obtained from examining the overall sample, and from comparisons among Lincoln’s four City Council Districts.

Overall Satisfaction Ratings

• On average, Lincoln residents reported greater satisfaction than dissatisfaction with most City services in 2017. The average levels of satisfaction were significantly above 3.0 (neutral) for 20 …

Differentiating Sexual Offender Type On Measures Of Impulsivity And Compulsivity, Tara J. Ryan, Matthew T. Huss, Mario Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

It is suspected that rapists, child molesters, and offenders with both child and adult victims (mixed offenders) may have different motivations and offending patterns—that they are heterogeneous. A central difference between these groups of offenders may be their propensity toward sexually impulsive behaviors and compulsive behavior. Analyses were conducted to assess the mean differences between the various offender types across four measures related to sensation seeking and compulsivity as well as several other proxy behavioral measures. Results suggest that there are differences in sexual impulsive and compulsive behavior among the different types of offenders. Treatment implications are discussed.

Kiwis In Space: New Zealand’S “Outer Space And High-Altitude Activities Act”, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

The number of countries with more or less comprehensive national space legislation that addresses in particular the authorization and supervision of private space activities continues to grow, and several more countries are currently in the process of adding themselves to that list. One of the more recent ones among them is New Zealand, which has an extensive “Outer Space and High-Altitude Activities Act” that is to enter into force in December 2017.

The paper briefly recaps the general underlying international obligations, in particular as following from Articles VI, VII, and VIII of the Outer Space Treaty, the Liability Convention, and …

History Of Regulations, Policy, And Research Related To Conflicts Between Blackbirds And People, George M. Linz, Michael L. Avery, Richard A. Dolbeer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The United States and Canada have invested substantial resources over the past 60 years for developing methods to reduce blackbird (Icteridae) damage to agricultural crops, to manage large winter roosts that create nuisance and public health problems, and to mitigate conflicts with endangered species. It is an indication of the challenging nature of the conflicts with these abundant, highly mobile birds that we are still attempting to improve existing methods and develop new approaches to mitigate the problems. Scientists have tested chemical frightening agents and repellents, mechanical scare devices, bird-resistant sunflowers, decoy crops, habitat management, population management, and cultural modifications …

Human Development And Climate Affect Hibernation In A Large Carnivore With Implications For Human–Carnivore Conflicts, Heather E. Johnson, David L. Lewis, Tana L. Verzuh, Cody F. Wallace, Rebecca M. Much, Lyle K. Willmarth, Stewart W. Breck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Expanding human development and climate change are dramatically altering habitat conditions for wildlife. While the initial response of wildlife to changing environmental conditions is typically a shift in behavior, little is known about the effects of these stressors on hibernation behavior, an important life-history trait that can subsequently affect animal physiology, demography, interspecific interactions and human-wildlife interactions. Given future trajectories of land use and climate change, it is important that wildlife professionals understand how animals that hibernate are adapting to altered landscape conditions so that management activities can be appropriately tailored.

2. We investigated the influence of human development …

Structure And Service Delivery Approach Of The Children’S Bureau’S Resource Centers And Implementation Centers, Tammy Richards, Michelle Graef, Kathy Deserly, Peter Watson, Mark Ells

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

The Children’s Bureau (CB) provides a system of training and technical assistance (T/TA) to build the capacity of state and tribal child welfare systems, with the goal of improving outcomes for children and families. During the time period of 2008-2014, this infrastructure included ten National Child Welfare Resource Centers (NRCs), five Child Welfare Implementation Centers (ICs), and a Training and Technical Assistance Coordination Center (TTACC). Individual ICs and NRCs differed in structure and content expertise, yet they served the same jurisdictions and at times provided services concurrently. To increase cohesion and consistency, the NRCs, ICs, TTACC, and CB worked together …

Characterization Of Arthropod Assemblages Attracted To Canine Feces Using Pitfall Traps And Rearing Experiments, Jennifer Albrecht

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The decomposition of fecal matter is critical for an ecosystem, turning matter into a form that is usable by other organisms; the removal of feces also eliminates breeding sites for pests and prevents waste from entering waterways. The aim of this study was to survey arthropod populations that are attracted to dog feces in suburban and residential settings. Due to their established role in nutrient recycling, an emphasis was placed on identifying dung beetle species present. Monitoring was conducted in Lancaster County, Nebraska from July to September 2017 using pitfall traps and rearing experiments. It was hypothesized that southeast Nebraska …

State, Local, And Regional Issues In Cybersecurity: Symposium Introduction, Justin (Gus) Hurwitz

Nebraska Law Review

Cybersecurity is one of the more difficult and urgent issues of the day. It is an issue that touches almost every aspect of modern life. Recent years have seen major cybersecurity incidents affect national security, our political process, major government institutions, companies of every size throughout our economy, critical infrastructure, banking, consumer electronics, and, of course, consumers themselves. Examples of each of these feature so prominently in the news that they barely need citation: OPM, Sony, Target, concerns about the 2016 election, disclosure of NSA hacking tools, attacks on the banking sector’s SWIFT network, ransomware attacks against hospitals, DDoS attacks …

Beyond The Network: A Holistic Perspective On State Cybersecurity Governance, Michael Garcia, David Forscey, Timothy Blute

Nebraska Law Review

I. Introduction

II. Governance: The New Frontier of Information Assurance

III. State Cybersecurity Governance Extends Beyond the Network

IV. Centralizing Security Governance to Defend State Networks

V. Governance Beyond Network Defense ... A. Disruption Response ... B. Law Enforcement ... C. Cybersecurity Centers

VI. Conclusion

Appendix: States and Indicators

The Modern Penny Dreadful: Public Prosecution And The Need For Litigation Privacy In A Digital Age, Jennifer A. Brobst

Nebraska Law Review

I. Introduction

II. Cybercrime and the Social Impact of Loss of Privacy

III. Balancing Constitutional Rights of Transparency with the Need for Anonymity in the Courtroom … A. Anonymous Juries ... B. Jane Doe Motions and Disclosure of Litigant and Witness Identities

IV. Limitations on the Right of Public Access to Court Proceedings ... A. Bans on Recording Devices in Court ... B. Closing the Courtroom

V. Public Records and Privacy-Related Exemptions

VI. Not So Private Rights of Action ... A. Statutory Remedies ... B. Defamation ... C. Invasion of Privacy ... D. Employee Harassment

VII. Conclusion

What’S Next For E-Government? Innovations In E-Government Through A Cybersecurity Lens, Emefa Agawu

Nebraska Law Review

I. Introduction

II. What Is E-Government?

III. Trends in E-Government Innovation ... A. Increasing Access to Content ... B. Digitize Service Loop ... C. Expand or Create New Government Functions

IV. State and Local Governments in a Changing Threat Landscape ... A. CIA Framework ... B. Applying the CIA Framework ... 1. Trend 1. Increasing Access to Information ... 2. Trend 2. Digitizing Government Service Loop … 3. Trend 3. Expanding or Creating Government Functions

V. Innovations in E-Government: Case Studies ... A. New Jersey: Open Data Initiative ... B. Boston: Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics

VI. Conclusion

Head Injury And Substance Use In Young Adults, Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: Prior studies suggest a link between head injuries and substance use but do not routinely capture mechanisms connecting the two.

Objectives: The goal of the study was to explore whether past head injuries predicted current substance use among young adults, taking factors such as stress, self-esteem, temper, and risk-taking into consideration.

Methods: Data were drawn from a web-based survey conducted in 2014 and 2015 at a public university in the United States (n = 897). Questions were asked about history of head injuries as well as past 12-month binge drinking, marijuana use, and prescription drug …

Overview Of Lte Spectrum Sharing Technologies, Yun Ye, Dalei Wu, Zhihui Shu, Yi Qian

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems feature advanced frequency reuse and interference coordination techniques providing faster and more secured mobile services. However, the network capacity in licensed spectrum is still behind market demands. Dynamic spectrum access or spectrum sharing in other frequently vacant or unlicensed frequency bands is considered an effective means to boost system throughput. Different from operations in licensed spectrum with exclusive access, LTE deployment needs to take into account the distinct regulations on channel access to each shared frequency band, in order to avoid interference to incumbent users, and to maintain fair play with peer operators in heterogeneous …

Housing In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Supply And Condition: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Conclusion

Most rural Nebraskans own their home. And, when asked about housing programs or priorities they would support in their community, most rural Nebraskans support programs that help seniors age in their homes, programs that would help upgrade the condition of existing homes and providing affordable rental housing. They are less likely to support organizing volunteer efforts to maintain existing housing stock, but still one-half support this option as well.

Support for one of the programs differs by community size. Persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to support …

Spatial Continuous Biomass Burning Emission Inventory: Application To Wrf-Chem Model Over The Northern Sub-Saharan African Region, Yun Yue

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fire, as a significant global source of trace gases and aerosol particles, plays an important role in perturbations of the chemical and physical properties of the atmosphere. Fire products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on polar-orbiting satellites Terra and Aqua are largely used in several emission inventories. However, the MODIS fire products have inherent limitations due to the following reasons: (a) they cannot detect fires underneath clouds; (b) the fire detection sensitivity decreases at the edge of MODIS scan where viewing angles and MODIS pixel sizes are bigger than at nadir; and (c) there are gaps between MODIS …

Community Satisfaction And Marketing In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Conclusion

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community favorably on its social dimensions: as friendly, trusting and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans say it would be difficult to leave their community. And, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

Across all years of this study, rural Nebraskans’ views about the change in their community have generally been positive. The proportion believing their community has changed for the better during the past year has usually been greater than the proportion believing it has changed for the …

Public Perceptions Of Drones Used For Weather-Related Purposes, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Janell C. Walther, Carrick Detweiler, Adam L. Houston

SciComm 2016 - Lincoln, Nebraska, September 23-24, 2016

The CLOUDMAP Team -- Collaboration Leading Operational UAS Development for Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics. An EPSCOR grant funded by NSF

Responsible Innovation & Trust

Public Perception Studies to Date

Some Major Findings • You can call a drone whatever you want without changing people’s support • Purpose matters • Trust matters…

And More Findings • Sensemaking through pop culture, lack of knowledge, questioning, and purpose. • Hopes for societal benefits such as research technology and improved public safety (reduced risk, better forecasting). • Concerns for privacy, public & airspace safety, and pollution. • Recommendations for collaborative regulation creation for safety …

Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans’ Perceptions Of Local Schools: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L.J. Mcelravy, Jeanne Lorraine Surface

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Conclusion

Most rural Nebraskans have elementary, middle and high schools in their community or nearest community. Most of the schools available are public but many rural Nebraskans report having both public and private schools of each grade level. Persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to have each level of school in their community. And, persons living in or near the larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to have both public and private schools available.

When asked about priorities for their local …

Nebraska Intellectual Freedom Manual, Round Table On Intellectual Freedom, Nebraska Library Association, Michael J. Elsener, Sue Ann Gardner, K. Joan Birnie, Karen Drevo, Brenda Ealey, Timothy Lentz, Todd Schlechte

Zea E-Books Collection

Much has changed in libraries and society since the publication of the 2004 revision of the Nebraska Library Association Intellectual Freedom Manual. The consensus of the current members of the Nebraska Library Association round table on Intellectual Freedom (NLA IF) was not to just revise the former manual, but to create an entirely new edition. In doing so, the authors have addressed a number of new issues. The intention was to keep it relatively brief but still useful. Readers should be able to read sections independent of one another for quick reference on topics of interest. For readers of …

Perceptions Of Well-Being In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph Cantrell, Brad Lubben, Larry J. Mcelravy Jr.

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Certain indicators have pointed to overall economic growth in Nebraska. The state’s unemployment rate has remained among the lowest in the nation and wages have increased. However, net farm income continued to decline last year and employment growth in the state has been largely concentrated in the metropolitan counties. Given the challenges and uncertainties of recent years, how do rural Nebraskans believe they are doing and how do they view their future? How satisfied are they with various items that influence their well-being? Have these views changed over the past 21 years? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these …

Acuta Journal Of Telecommunications In Higher Education

ACUTA Journal

In This Issue

President's Message

From the ACUTA CEO

ResNet lnfographic

Cyber-security outlook 201 6

The loT Locomotive quickly Gaining Steam

outsourcing Wireless

UConn GITU Creates Campus App Store

How to Make Your lT organization a Strategic Enabler

Revisiting the Spec: the Underpinning of Network infrastructure Modernization

2016 Awards Honor lndividuals and !institutions

Kudos to Penn State

Restoring Dial Tone to LSU's Vet School

Rutgers lT Makes lt Happen

An Investigation Of Motor Vehicle Driver Inattention And Its Effects At Highway–Rail Grade Crossings, Shanshan Zhao

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The relationship between accident injury severity and drivers’ inattentive behavior requires an in-depth investigation – this is especially needed in the case of motor vehicle drivers at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs). The relationship between drivers’ personality/ socioeconomic characteristics and inattentive behavior at HRGCs is another topic requiring research. Past educational programs about safe driving at HRGCs have often not been designed to target people who may be in urgent need of such information, which may limit the effectiveness of those programs.

This dissertation thus focuses on the following four objectives: to investigate the association between motor vehicle inattentive driving and …

Broadband And Mobile Internet Services In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans use their cell phone to access the Internet. Certain groups are more likely than others to use mobile/cellular Internet service: rural Nebraskans with the highest household incomes, who are younger, married, with higher education levels and with management or professional occupations.

Overall, most rural Nebraskans using mobile/cellular Internet service are satisfied with their service. Furthermore, most rural Nebraskans are satisfied with the reliability, speed, customer service, and coverage of their mobile Internet service. However, most rural Nebraskans using mobile Internet service are dissatisfied with the price of their service.

Certain groups have issues with various aspects of …

Broadband And Mobile Internet Services In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, Larry J. Mcelravy Jr.

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

A recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that home broadband adoption has plateaued in the United States. In addition, there has been an increase in adults who use a smartphone to access the Internet but do not have traditional broadband service in their home. Given these national trends, how do rural Nebraskans access the Internet? Are they accessing the Internet from their cell phones? Are they subscribing to high-speed Internet services at home? How satisfied are they with their Internet services? How important do they feel Internet access is for various items? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these …

A Hedonic Analysis Of Community Supported Agriculture Share Prices In Midwestern United States, Binod Khanal

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As concerns mount over the consequences of conventional food production for health, the environment, and animal welfare, consumers are increasingly demanding what they perceive as more nutritious, safer, and ethically produced food. Local food in general and community supported agriculture in particular have emerged as promising alternatives that could allay those concerns and, judging by recent growth, the share of local food in total food sales will most likely continue to grow. This represents an opportunity and a challenge for both incumbent farms serving the local food market as well entrants who are looking to capitalize on the growth in …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 28, No. 2, May 2016

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Welcome - Congratulations - Publications - Faculty News - Grants - Student News - Travel