Digital Commons Network^™

Rfia: An R Package For Estimation Of Forest Attributes With The Us Forest Inventory And Analysis Database, Hunter Stanke, Andrew O. Finley, Aaron S. Weed, Brian F. Walters, Grant M. Domke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) is a US Department of Agriculture Forest Service program that aims to monitor changes in forests across the US. FIA hosts one of the largest ecological datasets in the world, though its complexity limits access for many potential users. rFIA is an R package designed to simplify the estimation of forest attributes using data collected by the FIA Program. Specifically, rFIA improves access to the spatiotemporal estimation capacity of the FIA Database via space–time indexed summaries of forest variables within user-defined population boundaries (e.g., geographic, temporal, biophysical). The package implements multiple design-based estimators, and has …

Truck Routing Application, Adam Miller

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This application aims to provide dispatchers with an accessible tool to assist them in routing a fleet of trucks in the most ecient way. The vehicle routing problem is a notoriously complex and inecient problem to solve, yet dispatchers are tasked with solving it every single day by hand. Rather than radically transform a dispatcher’s time-sensitive workflow, my application seeks to provide them with a simple, powerful tool that can supplement their daily duties. This application will ultimately help dispatchers perform their jobs more eciently and contribute to the reduction of fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and vehicle maintenance costs.

Issue 350: June 11-25, 2020, The Local Voice

The Local Voice

No abstract provided.

A Shield Becomes A Sword: Defining And Deploying A Constitutional Theory For Communities Of Interest In Political Redistricting, Glenn D. Magpantay

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reducing Hiv Risk Among Young Women And Their Partners: Highlights From The Dreams Implementation Science Research Portfolio, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

The Population Council, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development through Project SOAR, led a set of implementation science studies to capture multiple perspectives that reflect the innovative aspects of DREAMS. These mixed-method studies conducted across seven countries (Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) provide critical evidence that fill knowledge gaps on how to reduce HIV risk among AGYW and their male partners. This brief presents key findings grouped around four areas of inquiry: 1) HIV vulnerability and risk; 2) social drivers of HIV risk; 3) effects of …

Weekend Spanish Immersion Camp: A Non-Traditional Teaching World Language To Middle School American Students, Jorge Oscar Ramirez

Dissertations and Theses

The nature of today's global economy demands that students demonstrate high levels of proficiency in foreign languages. To meet global demand, most countries around the world are including comprehensive world language instruction in their educational systems beginning at an early age. The increasingly multi-lingual nature of culture within and beyond the Unites States. is escalating the importance of immersing students in world languages as early as possible to ensure a high level of written and oral foreign language skill proficiency by the time students graduate from high school. However, most American students do not have the opportunity to study a …

Does Disassociation From The Majority Religious Affiliation Affect Community Desirability?, Alex Nicholas Andre

Theses and Dissertations

How do predominantly religious rural communities influence members who are not associated with the dominant religion? Does disassociation with the majority religious affiliation impact community desirability? Current community literature has shown that religious affiliation identification can influence community sentiment (Jennings and Krannich 2013; Kan and Kim 1981; Stinner, Van Loon, Chung, and Byun 1990; Mattarita-Cascante, Stedman, and Luloff 2010) while other studies suggest the possibility of either mixed or inconclusive results (Adams 1992; Andrews 2011; Flagg and Painter II 2019; Reitz, Banerjee, Phan, and Thompson 2009). Using data from the Rural Utah Community Study in 2017, the current study will …

Two Southern Studies Faculty Honored For Excellence, Rebecca Lauck Cleary

University of Mississippi News

Catarina Passidomo and Jessie Wilkerson lauded for their commitment to students, scholarship

Churches As Economic Development Tools In Rural America: A Case Study, Matthew Huff

Honors Projects

Economic development efforts in the modern world are primarily focused on underdeveloped nations across the globe. When done in developed nations, like America, urban poor are often the focus. However, rural American communities are one area which show a deep need for development that they sometimes do not receive. While some government and private endeavors have done well in reaching these communities, they often face issues with integration, funding, and specialization. Other institutions should be explored as potential vehicles for development. One such institution is the church. This paper will examine the ways in which rural American communities have been …

Neoliberal Legacies: Peru, Potatoes And The Challenges Of Agricultural Reform, Emma Belliveau

Honors Scholar Theses

Peru and the potato; the two have been linked together for almost 10,000 years. This relationship has developed and born rich food, cultural heritage, and agricultural tradition. Once Spain, one of the dominant global and colonial powers, entered the mix in the 16th C, the makeup of Peru's potato growing industry changed for good. While the potato catapulted Europe's population out of hunger and allowed the Western world to modernize, Peru became merely a stomping ground for raw materials. The economy of Peru--to this day--is dependent on exporting raw materials, which means exporting agricultural goods as well. At one time …

Workshop #1: Vulnerable Populations & Planning Considerations For The 2020 Hurricane Season: After Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

This workshop shed light on the challenges and importance of adapting current hurricane season planning. Coexisting with COVID-19 will pose even more challenges for hurricane season responses. Suggested adaptations include identifying further shelter spaces to reduce the numbers of evacuees per building (for required social distancing), create isolation spaces to protect populations vulnerable to COVID-19, and quarantine those who are symptomatic. Some strategies being considered include modifying existing shelters (e.g. schools, by using classrooms) and using hotels, dormitories, and other large vacant spaces (e.g., stores and convention centers).

Along with identifying new shelter options comes modifying procedures for screening, triage, …

Factors Affecting The Utilization Of Antenatal Care Among Married Women Of Reproductive Age In The Rural Thatta, Pakistan: Findings From A Community-Based Case-Control Study, Sumera Aziz Ali, Savera Aziz Ali, Anam Feroz, Sarah Saleem, Zafar Fatmi, Muhammad Masood Kadir

Community Health Sciences

Background: There are differences in antenatal care (ANC) utilization between urban and rural areas of Pakistan. Although multiple factors have been studied affecting the utilization of general health care services, the effect of road network distance particularly on the utilization of ANC has not been assessed. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between road network distance from a health care facility and utilization of the ANC among women of reproductive age in Thatta Pakistan.
Methods: A community-based case-control study was conducted in district Thatta, Pakistan. Women who did not utilize ANC services during their last pregnancy were considered …

Children's Exposure To Hazardous Brominated Flame Retardants In Plastic Toys, Oluwatoyin T. Fatunsin, Temilola O. Oluseyi, Daniel Drage, Mohamed Abou Elwafa Abdallah, Andrew Turner, Stuart Harrad

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Combined Use Of Sentinel‐1 Sar And Landsat Sensors Products For Residual Soil Moisture Retrieval Over Agricultural Fields In The Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Getachew Ayehu, Tsegaye Tadesse, Berhan Gessesse, Yibeltal Yigrem, Assefa M. Melesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential of sentinel‐1 SAR sensor products and the contribution of soil roughness parameters to estimate volumetric residual soil moisture (RSM) in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin, Ethiopia. The backscatter contribution of crop residue water content was estimated using Landsat sensor product and the water cloud model (WCM). The surface roughness parameters were estimated from the Oh and Baghdadi models. A feed‐forward artificial neural network (ANN) method was tested for its potential to translate SAR backscattering and surface roughness input variables to RSM values. The model was trained for three inversion …

Comparison Of Analytical Examples Of Old And Contemporary Libyan House From An Environmental Sustainability Perspective., Abdurahman Awen, Sherief Sheta, Ahmed El-Maidawy

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The design of dwellings can possibly affect the environment negatively in terms of excessive consumption of natural resources. This potential increases if the principles and standards of environmental design through appropriate architectural treatments of the house are ignored. Good housing design should maintain a performance h designed to enhance the internal environment by minimizing the negative impact on the construction and natural environment and benefit from nature to the maximum degree possible. As a result, energy consumption will be optimized and thus, the environment preserved. The purpose of this paper is to compare the environmental and architectural treatments of the …

Current Distribution Of The California Vole (Microtus Californicus) In Baja California, Mexico, Alan Harper, Anny Peralta-García, Jorge H. Valdez-Villavicencio, Scott Tremor, Chris J. Conroy

Western North American Naturalist

We revisited 26 of the 28 known collection sites for the California vole, Microtus californicus, in Baja California, Mexico. With live trapping, we were able to confirm the continued presence of the vole at 7 of these sites, which include all 3 of the subspecies endemic to Baja California. At 14 of these sites, no viable habitat was found. These 14 sites included all known occurrences of M. californicus sanctidiegi in Baja California. Based on capture numbers or lack of habitat, population size may be drastically reduced at all sites except one. Effective conservation actions are required for recovery …

Online Grocery Shopping By Nyc Public Housing Residents Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Benefits: A Service Ecosystems Perspective, Nevin Cohen, Katherine Tomaino-Fraser, Chloe Arnow, Michelle Mulcahy, Christophe Hille

Publications and Research

This paper examines adoption of online grocery shopping, and potential cost and time savings compared to brick and mortar food retailers, by New York City public housing residents using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. A mixed methods action research project involving the co-creation of an online shopping club, the Farragut Food Club (FFC), recruited 300 members who registered to shop online using SNAP, and received waivers on delivery minimums and provided technical assistance and centralized food delivery. We conducted a survey (n = 206) and focus groups to understand shopping practices; FFC members collected receipts of groceries over two …

Motivators And Barriers Associated With Intent To Complete A Bsn For Hispanic Associate Degree Nurses, Marissa Jimenez

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Hispanics who are registered nurses (RNs) are more likely to enter the nursing profession through an associate degree nursing program and are less likely than any other racial/ethnic groups to complete advanced degrees. The purpose of this study is to explain the relationship between motivators and barriers associated with the intent to complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) for Hispanic associate degree nurses (ADNs). The research question for this study was, “how much variance in intent to complete a BSN do Hispanic associate degree nurses attribute to motivators and barriers to returning to school for RN to BSN?”

Ajzen’s …

The Impact Of Tax Refund Delays On The Experience Of Hardship And Unsecured Debt, Olga Kondratjeva, Stephen Roll, Mathieu Despard, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides substantial financial support to low-income workers, yet around a quarter of EITC payments are estimated to be erroneous or fraudulent. Beginning in 2017, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 requires the Internal Revenue Service to spend additional time processing early EITC claims, delaying the issuance of tax refunds. Leveraging unique data, we investigate how delayed tax refunds affected the experience of hardship and unsecured debt among EITC recipients. We find that early filers experienced increased food insecurity relative to later filers after the implementation of the refund delay.

Assessing Adaptive Capacity To Climate And Population Change At The Urban-Rural Interface: Human-Water System Dynamics In The Hood River Valley, Oregon, Alexander Reid Ross

Dissertations and Theses

An exurban nook on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge named after the Hood River that runs northward from the glaciers of Mount Hood to the confluence seems ideally poised for the kind of relaxed, natural lifestyle that once brought suburban areas their appeal. However, like other exurban areas, Hood River also lies at an uncertain fault-line between economic and environmental transformation in the U.S.'s exurbs.

This study maps the socio-economic and climatological transformations of exurban areas as they contend with different approaches to sustainability and resilience. To determine the major climate and development hazards facing exurban areas …

Southern Register: Two Southern Studies Faculty Honored For Excellence In Teaching, Rebecca Lauck Cleary

Blog Posts

Two Southern Studies Faculty Honored for Excellence in Teaching Catarina Passidomo Wins Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen, and Jessie Wilkerson Honored with the Mike L. Edwards New Scholar Award It's not every day that a geography professor is stumped by a pop quiz about a Bulgarian skyline, but that's how Catarina Passidomo discovered she would receive the 2020 Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen.

Reframing Reference Services: Perceptions And Futures Of The Reference Desk, Findings From A Mixed-Methods Survey Of United States Academic Libraries, Samantha Kennedy, Ashley Lierman, Daniel G. Kipnis

Libraries Scholarship

The presenters will share their results from a national, mixed-methods survey of over 239 academic libraries from the United States. The survey focused on reference desk models and librarian perceptions of the value of a physical reference desk. Attendees will have the opportunity to be part of the discussion and collaborate in a Google Doc brainstorming ideas for the future including changing reference desk models, meeting the needs of our users, and reenvisioning what reference means.

For information collected during the presentation, please visit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iyptdl1rsKk-1JMpUtbDngp540KmbBy1etb2HtvHaMk/edit?usp=sharing

Indigenous Uses Of Wild And Tended Plant Biodiversity Maintain Ecosystem Services In Agricultural Landscapes Of The Terai Plains Of Nepal., J.P. Thorn, T. F. Thornton, A. Helfgott, K. J. Willis

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Background: Despite a rapidly accumulating evidence base quantifying ecosystem services, the role of biodiversity in the maintenance of ecosystem services in shared human-nature environments is still understudied, as is how indigenous and agriculturally dependent communities perceive, use, and manage biodiversity. The present study aims to document traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of the ecosystem service benefits derived from wild and tended plants in rice-cultivated agroecosystems, compare this to botanical surveys, and analyze the extent to which ecosystem services contribute social-ecological resilience in the Terai Plains of Nepal. Method: Sampling was carried out in four landscapes, 22 Village District Committees, and 40 wards …

Sybil Attack Detection Scheme Design In Zigbee Network, Meigen Huang, Bin Yu, Zhiyin Kong

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problem of Sybil which attacks and destroys the resource allocation, routing discovery and data aggregation in ZigBee network, a scheme to detect Sybil attacks was proposed. The scheme established a doubt mechanism of Sybil node to mark child nodes in the same location as well as communication distance inconsistent geographical distance. The scheme designed a identified processes of Sybil node via father joint legal neighboring nodes transmitting a random number to the suspected Sybil nodes on different channels simultaneously, identifying Sybil nodes by its correctness. Safety analysis and experiment results show that the proposed scheme has …

Cascade 30: Historic Columbia River Highway Active Transportation Network Plan, Jeff Broderick, Timothy Dubois, Seth Healy, Henry Miller, Elisha Ransom, Justin Sherrill

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

While Apiary Planning Group created design concepts for the Oregon Department of Transportation, it should be noted these are only design concepts, not a final proposal. Funding to commence formal planning, engineering, and construction processes to implement these ideas has not been identified. No timeline to build any of these concepts has been established. Apiary Planning Group hopes these preliminary concepts will encourage and inspire jurisdictions, community groups, residents and businesses to work together to create a gateway to Hood River that honors the past while creating new, safer and accessible transportation opportunities in the future.

Exploring The Potential Of Nutrient Retention And Recycling With Wetlaculture Systems In Ohio With Physical And Landscape Models, Bingbing Jiang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Significant expansion of agricultural land use has been widely recognized for leading to global and regional negative environmental impacts, especially increased eutrophication of surface water systems for the last half-century. The landscape-scale environmental problem of overloading nutrients to lakes and streams by excessive fertilizer use and increased human-caused N-fixation is in urgent need of a sustainable landscape-scale solution. Wetlands have long been considered as an effective way to remove nutrients from surface water. However, the influence of regional seasonality and hydrologic conditions on agricultural runoff treatment wetlands still needs more investigation. A new approach, “wetlaculture,” has recently described as a …

Research On Simulation Optimization Of Container Terminal’S Machinery Configuration, Zhaohui Duan, Bingliang Song

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The optimization of the machinery allocation under the double constraints of maximized efficiency for loading and unloading processes and optimal machinery usage, and the optimal configuration of bridge cranes under discrete operation modes for a single ship were instigated through modeling with the simulation software Extendsim. It was found that the real-time recording method is a more straightforward and convenient way to investigate the optimal mechanical configuration and double constraints lead to different but more reasonable results than that was obtained under the single constraint on the best mechanical configuration. Due to the discrete characteristics of the bridge crane …

Resisting Marginalisation And Reconstituting Space Through Lgbtqi+ Events, Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta, Anne Hardy

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The field of event studies has attracted a breadth of research on the triple-bottom line of economic efficiency, environmental integrity and social equity. The focus of many studies related to event tourism, however, has fallen upon the economic and environmental dimensions of events with far less attention on “social equity.” The potential of events tourism to facilitate justice and equity for marginalised and minority groups has been especially overlooked. LGBTQI+ communities utilise gay events, such as pride parades, as mediums to communicate their identities and seek support from broader society. This paper examines a unique festival space where LGBTQI+ communities …

Crazy Rich Asians: Exploring Discourses Of Orientalism, Neoliberal Feminism, Privilege And Inequality, Devi Vijay

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

In this review of Crazy Rich Asians (2018), I examine elements of orientalism, neoliberal feminism, privilege and inequality that layer the film. Specifically, I interrogate the film’s American inflection of orientalism, surfacing a constant duel between essentialized Asian and American values, where what is American eventually wins out. Independent, entrepreneurial women are integral to this narrative of global capitalist accumulation. Yet, as the East meets the West in the globalized consumptive spaces of the super-rich, inequalities in the United States and Singapore are either repackaged under the myth of meritocracy, or conveniently erased. While the film demarcates a new Hollywood …

On The Banality Of Transnational Film, Ian Reyes, Justin Wyatt

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

“Breakthrough” global blockbusters like Black Panther (2018) and Crazy Rich Asians (2018) create disturbances among critics and firms forced to wonder if such ripples of diversity will become waves of new cinema wiping out the hegemony of Hollywood and the global West. In this essay, we establish the context for this phenomenon in terms of film’s historical relationship to marketing. Through this context, we theorize a transnational aesthetic for global blockbusters, one that may serve to limit ripples of diversity, breaking waves of change against the rocks of a banal cinema of Americanized nothingness.