Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Report Surveys Colorado River Basin Leaders: Collaborative Approaches To Dwindling Supplies Are Highlighted, Sarah Bates, University Of Montana Missoula. Center For Natural Resources And Environmental Policy

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

4 pages.

Press release "April 14, 2011"

"Executive Summary April 2011" of report, Thinking Like a River Basin: Leaders' Perspectives on Options and Opportunities in Colorado River Management

Full report available at:

http://www.carpediemwest.org/wp-content/uploads/Thinking_Like_A_River_Basin_8-20-13.pdf

Review Of Science For Science Librarians: Graphene, Kathleen A. Lehman

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

Graphene is, in many ways, a simple substance. Made of a single atomic layer of graphite, graphene has emerged as a material providing many surprises and having immense scientific and industrial potential. In 2010, scientists Andre K. Geim and Konstantin S. Novoselov received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their isolation of graphene and for their research pertaining to the ultrathin material. In his presentation speech, Professor Per Delsing described how we all have made graphene each time we write with a pencil: microscopic bits of graphite and graphene flake away as the pencil moves across the paper (Delsing 2010). …

Smob: The Best Of Both Worlds, Alexandre Passant, Julia Anaya, Owen Sacco, Pavan Kapanipathi

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper presents the architecture of SMOB and the way it combines Semantic Web standards (RDF(S) / SPARQL) and new protocols such as PubSubHubbub to enable a Federated and Privacy-Aware Social Web.

Soil Development Processes On The Western Slope Of The Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains: A Geographic Study, Kristopher (Kris) Osterloh

Earth and Soil Sciences

No abstract provided.

Automatic Domain Model Creation Using Pattern-Based Fact Extraction, Christopher Thomas, Pankaj Mehra, Wenbo Wang, Amit P. Sheth, Gerhard Weikum, Victor Chan

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper describes a minimally guided approach to automatic domain model creation. The first step is to carve an area of interest out of the Wikipedia hierarchy based on a simple query or other starting point. The second step is to connect the concepts in this domain hierarchy with named relationships. A starting point is provided by Linked Open Data, such as DBPedia. Based on these community-generated facts we train a pattern-based fact-extraction algorithm to augment a domain hierarchy with previously unknown relationship occurrences. Pattern vectors are learned that represent occurrences of relationships between concepts. The process described can be …

Privacy-By-Design In Federated Social Web Applications, Alexandre Passant, Owen Sacco, Julia Anaya, Pavan Kapanipathi

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Stock Market Reaction To Selected Macroeconomic Variables In The Nigerian Economy, Abraham Williams Terfa

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This study examines the relationship between the stock market and selected macroeconomic variables in Nigeria. The all share index was used as a proxy for the stock market while inflation, interest and exchange rates were the macroeconomic variables selected. Employing error correction model, it was found that a significant negative short run relationship exists between the stock market and the minimum rediscounting rate (MRR) implying that, a decrease in the MRR, would improve the performance of the Nigerian stock market. It was also found that exchange rate stability in the long run, improves the performance of the stock market. Though …

Effects Of Global Climate Change On Nigerian Agriculture: An Empirical Analysis, Apata T. .G

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the effects of global warming on Nigerian agriculture and estimation of the determinants of adaptation to climate change. Data used for this study are from both secondary and primary sources. The set of secondary sources of data helped to examine the coverage of the three scenarios (1971-1980; 1981-1990 and 1991-2000). The primary data set consists of 900 respondents’ but only 850 cases were useful. This study analyzed determinants of farm-level climate adaptation measures using a Multinomial choice and stochastic-simulation model to investigate the effects of rapid climatic change on grain production and the …

Local Closed-World Reasoning With Description Logics Under The Well-Founded Semantics, Matthias Knorr, Jose Julio Alferes, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

An important question for the upcoming Semantic Web is how to best combine open world ontology languages, such as the OWL-based ones, with closed world rule-based languages. One of the most mature proposals for this combination is known as hybrid MKNF knowledge bases (Motik and Rosati, 2010 [52]), and it is based on an adaptation of the Stable Model Semantics to knowledge bases consisting of ontology axioms and rules. In this paper we propose a well-founded semantics for nondisjunctive hybrid MKNF knowledge bases that promises to provide better efficiency of reasoning, and that is compatible with both the OWL-based …

2010 Massachusetts Recreational Boater Survey: Final Report Submitted To The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership, Dan Hellin, Jack Wiggin, Kristin Uiterwyk, Kim Starbuck, Nicholas Napoli, David Terkla, Chris Watson, Anthony Roman, Leona Roach, Tim Welch

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan (Plan) completed in 2009 recognized recreational boating as an activity with “significant actual and prospective conflicts among multiple waterway uses in Massachusetts” and included the economic value of recreational boating as a key socio-economic indicator that will be used to inform coastal management. At the time of Plan completion, statistically robust recreational boating data were identified as an important need for comprehensive ocean planning.

To fill this data gap, the 2010 Massachusetts Recreational Boater Survey gathered information on boating activity in Massachusetts’ coastal and ocean waters directly from recreational boaters. Researchers sent 10,000 surveys to …

Effects Of Appearance And Functions On Likability And Perceived Occupational Suitability Of Robots, Sau-Lai Lee, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Ying-Yi Hong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article reports three experiments that examined the association between (a) appearances and perceived capabilities of robots, (b) appearance and capabilities of robots and liking for the robots, and (c) perceived capabilities of robots and judgments concerning their suitability for different occupations. In Experiment 1, the authors found that participants perceived human- and animal-like robots to have relatively more warmth-related (e.g., emotion) capabilities than machinelike robots have. In Experiment 2, the authors found that liking for robots was not affected by their human likeness or their having warmth or competence capabilities. In Experiment 3, participants generally thought that robots should …

Go Farm, Goleta: Urban Agriculture Protection For Eastern Goleta Valley, Eli M. Krispi

Master's Theses

This paper explores two potential land use planning strategies that can be used to preserve and enhance the economic viability of agricultural operations surrounded by suburban development in Santa Barbara County’s Eastern Goleta Valley: buffers between agriculture and other land uses, and agritourism. In the case of buffers, academic literature is examined to determine how effective buffers are at various tasks (filtering runoff, mitigating dust and wind, providing habitat, etc.) and how to construct buffers to maximize their effectiveness. Land use plans and codes from several California jurisdictions are studied to see how buffers are put to use. Academic literature …

On Fractionally Integrated Logistic Smooth Transitions In Time Series, Olanrewaju I. Shittu, Yaya S. Olaolua

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

Long memory and nonlinearity are two key features of some macroeconomic time series which are characterized by persistent shocks that seem to rise faster during recession than it falls during expansion. A variant of nonlinear time series model together with long memory are used to examine these features in inflation series for three economies. The results which compares favourably with that of van Dijk et al. (2002) elicit some interesting attributes of inflation in the developed and developing economies.

Best Linear Unbiased Estimate Using Buys-Ballot Procedure When Trend-Cycle Component Is Linear, Ifeanyi S. Wueze, Nwogu C. Eleazar, Jude C. Ajaraogu

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

The Best linear unbiased estimate (BLUE) of Buys-Ballot estimates when trend-cycle component is linear are discussed in this paper. The estimates are those proposed by Iwueze and Nwogu (2004). Discussed are the Chain Based Estimation (CBE) method and the Fixed Based Estimation (FBE) method. The variates for the CBE method were found to have constant mean and variance but are correlated with only one significant autocorrelation coefficient at lag one. The variates for the FBE method were found to have constant mean, non-constant variance but with constant autocorrelation coefficient at all lags . Because the CBE variates exhibit stationarity, Best …

Global Financial Meltdown And The Reforms In The Nigerian Banking Sector, Sanusi L. Sanusi

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

The paper examined the global financial meltdown and the reforms in the Nigerian banking sector. It was a public speech by the formal Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria that observed the extent and severity of the crisis that began with the bursting of the housing bubble in the United States in August 2007 reflects the confluence of myriad of factors some of which are familiar from previous crises, while others are new. As in previous times of financial turmoil, the pre-crisis period was characterized by (i) surging asset prices that proved unsustainable; (ii) a prolonged credit expansion leading …

Relationship Of Vitamin D Levels To Blood Pressure In A Biethnic Cohort, Rosario O. Sakamoto

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Serum hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] has been well-accepted as not an ordinary vitamin but a pro-hormone that has many benefits beyond its well-known effects on bone. Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension remain a huge health burden and Blacks have been recognized to have higher prevalence of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Despite increasing evidence of the benefits of vitamin D on blood pressure control, there is much more to be learned about the relationship of serum 25(OH)D to blood pressure among different ethnicities.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine whether vitamin D serum 25(OH)D levels were …

An Extension Of Sic Predictions To The Wiener Coactive Model, Joseph W. Houpt, James T. Townsend

Psychology Faculty Publications

The survivor interaction contrasts (SIC) is a powerful measure for distinguishing among candidate models of human information processing. One class of models to which SIC analysis can apply are the coactive, or channel summation, models of human information processing. In general, parametric forms of coactive models assume that responses are made based on the first passage time across a fixed threshold of a sum of stochastic processes. Previous work has shown that the SIC for a coactive model based on the sum of Poisson processes has a distinctive down--up--down form, with an early negative region that is smaller than the …

The Implications Of Water Insecurity For Fragile And Failing States: The Case Of Pakistan, Jennifer Norins

Graduate Masters Theses

As we become more firmly established in the 21st century, the international system faces a number of increasingly more difficult challenges that pose threats to global security and human progress. Among these challenges, water scarcity and failing states have each received prominent attention in both the academic and policy realms. Water serves a number of critical purposes for human survival and socio-economic activity. The threat of water scarcity is becoming increasingly salient and the capacity of states to ensure water security, and other securities which water security supports, is being tested. Fragile and failing states also occupy significant space in …

Topical Keyphrase Extraction From Twitter, Xin Zhao, Jing Jiang, Jing He, Yang Song, Palakorn Achananuparp, Ee Peng Lim, Xiaoming Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Summarizing and analyzing Twitter content is an important and challenging task. In this paper, we propose to extract topical keyphrases as one way to summarize Twitter. We propose a context-sensitive topical PageRank method for keyword ranking and a probabilistic scoring function that considers both relevance and interestingness of keyphrases for keyphrase ranking. We evaluate our proposed methods on a large Twitter data set. Experiments show that these methods are very effective for topical keyphrase extraction.

Real-Time Trip Information Service For A Large Taxi Fleet, Rajesh Krishna Balan, Nguyen Xuan Khoa, Lingxiao Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we describe the design, analysis, implementation, and operational deployment of a real-time trip information system that provides passengers with the expected fare and trip duration of the taxi ride they are planning to take. This system was built in cooperation with a taxi operator that operates more than 15,000 taxis in Singapore. We first describe the overall system design and then explain the efficient algorithms used to achieve our predictions based on up to 21 months of historical data consisting of approximately 250 million paid taxi trips. We then describe various optimisations (involving region sizes, amount of …

Unlv Stars Fact Sheet, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Reports (USI)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by earning a 2011 Silver Rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System (STARS), is ahead of the curve among public universities – and improving.

STARS is a voluntary, self–reporting framework developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to help measure sustainability performance over time and among colleges and universities nationwide. The UNLV Sustainability Council oversaw STARS, which by measuring sustainability can help UNLV to reduce energy consumption and waste, improve education, attract research, and generate jobs.

A rating of Silver puts UNLV in great company – with …

Unlv Stars Unabridged Report, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Reports (USI)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by earning a 2011 Silver Rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System (STARS), is ahead of the curve among public universities – and improving.

STARS is a voluntary, self–reporting framework developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to help measure sustainability performance over time and among colleges and universities nationwide. The UNLV Sustainability Council oversaw STARS, which by measuring sustainability can help UNLV to reduce energy consumption and waste, improve education, attract research, and generate jobs.

A rating of Silver puts UNLV in great company – with …

Management And Support Of Shared Integrated Library Systems, Jason Vaughan, Kristen Costello

Library Faculty Research

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries has hosted and managed a shared integrated library system (ILS) since 1989. The system and the number of partner libraries sharing the system has grown significantly over the past two decades. Spurred by the level of involvement and support contributed by the host institution, the authors administered a comprehensive survey to current Innovative Interfaces libraries. Research findings are combined with a description of UNLV’s local practices to provide substantial insights into shared funding, support, and management activities associated with shared systems.

Groundwater Research In Middle Earth, Thomas Lapoint

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

My senior project focused on studying saltwater intrusion in a coastal town of New Zealand. I feel lucky that I was able to travel to such a distant place, conduct research that was insightful and interesting, and immerse myself in an international culture all in the name of my education. As a Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies student, I aim to analyze not only the cultural differences and similarities that the foreign environment offers to me but also the detailed, technical, engineering aspect of my research. I believe that my education should be approached with a well rounded perspective that …

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Updates: June 2011, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2011

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates from June 2011.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: June 2011, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2011

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from June 3 and 17, 2011.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Getting To Global Yes! Designing A Distributed Student Collaboration, Selma Limam Mansar, Randy Weinberg, Benjamin Kok Siew Gan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The authors have taught a course called 'Global Project Management' for four years, engaging students in three international locations in hands-on distance projects. The distance projects are intended to provide students with enriching, realistic global project experience. With experience, improved planning and better coordination, each iteration of the distance projects has improved. In this paper, the authors present lessons learned and a mind map demonstrating key aspects of design of global hands-on projects.

Measuring Knowledge Of Indoor Environmental Hazards, Sonny Rosenthal

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

People spend most of their time indoors, where air pollution levels rival and often exceed those outdoors for a number of important pollutants. Yet, little is known about people’s knowledge of indoor environmental hazards. The purpose of the current study was to construct a measure of indoor environmental knowledge. A set of 78 true/false items were developed with input from a panel of experts. The set of items was truncated with traditional item analyses, resulting in a reliable set of 21 items (α = .79). Concurrent validity was established by a significant correlation between the indoor environmental knowledge (IEK) scale …

The Pace Eportfolio As Educational Passport: Enhancing Students' Interdisciplinary, Co-Curricular And Experiential Learning, Beth Klingner, Linda Anstendig

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Ios Mobile Device Forensics: Initial Analysis, Rita M. Barrios, Michael R. Lehrfeld

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The ability to recover forensic artifacts from mobile devices is proving to be an ever-increasing challenge for investigators. Coupling this with the ubiquity of mobile devices and the increasing complexity and processing power they contain results in a reliance on them by suspects. In investigating Apple’s iOS devices -- namely the iPhone and iPad -- an investigator’s challenges are increased due to the closed nature of the platforms. What is left is an extremely powerful and complex mobile tool that is inexpensive, small, and can be used in suspect activities. Little is known about the internal data structures of the …