Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Latent Maximum Entropy Principle, Shaojun Wang, Ronald Rosenfeld, Yunxin Zhao, Dale Schuurmans

Kno.e.sis Publications

We present an extension of Jaynes' maximum entropy principle to handle latent variables. We use an EM algorithm that incorporates nested iterative scaling to approximately calculate maximum entropy solutions for this principle, and give a proof of its convergence.

Mixed Signals: Rational-Choice Theories Of Social Norms And The Pragmatics Of Explanation, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The question of how societies secure cooperation and order in the absence of state enforced sanctions has long vexed law and economics scholars. Recently the concept of social norms--informally enforced rules of behavior--has occupied the attention of a large number of these theorists, who are concerned with understanding why economically rational actors would bother to follow rules whose costs seem to outweigh their benefits. Because of the prestige (or at least trendiness) of law and economics, it seems that now everyone in the legal academy is talking about social norms. This burgeoning scholarship is closely related to a wider concern …

Randomness And Optimal Estimation In Data Sampling, Florentin Smarandache, Mohammad Khosnevisan, Housila P. Singh, S Saxena, Sarjinder Singh

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The purpose of this book is to postulate some theories and test them numerically. Estimation is often a difficult task and it has wide application in social sciences and financial market. In order to obtain the optimum efficiency for some classes of estimators, we have devoted this book into three specialized sections: Part 1. In this section we have studied a class of shrinkage estimators for shape parameter beta in failure censored samples from two-parameter Weibull distribution when some 'apriori' or guessed interval containing the parameter beta is available in addition to sample information and analyses their properties. Some estimators …

The Cyborgian Self: Toward A Critical Social Theory Of Cyberspace, Michael Ian Borer

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Contemporary social theory currently remains at a virtual standstill, quivering over the decision to radically leave the past behind or to continue within the historical narrative of the Enlightenment. Postmodern social theorists, advocating the position that we have, in fact, entered a new historical epoch, pose serious challenges to our perception of modernity and cultural identity. As an influential strategy that has infiltrated both the humanities and the social sciences for more than thirty years, postmodernism can no longer be dismissed as merely a fad or trend. In a world where the use of complex, and often mobile, …

Coastal Training Market Analysis: Final Report, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, Daniel Barasckay, Wendy A. Kellogg, Michael J. Tevesz

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

A market is emerging for policy makers in the area of coastal resources management. Individuals, as professionals or private citizens, are frequently called upon to make decisions regarding coastal environmental issues. The context in which they do so varies considerably; thus education and training in this topic area serves to heighten and expand the knowledge base of the coastal decision-maker.

Market Analysis: Survey Results Exclusive Of The Responses Of The Coastal Training Partners, Kevin O'Brien

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center (GLEFC) is conducting a market analysis to assist the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Ohio Sea Grant College Program in developing a comprehensive training program on coastal resources management for coastal decision-makers. This report is an addendum to the third of four reports to be produced by the Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center (GLEFC) in conjunction with the Coastal Training Market Analysis.

Brownfields One-Stop Shop Forum: A Test Strategy For Inter-Agency Cooperation In Northeast Ohio, Kevin O'Brien, Kirstin S. Toth

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Brownfields One Stop Shop (BOSS) is the culmination of a process created over a year ago that brought together several federal and local public agencies to address the complexities of applying resources to support brownfields redevelopment. The idea was originally developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 brownfields Project Manager, Edwin Smith, and by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Cleveland Office Community Builder, Paul Diegelman. Together, they developed an initial concept for a collaborative introductory meeting, and presented the idea to the Cleveland Federal Executive Board members. The project was accepted as …

Application Of Gis As An Environmental Monitoring Tool For Ambient Air Quality, Poh Aun Tan

Student Works (2000-2009)

The purpose of this study is to utilize Geographic Information System tool for the purpose of developing a customized Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Tool (AMAQUM). A PC based ArcView GlS software was chosen for the purpose of constructing a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI). This application was customized using an extensive Avenue scripting language associated with Dialog Designer in the ArcView environment. The AMAQUM developed consists of three main components or interfaces i.e. air quality modelling, ground level concentration and monitored ambient air quality. Firstly, the air quality modelling interface has the capability of running the ISCST3 air quality model …

Creating A User Friendly Website For The Boys & Girls Clubs Of Black Hawk County, Kimberly M. Carter

Graduate Research Papers

Website design can be overwhelming for many viewers. Many times viewers discontinue using sites, because it.is not easy to navigate through the site. In creating the website for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Black Hawk County, user-friendliness was the focal point of the project. The Chief Professional Officer along with the staff at the Boys & Girls Clubs assisted with the development of a website by providing information that was to be included on the site. To ensure a professional look the designer relied on the four basic principles of design: contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. The design simplicity …

Storm Deposition Of Pisoids In The Humboldt Oolite Member Of The Gilmore City Formation (Mississippian), North-Central Iowa, Shawn C. Thomas, John R. Groves

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Pisoids (concentrically laminated carbonate grains, > 2 mm in diameter) are abundant in the upper Humboldt Oolite Member of the Gilmore City Formation (Mississippian). Their cortices are isopachous and nuclei include both intraclasts and fragments of preexisting

pisoids. They occur both as floating grams m a fine grainstone matrix and concentrated at the bases of distinct layers that may be crudely graded beds. Sorting characteristics and the presence of broken and abraded pisoids suggest not only their origin as primary free grams, but also storm influence in the deposition of local pisolite layers. Regionally, the upper Humboldt Oolite is characterized by …

Bedrock Geology Of West Fork Quadrangle, Washington County, Arkansas, Jack T. King, Maria E. King, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of West Fork quadrangle was produced at 1:24,000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software Maplnfo. Data regarding stratigraphic relations observed in the field were digitized onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG) of West Fork quadrangle. The geology of West Fork quadrangle consists of sedimentary rocks of the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian systems. The Fayetteville Shale and Pitkin Formation represent the Mississippian system. The Hale, Bloyd, and Atoka Formations represent the Pennsylvanian System. Each of these formations consists of members that were mapped at 1:24,000 scale, and this mapping effort represents …

Revised Bedrock Geology Of War Eagle Quadrangle, Benton County, Arkansas, Robert A. Sullivan, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of War Eagle quadrangle (WEQ) was produced at the 1:24000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software ArcView® by digitizing geological contacts onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG). The geology of WEQ consists of sedimentary rocks of Ordovician (Cotter, Powell, and Everton Formations), Devonian (Clifty Formation and Chattanooga Shale), and Mississippian (St. Joe-Boone, Batesville, and Fayetteville Formations) systems. Impoundment of Beaver Lake in 1966 inundated most Ordovician rocks cropping out in WEQ, but all three formations were present in isolated outcrops along the present shoreline of the lake. The St. …

The Role Of Diet And Physical Activity For Ovarian Cancer Results From The Adventist Health Study, Fatemeh Kiani

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A few aspects of the epidemiology of ovarian cancer are well understood, such as the inverse relationship with parity and oral contraceptive (OC) use. The role of other factors such as the potential influence of diet or physical activity is far from being established. A few studies, however, have been able to identify dietary risk factors for ovarian cancer. In this dissertation, I have conducted two studies that investigate the relationship between dietary factors and physical activity and the three endpoints: 1) nonfatal ovarian cancer (1976-1982; time to diagnosis), 2) fatal ovarian cancer (1976-1988; time to death), and 3) total …

Terra Incognita, Leslie Hill

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Starless Night: Strategies For Understanding Autobiogeography, Matthew Wolf-Meyer, Davin Heckman

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Ancient mapmakers relied upon the presence of celestial bodies for their conceptualization of the world, for their external knowledge-making tools, as if a far-off body could help to make sense of our terrestrial life/as if it couldn't. Cosmology, as a practice, relied on the construction of an external body of knowledge that the local meaning-maker could situate him- or herself into, and more broadly, their entire society and culture -- the interior is determined by its relationship to the exterior (or the exteriorized). For the ancient Greeks then, the font of Western culture, this cosmology works at once …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 30, 2001-2002, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology

Southern Nevada Interagency Science & Research Program, Public Lands Institute

Interagency Science and Research Strategy

Conduct and support high quality, relevant, up-to-date research that is needed to solve problems and make effective decisions to enhance conservation, restoration, and adaptive management of public lands.

Quantifying Potential Urban Landscape Water Conservation Through Billing Data Analysis In Layton, Utah, Roger Kjelgren, Fayek A. Farag, Christopher M. U. Neale, Joanna Endter-Wada, Judith Kurtzman

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Land Use Change On Hydroelectric Power Generation In Cameron Highlands, Fook Kun Choy

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study assesses the impact of land use changes on annual energy production of the hydro stations of Cameron Highlands Hydroelectric Scheme. Land use affects sediment load and streamflow of Sungai Telom and Sungai Bertam, which influences power generation and energy production of the several hydro stations in Cameron Highlands. Data of rainfall, streamflow, suspended sediment load, land use and energy output for the period 1964 to 1998 were collected, processed and analysed. Regression analysis, double mass curve method and double ratio technique were used in the assessment. The suspended sediment load and annual runoff of Sungai Telom and Sungai …

Bond Rating Of Upgrades And Downgrades : The Impact On Stock Returns, C. Thaneswary Chelliah

Student Works (2000-2009)

This paper examines the share market reactions to bond rating changes of upgrades and downgrades. In term of analysis the upgrade and the downgrade category has been divided into changes based on the investment and speculative groups. The market model was used in determining abnormal returns for the study. This research provides the relation of changes taken place within the group and across the group. In addition, this paper is also examining the impact of rating changes due to financial prospect and the companies' leverage. All the analysis is based in Malaysian scenario . The result suggests that there were …

A Study On The Sustainable Development Of Cameron Highlands, Jin Hooi Chan

Student Works (2000-2009)

Cameron Highlands, located in the mountain area of tropical forest of Peninsular Malaysia, is a popular tourist destination and is also suitable for tea and vegetable farming. It has also been developed for hydroelectric power generation. Development activities have recently been intensified creating enormous stress to the environment. This thesis investigates the sustainability of the development in Cameron Highlands. It adopts a holistic approach based on the Pressure-State-Response framework. The methodology adopted is mainly library research, with supplementary environmental data processing and calculation. The pressure of the development of agriculture, tourism and hydropower generation on the environment is analyzed. Then, …

The Relationship Between Selected Economic Indicators And The Malaysian Stock Index Futures, Irwaan Iskandar Abrahim

Student Works (2000-2009)

This research examines the relationship between selected economics indicators and Malaysian Stock Index Futures. It also focusses on the relevancy of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) in a developing derivatives market in South East Asia, namely the Malaysian Stock Index Futures market. The relationship analysis between selected economic indicators and Malaysian Stock Index Futures may give better understanding the degree our derivatives market grasp economics factors in determining market change and movements. In an efficient market, the relevant signal to be used in trading is the futures price. The relative forecasting power of futures price is applied with the various …

Peppering Knowledge Sources With Salt: Boosting Conceptual Content For Ontology Generation, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Yihong Ding, David W. Embley, Alan Melby

Faculty Publications

This paper describes work done to explore the common ground between two different ongoing research projects: the standardization of lexical and terminological resources, and the use of conceptual ontologies for information extraction and data integration. Specifically, this paper explores improving the generation of extraction ontologies through use of a comprehensive terminology database that has been represented in a standardized format for easy tool-based implementation. We show how, via the successful integration of these two distinct efforts, it is possible to leverage large-scale terminological and conceptual information having relationship-rich semantic resources in order to reformulate, match, and merge retrieved information of …

A Study Of Ship Scrapping Economics, Environmental Problems In South Asia And Solutions, Pradeep Chhabra

World Maritime University Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of economic concepts of ship scrapping, various toxic substances available on ships, their adverse effects on the environment in south Asian ship scrapping countries and possible solutions to raise the standards of ship scrapping to make it safe for the environment and human health. Ships, after the end of their economic life, are scrapped to recover many valuable materials, which are either recycled or reused. Ship scrapping is labour intensive. It is an economic activity, which has the tendency to be located in developing countries. A brief look has been taken at the economics of …

The Role Of Environmental Analogs In Identifying Potentially Invasive Woody Plants In Iowa, Mark P. Widrlechner

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Americans cultivate a large and diverse range of introduced woody plants as important sources of food and forest products, as well as for urban horticulture, amenity and wildlife plantings, and windbreaks. A small number of these species have become serious pests, disrupting well-established native plant communities or functioning as range and agricultural weeds. More of these species are not serious pests today, but have escaped cultivation and serve as potential sources of future outbreaks. Two other sources of potentially invasive woody plants are found among species that are not or are only rarely cultivated, about which we often know little …

Helping At-Risk Students Add Up: Motivational Lessons For Students In High School Mathematics, Karen Beckner

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

The Progression Of Recycling In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Susan Marklin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recycling is an important issue when dealing with solid waste. It keeps many tons of garbage out of our landfills and prolongs landfill life. Although many people in the Bowling Green area participate in the mandatory recycling program, there are still many who do not. The number of people who participate in the program has steadily grown over the past five years; however, there are still many people who need to get involved. This research argues that much effort has been put into recycling in recent years at the global, national, and local level. However, it also argues that even …

1998 Debris Flows Near The Yakima River, Kittitas County, Washington—Some Geomorphic Implications, Martin R. Kaatz

Geography Faculty Scholarship

The geomorphic consequences of debris flows and their asso- ciated storms have been documented in many parts of the United States. Few, if any, have been studied and documented in central Washington. The importance of recurrent debris flows in sculpting Washington landscapes has not been generally recognized compared to other processes. Arid and semi-arid regions are particularly vulnerable to debris flows triggered by sudden intense thunderstorms. Most such areas are sparsely populated and eyewitnesses are uncommon. By contrast, semi-arid central Washington is relatively well popu- lated, and there are likely to be people who have observed the storms. Such witnesses …

Acknowledgements, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.