Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development, Sustainability, And The Deforestation Of Samoa, Paul Shankman

Pacific Studies

The forests of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) are rapidly disappearing. This article reviews the history of Samoan deforestation, particularly during the last four decades, in the context of ideas about development and sustainability. It also examines the role of village agriculturalists in the process of deforestation. Recent economic, technological, and organizational changes have increased village agricultural expansion and, consequently, deforestation.

On-Line Bayesian Tree-Structured Transformation Of Hidden Markov Models For Speaker Adaptation, Shaojun Wang, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper presents a new recursive Bayesian learning approach for transformation parameter estimation in speaker adaptation. Our goal is to incrementally transform (or adapt) the entire set of HMM parameters for a new speaker or new acoustic enviroment from a small amount of adaptation data. By establishing a clustering tree of HMM Gaussian mixture components, the finest affine transformation parameters for individual HMM Gaussian mixture components can be dynamically searched. The on-line Bayesian learning technique proposed in our recent work is used for recursive maximum a posteriori estimation of affine transformation parameters. Speaker adaptation experiments using a 26-letter English alphabet …

Legislating A Sustainable Land Ethic For New Zealand, Michèle D. Dominy

Pacific Studies

This article explores competing discourses of sustainability in New Zealand’s South Island. As active resource managers, high-country pastoralists’ conception of “country” contests predominant reductive and binary models of production/ conservation and economic resource/visual resource and suggests a more complicated dynamic between scientific and cultural paradigms of sustainability than has been acknowledged. This dynamic is captured in the internationally driven top-down concept of equitable sustainable land management with a dual commitment to both cultural and ecological diversity as defined locally, formulated as part of the United Nations Rio Declaration of 1992, agenda 21, chapter 13. I examine an emergent high-country “land …

Contributors: Vol 22 No. 3-4, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Contributors list of Vol. 22 (1999): Pacific Studies Full Issue 3-4

Accounting For Change: Bringing Interdependence Into Defining Sustainability, Karen L. Nero

Pacific Studies

“Sustainability,” the key word of international development bodies currently intervening in the restructuring of the Marshall Islands economy, is defined within Western economic conceptualizations. I argue that such characterizations are incomplete: they fail to capture the full nature of the ongoing Marshallese economy by focusing too narrowly on transfers related to the Compact of Free Association and by their partial understanding of Marshallese food systems and easy dichotomies between imported and local foods. The segregation of external interventions by sector further distorts their possible impact. Structural imbalances within the Marshallese and other Pacific nations’ economies have been exacerbated by the …

Artisanal Coral Reef Fisheries And Sustainable Development: The Arno Atoll Fisheries Association, Jim Hess

Pacific Studies

The concept of sustainable development is inexact, requiring additional specification in application. How the subject of analysis is bounded will have consequences for understanding what is being sustained as well as for determining whether something is sustained. Here I examine a fisheries development project in the Marshall Islands. Shifting boundaries, I create three accounts of the project. In the first account, which focuses on resources and monetary cost and benefits, the project is clearly unsustainable. In the second account, focusing on international relations, the project sustains the relations of power and dependency. In the third account, I suggest that evaluation …

Is Tonga's Mirab Economy Sustainable? A View From The Village And A View Without It, Mike Evans

Pacific Studies

The development implications of the now-classic MIRAB economic pattern for South Pacific microstates (with economies dominated by overseas remittances and foreign aid) have attracted considerable attention. Some scholars argue the MIRAB pattern is well entrenched and can be sustained with a minimum of undesirable social and economic outcomes. Others decry the acceptance of the dependency of South Pacific nations and argue for renewed effort toward the development of self-sustaining economies. I argue that the debate must directly address the underlying social relations that facilitate and shape migration and remittances. In Tonga, the movement of people from rural areas has wide-ranging …

Resource Law Notes Newsletter, No. 47, Fall Issue, 1999, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Resource Law Notes: The Newsletter of the Natural Resources Law Center (1984-2002)

No abstract provided.

1999 Scholars And Artists Bibliography, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University, Friends Of The Michael Schwartz Library

Scholars and Artists Bibliographies

This bibliography was created for the annual Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library Scholars and Artists Reception, recognizing scholarly and creative achievements of Cleveland State University faculty, staff and emeriti

Metadata In A Digital Special Library: The Energy And Environmental Information Resources Center In Lafayette, Louisiana, Dan Foley

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

This paper discusses three kinds of metadata and how they are used in the Energy & Environmental Information Resources Center (EE-IR Center), a digital special library of text, numeric, and geospatial data, located in Lafayette, Louisiana. These metadata are Dublin Core (DC), MARC21 (formerly USMARC), and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata.

The EE-IR Center was formed as a partnership between the National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Center for Advanced Computer Studies of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (CACS/USL). Both partners are located in Lafayette, Louisiana. The EE-IR Center is funded by a …

Critical It Role In Healthcare: National Agenda, Applications, And Technologies, Jack Corley, Warren Karp, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

We share a widely-held vision that tomorrow's health care will be delivered by a distributed team using a knowledge based process that is focused on prevention and wellness. Caregivers will be able to treat and monitor patients where and when needed, capturing data as a natural byproduct of care delivery. Clinical teams with a wide range of skills and expertise will deliver consistent, quality care based on timely, situation-specific knowledge and guidance derived from outcomes evidence. That same knowledge will support advances in healthcare research and education. Home care and remote medicine will increase, reducing the need for high-cost hospitalization. …

Efficient Support For Decision Flows In E-Commerce Applications, Richard Hull, Francois Llirbat, Jianwen Su, Guozhu Dong, Bharat Kumar, Gang Zhou

Kno.e.sis Publications

In the coming era of segment-of-one marketing, decisions about business transactions will be quite intricate, so that customer treatments can be highly individualized, reflecting customer preferences, targeted business objectives, etc. This paper describes a paradigm called “decision flows” for specifying a form of incremental decision-making that can combine a myriad of diverse business factors and be executed in near-realtime. Starting with initial input, a decision flow will iteratively gather and derive additional information until a conclusion is reached. Decision flows can be specified in a rules-based manner that generalizes so-called “business rules” but provides more structure than traditional expert systems. …

Nsu Continuing Education Catalog Fall 1999: Courses, Seminars, Workshops, And Conferences, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

What Is Y2k And How Did The University Of Nevada System Solve It?, Diane R. Dietrich

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The turn of the century change from 1999 to 2000 will create chaos for the world's computer systems. This paper will discuss the causes of the Y2K problem, the reaction to this problem by the University of Nevada System Computer Services and possible repercussions of this problem for Nevada, the United States and the world.

Trends. Social Cognition And Global Warming, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article discusses the validity of global warming and on putative causes of the discourse and--if ontologically valid--of global warming, one might entertain the social psychology of how people might address a global environmental threat.

Table Of Contents Volume 10, Number Four, Fall 1999, Risk Editorial Board

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Table of contents for the journal RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (ISSN: 1073-8673)

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 41 Number 2, August 1999, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - APOCALYPSE PAST: Y1K By Thomas Turley. The year 2000 is upon us. But what about Y1K? History Professor Thomas Turley takes an historical look at the millennial fever of a thousand years ago.

12 - THE FUTURE IS MATH By Susan Vogel. Math Lecturer David Sul is on a mission: to get more Hispanics and African-Americans into Calculus and onto college through SCU's Calculus 100 program.

16 - The Class of 1999 Moves On By Sug Ramire '98. Optimism is the byword for the last graduating class of the millennium. Six 1999ers share their impressions, hopes, and fears …

Morphology Of Wetland Streams, Michael C. Jurmu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent understanding and concern with wetland environments has resulted in an increase in restoration and creation projects aimed at replicating these ecosystems. The unique characteristics within wetland environments result in different controls on streams traversing these areas, yet little research has been conducted to determine whether the morphology of these streams differs from streams in non-wetland, alluvial environments. Wetland streams from three different physiographic regions of the U.S. are compared to four morphological models and 12 additional features cited as typical in non-wetland streams. Analysis of this comparison will aid in determining whether wetland streams have differing morphology and which …

Science And Security Watch: A Threat To The United States From Foreign Graduate Students Training In Physics?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article critiques concerns of some United States (US) security analysts that foreign graduate students in physics who train at universities within the US present security vulnerabilities for the US.

Likely And Unlikely Events In International Security Affairs: An Example From The People's Republic Of China, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes a human judgment shortfall in international security decision making based on statistical probabilities.

Level Adjusted Exponential Smoothing: A Method For Judgmentally Adjusting Exponential Smoothing Models For Planned Discontinuities, Dan Williams, Don Miller

Publications and Research

Forecasters often make judgmental adjustments to exponential smoothing forecasts to account for the effects of a future planned change. While this approach may produce sound initial forecasts, it can result in diminished accuracy for forecast updates. A proposed technique lets the forecaster include policy change adjustments within an exponential smoothing model. For 20 real data series representing Virginia Medicaid expenses, initial forecasts and forecast updates are developed using the proposed technique and several alternatives, and they are updated through various simulated level shifts. The proposed technique was more accurate than the alternatives in updating forecasts when a shift in level …

Community-Based Organizations And Neighborhood Environmental Problem-Solving: A Framework For Adoption Of Information Technologies, Wendy A. Kellogg

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Community-based organizations (CBOs) today seek improved capacity to address environmental problems in urban neighbourhoods. Many seek access to information technologies such as the Internet and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to expand information about their neighbourhood's environmental quality to support their planning and service efforts. Experience with the Internet has been bolstered somewhat by programmes to create community networks. This experience and experience with GIS in planning at the municipal and state levels reveals a set of technical, organizational and personal prerequisites that bolster successful and effective adoption of information technologies. This paper reviews these prerequisites as they pertain to CBOs …

Transparencies Used In The Introductory Remarks Of Doug Kenney, Ph.D., Natural Resources Law Center, Douglas Kenney

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

6 pages.

Nebraska V. Wyoming: The End Or Collaboration?, Wendy Weiss, James Montgomery

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

13 pages.

Contains footnotes.

Collaborative Approaches To Conservation: A Critical Look, Larry Macdonnell

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

7 pages.

Regional Water Planning In Texas, John Folk-Williams

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

4 pages.

A Laboratory For Collaboration: Where, Why And Why Not?, Ken Salazar, Felicity Hannay, Steve Sims, Ted Kowalski

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

12 pages.

Platte River Endangered Species Partnership: Collaboration Or Coercion In Disguise, Dale Strickland

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

9 pages.

Collaboration Among Municipal Water Providers: Meeting Metro Denver Water Demand, Lee Rozaklis

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

11 pages (includes color illustrations).

An Environmental Perspective On Collaboration In Large Ecosystem Restoration Processes, Daniel F. Luecke

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

13 pages (includes illustration).

Contains 3 pages of references.