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Wicked Water Problems for South-Central Texas
Get PDFLike many areas around the globe experiencing ever-growing demand for diminishing natural resources, the south-central region of Texas is facing a wicked problem in water resource planning and sustainability. This Region includes San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the U.S. With a projected population increase over one million residents by 2040, San Antonio depends on the long-term conservation and protection of its water resources for continual success. Since its establishment in 1718 along San Pedro Springs, the city has depended on groundwater as its principal water supply. However, in recent years, it has expanded from sole dependence on a single karst aquifer, the Edwards Aquifer, to a broader portfolio of neighboring aquifers, distant aquifers, surface supplies, and reclaimed water. Despite this resource diversification, the Region’s supply is threatened by continual development and expansion over sensitive aquifer recharge and contributing zones. Furthermore, the growing volume of discharged treated effluent and non-point source pollution from stormwater runoff are a concerning trend. Disparities in the spatial expanse and authority of water regulatory agencies has created numerous susceptibilities regarding over-pumping and unsustainable drawdown of major and minor aquifers, leading to increased water shortages and the potential for conflict. The purpose of this capstone paper is to assess the vulnerabilities to the region’s sustained water quantity and quality and determine if these vulnerabilities are consistent with the definition of a wicked problem, and to present a summary of current research initiatives aimed at better understanding the issues. Based on this assessment, the capstone paper will provide feasible improvement strategies to be considered by the state of Texas and subsidiary water management and regulatory agencies to promote meaningful changes towards a more sustainable future for south-central Texas water resources
Motion Coach
Get PDFPeople find it difficult to do tasks which are related to maintaining correct posture. For activities related to performing a posture routine correctly by oneself, unfortunately there aren’t many systems out there which help people to do so and provide feedback on what went wrong and how they could improve it. There are limited options for people who prefer to learn the activity by themselves, at their convenient location. YouTube [1] tutorials are a predominant option in this space.
Hence this Master’s report presents Motion Coach, the first system which addresses these issues by guiding the user through a pose routine by breaking it into sequential stages, providing real-time feedback from the convenience of a user's laptop. Two assessments evaluated Motion Coach. In the user study 93.75% of the people felt that Motion Coach made the motion activity easier when compared to learning it from manual methods (Figure 14(a) ). 100% of the users felt the voice instructions with corrective feedback, static pose images made learning the activity much easier (Figure 14(a) ). 100% of the users agreed that they would like to use Motion Coach again, for learning other activities if possible (Figure 15). Users on average learned the activity 49% faster when compared to manual methods (Table 2). Motion Coach could effectively guide participants to do the motion activity (a pose routine) correctly and also save time. It needs no additional hardware, making it suitable to use for the majority of people. These promising results suggest that Motion Coach could serve as a starting point for future enhancements for applying it to physiotherapy [2], teaching golf swings, learning ballet or weight training
Exploring the persistence of Oregon white oak in the Willamette Valley
Get PDFOver the last 150 years, Oregon white oak habitat in the Willamette Valley has been converted to support grass crops, orchards and vineyards, cities, and conifer forests, nearly extirpating it from the Willamette Valley. Yet Oregon white oak offers many ecosystem services to the Willamette Valley and its residents. Recent and projected climate changes may favor Oregon white oak, as it has many traits that will help it to persist warmer and drier conditions. However, Oregon white oak is not totally immune to all of the environmental repercussions of a changing climate. These shifts have the potential to stress the ecological relationships between Oregon white oak and the diverse life-forms interacting with it, with implications for its future persistence. Therefore, many organizations are working to ensure Oregon white oak’s persistence. Three umbrella organizations aggregating many of these individual efforts—the Intertwine Alliance of the northern Willamette Valley, The Willamette Partnership of the central Willamette Valley, and Rivers to Ridges Partnership of the southern Willamette Valley—are working to conserve and restore existing oak stands, facilitate oak establishment in new suitable areas, and communicate the oak’s ecological and societal importance to the Willamette Valley. The ability for organizations to conserve Oregon white oak may be one of the best tools available to reduce its vulnerability in the Willamette Valley
Management Strategies and Ethical Considerations for Controlling Phytophthora ramorum (sudden oak death): Application to Southern Humboldt County
Get PDFHumboldt Redwoods State Park in southern Humboldt County, California is a coastal redwood forest, a highly unique and valued ecosystem. It has many social, cultural, ecological, and economic values, including recreational benefits, heritage and aesthetic values, high biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and climate regulation. However, Humboldt County is at risk of infection by the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, an oomycete which causes sudden oak death. Phytophthora ramorum has had devastating impacts on tree populations in central California and threatens forest ecosystems in the state’s northern counties. It has been reported in Humboldt County, and if the pathogen continues to spread, thereby causing mortality in oaks (Quercus spp.) and tanoaks (Lithocarpus densiflorus), ecosystem stability will be threatened. Due to the many ecosystem services the coastal redwoods provide, it is imperative to mitigate the spread of P. ramorum in this area. This case study reviews the status of P. ramorum in southern Humboldt County and pathogen management strategies, including quarantine, chemical treatment, and stand thinning. By reviewing the literature on how effective various strategies have been at controlling P. ramorum spread, the best management strategies to implement at the study site can be identified. Furthermore, this paper will review ethical considerations of management with the goal of providing managers and policy makers a framework for disease management that considers different landownerships, land-uses, and values. Preventing the spread of P. ramorum in southern Humboldt County is essential to preserving coastal redwood forests and their ecosystem services, as well as mitigating the spread of the pathogen into other counties and states
Design and implementation of a simplified Kalman filter for an ocean circulation model
Get PDFA Kalman filter was developed to recover information on short period variations of ocean circulation from the satellite altimeter signals for the North Pacific Ocean. The ocean circulation at each grid point is specified by three variables: sea level height h, zonal velocity u, and meridional velocity v. In our simplified Kalman filter, the gain matrix is constructed only for the variable h, and u and v are derived from h. Assuming that the errors at two locations more than 800-kilometers apart are independent, the storage requirement and time complexity for the simplified Kalman filter are both reduced from O(N² to O(N). We confirmed by two experiments that the simplified Kalman filter can recover the short period variations for ocean circulation by filtering out the noise in the simulated altimeter signals.Keywords and Phrases: Ocean circulation, shallow-water equations, Kalman filter, satellite altimeter observation, quasi-geostrophic balance**1994 best estimate for issue date and commencement year based on available information.*
Limb Loss as an Indicator of Biotic Resistance Against the European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) in Coos Bay, Oregon
No full textThe presence of predators and competitors can offer biotic resistance against the establishment of non-native species, including the European green crab, Carcinus maenas, (EGC) in the estuary of Coos Bay, Oregon. It has been suggested that limb loss, or autotomy of the EGC will increase in areas that include populations of larger native crabs such as the red rock crab, (Cancer productus) and Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister). To test this hypothesis, we analyzed data from a long-term monitoring program collected by researchers from Oregon State University and South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR). From this data set we examine the patterns of limb loss as functions of size and location and extract indicators of the relative population density of EGC and other native crab species. This manuscript also includes an additional component that evaluates the policy implications of the EGC and offers additional societal and cultural context to further address this wicked problem
Improving the Effectiveness of Answering Keyword Queries Using Effective Subsets
Get PDFMost database users do not know formal query languages, such as SQL, and prefer to express their information needs using usable query languages, such as keyword queries. Keyword queries, however, are inherently ambiguous and challenging for the database systems to understand and answer effectively. We propose a novel approach to improving the effectiveness of answering keyword queries by processing.
them over subsets of the database, called effective subsets. Effective subsets contain
only the most promising candidate answers for these queries. We have shown that
our method significantly improves the effectiveness of answering keyword queries
using extensive empirical study
Impact of Advanced Placement Environmental Science on Environmental Beliefs and Actions of High School Students in Freehold Township High School, NJ
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate the effects of Advanced Placement Environmental Science on the pro-environmental behaviors and beliefs in high school juniors and seniors at a high school in central New Jersey. Using a pro-environmental behaviors scale adapted from earlier research by Astrid Leeuw (2015) in conjunction with the theory of planned behavior, students were asked to complete binary survey questions designed to determine if they engaged in certain pro-environmental behaviors and scaled questions to determine environmental beliefs. A pilot study was created in the 2018/2019 school year in which students took the survey at the end of the school year to determine survey effectiveness and establish baseline results. In 2019/2020 a new group of high school students in the same school took pre- and post-surveys that were informed by the pilot study to investigate how Advanced Placement Environmental Science informed their pro-environmental behaviors and beliefs. The pre-survey was distributed in class in January 2020, and the post-survey was distributed during distance learning in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Potential ramifications of the change in distribution methods are explored in the paper. Statistical analyses were performed on the data collected. The effectiveness of Advanced Placement Environmental Science on pro-environmental behaviors and beliefs remains an ongoing question. There was no difference in the responses in the pre- and post-survey. Where statistically significant differences did exist, delays in IRB approval and local Board of Education approval combined with the change in pre- and post-survey distribution methods makes establishing a direct paired comparison difficult. Consistency in survey responses between the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 cohorts was established. Potential avenues of future research are explored
A letter to Nayeli: Where you came from and where you are going
Get PDFIt was only when I reached a graduate-level education that I began to make meaning of my educational experiences. I found validation in my upbringing through the CSSA program, and I gave myself permission to accept myself. I have always felt I needed to
“catch up” with white students. I grew up thinking I was always a few steps behind the white students and assumed I just needed to work harder. In Jones and Abes (2013), I came across a point made by Iverson (2007) in the article “Camouflaging Power and Privilege: A Critical Race Analysis of University Diversity Policies,” which helped me understand why I felt I was always steps behind the white students (pp. 174-174). Iverson (2007) explains the language used by the University of Wisconsin in 1999, which, although “well-meaning,” shows the damage language causes to our students of color. The university addressed the need to close the “gap in educational achievement, by bringing retention and graduation rates for students of color in line with those of the student body as a whole” (p. 594 as cited in Jones & Abes, 2013, pp. 174-175). The key words in this damaging message were “in line with those of the student body as a whole” which then centered whiteness as a whole (student body) and indicating students of color need to “be in line with” the rest of the (white) student body. The previous example is the language that students of color grow up hearing, and unknowingly, we spend so many years of our lives feeling left behind. I unconsciously thought I needed to work to be “in line with” the white students. Writing a letter to myself has allowed me to lead with a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework in centering my own voice and experiences and I learned how I can continue to practice this theory as I work with students. CRT helped me in understanding how institutional and societal systems, power and privilege, and identity development affect the student's experience when they grow up in an environment that tells them they need to “be in line with” their White counterparts [comp 3]. CRT challenges the “be in line with” idea, by allowing students to see the value in their cultural heritage and knowledge. This framework has helped me understand how racist practices are still ingrained in our education systems, which for me, were often shown through microaggressions and colorblindness.
As I wrote to myself validating “The Things That Caught Me Off Guard” and “Know That You Deserved Better,” I share the same feelings the eight participants shared in the study from Sánchez et al. (2021).
“When discussing with the women how their experiences as early career Latina higher education administrators influenced their futures in the field, we found that most participants began their careers feeling enthusiastic and eager to impact the lives and college experiences of marginalized students on campus” (p. 598).
They lacked a sense of belonging; they did not feel like they could bring their authentic selves to their jobs and began to feel burnt out and demoralized about their careers. One of the participants shared a comment a student made about her, saying she could not possibly be an English teacher when English was not her first language. She then started to second-guess herself and had to work herself back into her role. She internalized the student's message, which affected her morale and sense of belonging in her classroom. This experience is the same type of internalized message I felt when the college president told me I did not impress the Board of Education with my language.
Experiences shared in my letter and specifically through the narratives from the Sánchez et al. (2021) reading prove how detrimental experiences of racism and discrimination have on our personal and professional development. I have felt that my professional development has been on hold because I have not felt the energy to continue to grow in my workplace, and I do not have the enthusiasm that I used to. At first, it felt as if I had halted my development, but in reality, I needed to give myself time to heal and disconnect more from what was continuously dragging me down
Movement Pattern Detection Through IMU and Barometer
Get PDFMovement pattern detection can be applied in a variety of applications such as assisting independent living of seniors at home, behaviour understanding in surveillance systems, sports analytics, and robotics. This project develops a scheme that fuses information from different sensors to detect movement patterns. This report contains three main parts: information collection and processing, pattern detection using the information collected, and algorithm implementation and results. The information needed for movement pattern detection comes from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a barometer. The information from the accelerometer and the gyroscope is first combined by using a complementary filter. The measurements in the body coordinates of the IMU are then transformed into data in the earth coordinates via quaternions. We then develop a scheme that exploits the advantages of the vupport vector machine and the k-nearest neighbor algorithm for motion detection. These schemes are finally implemented to detect four different movement patterns: walking, running, standing up and falling down, which are classified into static and dynamic motions. For dynamic motion, the difference of tilt angle and height could be used to distinguish the standing-up and falling-down patterns; for static motion, the difference of velocity in the horizontal plane could be used to distinguish the walking and running patterns