34 research outputs found
An Assessment of the National Water Model’s Ability to Reproduce Drought Series in New York State
No full textAccurately quantifying the spatiotemporal extent and intensity of drought is important for water resources planning and management. The onset of drought is impacted by a multitude of meteorologic, climatologic, and anthropogenic triggers. Currently, the United States Drought Monitor (USDM) is the tool used in the United States (U.S.) to both categorize drought and allocate emergency funding based on drought categories. Two key issues with the USDM are the nonuniform scale of its input variables, and its inability to predict drought into the future. This work proposes employing output from the NOAA’s National Water Model (NWM) 25-year reanalysis to augment the USDM. A numerical comparison is presented between concurrent New York State Mesonet (Mesonet) observed and NWM simulated soil moisture data at three depths in the soil column for 119 locations across NY, and between USGS observed and NWM simulated streamflow data for 28 locations across NY. Drought categories are determined according to USDM percentile ranges based on the percentiles derived from the non- exceedance probabilities of NWM streamflow and soil moisture output and USGS streamflow data. It was determined that while there was mixed (streamflow) to poor (soil moisture) agreement between the NWM reanalysis and observational data, the NWM was generally able to reproduce the spatial extent of the 2016 drought in NY with reasonable skill, especially when using data representing deeper soil moisture. It was generally observed that NWM derived drought categories were typically more extreme than those of the USDM
An impulse framework for hydrodynamic force analysis : fish propulsion, water entry of spheres, and marine propellers
No full textThesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis presents an impulse framework for analyzing the hydrodynamic forces on bodies in flow. This general theoretical framework is widely applicable, and it is used to address the hydrodynamics of fish propulsion, water entry of spheres, and the offdesign performance of marine propellers. These seemingly-unrelated physics problems share a key common thread: The forces on these fish, spheres, and propellers can be modeled as the sum of the reaction to the rate of change of (1) the pressure impulse required to set up the potential flow about the body, and (2) the vortex impulse required to create the vortical structures in the wake of the body. Fish generate propulsive forces by creating and manipulating large-scale vortical structures using their body and tail. High-speed particle image velocimetry experiments show that a fish generates two vortex rings during a C-turn maneuver and that the change in momentum of the fish balances the change in pressure impulse plus the vortex impulse of these rings. When a sphere plunges into a basin of water and creates a sub-surface air cavity in place of a vortical wake, the vortex impulse is zero, and the force on the sphere is given by the pressure impulse component. Using data from high-speed imaging experiments, a semi-empirical numerical simulation is developed herein; this numerical model shows how the presence of the cavity alters the unsteady pressure force on the sphere and modulates the dynamics of the impact event. During steady propeller operation, the pressure impulse is constant, and the loads on the propeller are given by the vortex impulse component. To analyze these loads, a computational design and analysis tool is presented; this code suite is based on propeller lifting line theory, which is shown to be a special case of the general impulse framework of this thesis. A marine propeller is designed, built, and tested over a range of off-design operating conditions. Experimental results match the predicted performance curve for this propeller, which provides important validation data for the numerical method presented herein. 3 Bringing this thesis full circle, the unsteady startup of the propellor is addressed, which is analogous to the impulsive maneuvering of the swimming fish. As in the fish maneuvering problem, the propellor generates a ring-like vortical wake, and it is shown herein how the vortex impulse of these rings provides thrust for the propellor. With the perspective of the impulse framework developed in this thesis, the results of these tandem experimental investigations and numerical simulations provide deeper insight into classical fluid-dynamics theory and modern experimental hydrodynamics.by Brenden P. Epps.Ph.D
The Creation and Development of New Tools for Creative Problem Solving
No full textThis project presents two new tools that have been created by the author for the CPS process. The first tool, Knowing the Bullseye (KB Analysis), is used to analyze an objective by examining characteristics associated with the objective. The other tool designed is the Arena Plan for Ensuring Success (APES Evaluation). This tool is utilized to evaluate a plan of action before implementation takes place. The tools’ design, development, procedure for usage, examples, and evaluation are presented. Both of these tools are meant to assist in the decision making and CPS process and have been delivered in a user-friendly manner
Doctor of Philosophy
No full textdissertationThis dissertation is a qualitative case study of organizing for sustainability, which is an ambiguous term that has been part of public discussion of environmental issues since at least 1987. A growing number of organizations employ sustainability officers responsible for communicating with internal and external audiences. Since this sort of work is becoming more common, scholarship investigating the intersections of sustainability, organizing, and communication is needed. This study followed the development of an office of sustainability at a large U.S. public university from the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2010. The author engaged in longterm participant observation, conducted 20 in-depth individual interviews, and two group interviews with employees and partners of the office of sustainability. This study\u27s research questions focus upon lay theories of communication, organizing, and persuasion. The author develops a uniquely interpretive approach to reconstructing and assessing lay theories of communication. Employing this analytic framework, the author addresses participants\u27 lay theorizing of intraorganizational advocacy, voice, and communication ethics. Findings show that study participants navigate at least three tensions when cultivating a collective environmental voice on campus, and theorize communication in ways that discourage or disparage overt influence and the direct engagement of communication ethics in discussions about sustainability. The study demonstrates the value of inquiry into sustainability advocates\u27 metacommunication in addition to their communication strategies and practices
Spinoza, Deep Ecology, and Human Diversity -- Schizophrenics and Others Who Could Heal the Earth If Society Realized Eco-Literacy
No full textThe author, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic and a student of Philosophy, explores the notion of the active love, of Spinoza and Arne Naess, in association with Fritjof Capra's concept of Eco-Literacy and with Gregory Bateson's ecological theory of schizophrenia. Via personal anecdotes and synthesis, the claim is made that enriching respect and understanding of our human diversity, and especially seeking the social integration of abnormal psychologies, should be a key goal of Deep Ecology-related thought and action
Author's personal copy
No full texta b s t r a c t Phosphate (Pi) is an essential, but limiting macronutrient that plays critical roles in plant metabolism and development. Plants have evolved an intricate array of adaptations to enhance Pi acquisition and utilization from their environment. The availability of the complete genome sequence of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, together with a wide assortment of related genomic resources, has significantly advanced our understanding of the adaptations of Pi-starved plants. Information on the genetic identity, subcellular location, biochemical properties, and probable functions of acid phosphatases involved in the Pi metabolism of Pi-starved Arabidopsis is beginning to emerge. Acid phosphatases catalyze the hydrolysis of Pi from a broad range of phosphomonoesters with an acidic pH optimum. The Arabidopsis genome encodes 29 different purple acid phosphatases whose expression is influenced by various developmental and environmental factors. Pi starvation induces de novo synthesis of several extraand intracellular Arabidopsis purple acid phosphatase isozymes; AtPAP12 and AtPAP26 appear to be the principal root-secreted acid phosphatases that scavenge Pi from extracellular Pi-esters, whereas the dual-targeted AtPAP26 is the predominant intracellular acid phosphatase that functions in vacuolar Pi recycling by Pi-starved Arabidopsis. The identification and functional characterization of intracellular and secreted purple acid phosphatase isozymes upregulated by Pi-deprived plants may help develop strategies for engineering Pi-efficient crops, thereby minimizing the use of unsustainable Pi fertilizers in agriculture
Luther’s Legacy: The Thirty Years War and the Modern Notion of “State” in the Empire, 1530s to 1790s
No full textDangers of Information Control and Misinformation in the Modern Era
No full textabstract: The basis of social power which has expanded in the most dangerous way over the last few decades has been that of information control, and how that control is used. Misinformation and the intentional spread of misinformation referred to as disinformation, has become commonplace among various bodies of power to either expand their own influence or diminish opposing influence. The methods of disinformation utilized in the various spheres of politics, the commercial marketplace, and the media today are explored in depth to better contextualize and describe the problems that disinformation and its use pose in the world today. (abstract
Untold Story: Laura Huelster
No full textThe purpose of this research is to find out the important achievements of Laura Huestler and the contributions she has made to the athletic department at the University of Illinois. Our main research questions are: What were sports like for women growing up? How was she treated differently than males in sport? Did becoming a professor enhance her pull in the athletic department? Was she treated differently because she played field hockey, not tennis or something more feminine? Did anything in her childhood influence her beliefs of equality in sport?Submitted by Karen Rodriguez'g ([email protected]) on 2011-08-17T21:10:32Z
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Previous issue date: 2011-08Created separate dc.creator fields for each individual author.
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How Political Parties Can Appeal to Voters
No full textYoung voters are not voting. According to the United States Census Bureau, young voters, aged 18-29, have not turned out to vote in Presidential Elections at a rate higher than 50% since 1968. Millions of ballots – with the potential to swing elections, policies, and political momentum – are left blank. It is in the interest of both parties to identify why young voters are not going to the polls. In order to understand what makes political messaging persuasive to younger voters, this study presented participants with actual campaign speeches made by Democrats and Republican candidates for office. The author hypothesized that young voters would display higher evaluation scores for younger speakers, speakers that identified with the same political party as respondents, and speakers who convey messages that align with respondents’ value structures. To test the hypotheses, a survey embedded experiment was utilized to test respondents’ values and respondents’ affinity with one of four randomly assigned political candidates with differing age, political identification, and political messages. Nearly every result from this study contradicted the author’s hypotheses. The data necessitates readers to ask themselves a series of epistemological questions, asking readers to look inward and understand why they hold their beliefs and what is preventing them from changing their beliefs; the present research suggests there may be more factors affecting readers’ political opinions than the sheer content of politicians\u27 policies
