117,448 research outputs found

    Comparison of linear and mixed-effect regression models and a k-nearest neighbour approach for estimation of single-tree biomass

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    Allometric biomass models for individual trees are typically specific to site conditions and species. They are often based on a low number of easily measured independent variables, such as diameter in breast height and tree height. A prevalence of small data sets and few study sites limit their application domain. One challenge in the context of the actual climate change discussion is to find more general approaches for reliable biomass estimation. Therefore, nonparametric approaches can be seen as an alternative to commonly used regression models. In this pilot study, we compare a nonparametric instance-based k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) approach to estimate single-tree biomass with predictions from linear mixed-effect regression models and subsidiary linear models using data sets of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from the National Forest Inventory of Finland. For all trees, the predictor variables diameter at breast height and tree height are known. The data sets were split randomly into a modelling and a test subset for each species. The test subsets were not considered for the estimation of regression coefficients nor as training data for the k-NN imputation. The relative root mean square errors of linear mixed models and k-NN estimations are slightly lower than those of an ordinary least squares regression model. Relative prediction errors of the k-NN approach are 16.4% for spruce and 14.5% for pine. Errors of the linear mixed models are 17.4% for spruce and 15.0% for pine. Our results show that nonparametric methods are suitable in the context of single-tree biomass estimation

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Nation-wide clear-cut mapping in Sweden using ALOS PALSAR strip images

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    Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-band type Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) backscatter images with 50 m pixel size (strip images) at HV-polarization were used to map clear-cuts at a regional and national level in Sweden. For a set of 31 clear-cuts, on average 59.9% of the pixels within each clear-cut were correctly detected. When compared with a one-pixel edge-eroded version of the reference dataset, the accuracy increased to 88.9%. With respect to statistics from the Swedish Forest Agency, county-wise clear-felled areas were underestimated by the ALOS PALSAR dataset (between 25% and 60%) due to the coarse resolution. When compared with statistics from the Swedish National Forest Inventory, the discrepancies were larger, partly due to the estimation errors from the plot-wise forest inventory data. In Sweden, for the time frame of 2008–2010, the total area felled was estimated to be 140,618 ha, 172,532 ha and 194,586 ha using data from ALOS PALSAR, the Swedish Forest Agency and the Swedish National Forest Inventory, respectively. ALOS PALSAR strip images at HV-polarization appear suitable for detection of clear-felled areas at a national level; nonetheless, the pixel size of 50 m is a limiting factor for accurate delineation of clear-felled areas

    Square Dancing with the Stars to Enhance Dynamic Hirschman Linkages?

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    In this Presidential Address, the author takes the reader on a reconnaissance of his life and time as a regional scientist. He points out scenery he found scintillating along the way, hoping that some may pick up the banner and chew on a few of the ideas for a while. He suggests a revisit to Albert O. Hirschman’s notion of key sectors and more empirical analysis related to Marcus Berliant’s and Masahisa Fujita’s notion of knowledge creation and transfer.Presidential Address, San Antonio, Texas, March 29, 2014 (53rd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Forest Environmental Reporting Services

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    One of the forest environmental monitoring projects of the European Space Agency is implementing remote-sensing based services for national Kyoto Protocol reporting. Key players in this reporting for five European countries are actively involved. Their needs are mainly forest maps, land-use and land-use change maps. Prototypes are being implemented on twelve test sites before proceeding to a large-scale demonstration covering 500 000 km2

    Letter from unknown writer to Jesse L. Boyce

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    Letter to Jesse L. Boyce from unknown author (possibly Jack) about the investigation into the powder magazine located in the Grand Canyon. Some personal news is included in the letter such as the writer's marriage to the daughter of C.A. Taylor, former Supervisor of Cochise County

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Sarah L. Blum Author Visit - Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing

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    Hear Sarah L. Blum, author of Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military, discuss her newest book, Warrior Nurse: PTSD and Healing followed by a Q&A and book signing. Sarah L. Blum is a decorated Vietnam veteran who served as an operating room nurse during the intense fighting of 1967. In recognition of her service, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. Sponsored by CWU Veterans Center and CWU Libraries.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/libraryevents/1252/thumbnail.jp

    Lillian L. Lambert, Author, Speaker, and Entrepreneur

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    Lillian L. Lambert, Author, Speaker, and Entrepreneu
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