Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Maine

EPA Science Inventory

The primary goal of ecosystem-based management (EBM) is to sustain the long-term capacity of the natural world to provide ecosystem services. A technical workshop was held with the object of moving toward identifying, mapping, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services in the G...

Identifying multi-level culturally appropriate smoking cessation strategies for Aboriginal health staff: a concept mapping approach.

PubMed

Dawson, Anna P; Cargo, Margaret; Stewart, Harold; Chong, Alwin; Daniel, Mark

2013-02-01

Aboriginal Australians, including Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs), smoke at rates double the non-Aboriginal population. This study utilized concept mapping methodology to identify and prioritize culturally relevant strategies to promote smoking cessation in AHWs. Stakeholder participants included AHWs, other health service employees and tobacco control personnel. Smoking cessation strategies (n = 74) were brainstormed using 34 interviews, 3 focus groups and a stakeholder workshop. Stakeholders sorted strategies into meaningful groups and rated them on perceived importance and feasibility. A concept map was developed using multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses. Ten unique clusters of smoking cessation strategies were depicted that targeted individuals, family and peers, community, workplace and public policy. Smoking cessation resources and services were represented in addition to broader strategies addressing social and environmental stressors that perpetuate smoking and make quitting difficult. The perceived importance and feasibility of clusters were rated differently by participants working in health services that were government-coordinated compared with community-controlled. For health service workers within vulnerable populations, these findings clearly implicate a need for contextualized strategies that mitigate social and environmental stressors in addition to conventional strategies for tobacco control. The concept map is being applied in knowledge translation to guide development of smoking cessation programs for AHWs.

The National Map 2.0 Tactical Plan: "Toward the (Integrated) National Map"

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zulick, Carl A.

2008-01-01

The National Map's 2-year goal, as described in this plan, is to provide a range of geospatial products and services that meet the basic goals of the original vision for The National Map while furthering the National Spatial Data Infrastructure that underpins U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science. To accomplish this goal, the National Geospatial Program (NGP) will acquire, store, maintain, and distribute base map data. The management team for the NGP sets priorities for The National Map in three areas: Data and Products, Services, and Management. Priorities for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 (October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2009), involving the current data inventory, data acquisition, and the integration of data, are (1) incorporating current data from Federal, State, and local organizations into The National Map to the degree possible, given data availability and program resources; (2) collaborating with other USGS programs to incorporate data that support the USGS Science Strategy; (3) supporting the Department of the Interior (DOI) high-priority geospatial information needs; (4) emergency response; (5) homeland security, natural hazards; and (6) graphics products delivery. The management team identified known constraints, enablers, and drivers for the acquisition and integration of data. The NGP management team also identified customer-focused products and services of The National Map. Ongoing planning and management activities direct the development and delivery of these products and services. Management of work flow processes to support The National Map priorities are identified and established through a business-driven prioritization process. This tactical plan is primarily for use as a document to guide The National Map program for the next two fiscal years. The document is available to the public because of widespread interest in The National Map. The USGS collaborates with a broad range of customers and partners who are essential to the success of The National Map, including the science community, State and Federal agencies involved in homeland security, planners and emergency responders at the local level, and private companies. Partner contributions and data remain a primary input and foundation of The National Map. Partnership strategies for each of The National Map's component data themes are outlined in this plan. Because of the importance of The National Map customers, a reassessment of customer needs will be completed during 2008. Results of the assessment will be incorporated into future decisions and priorities. A performance milestone matrix has been developed that contains the full list of milestones, major deliverables, and major tasks. The matrix forms the basis for reporting on accomplishments and issues. However, a number of risks, dependencies, and issues have been identified that could affect meeting milestones in the matrix, such as: the USGS is not the Circular A-16 lead for boundaries, transportation, and structures; availability of sufficient and sustainable funding; availability of Federal workforce and contractors with necessary skills, and numerous competing customer and stakeholder requirements.

Maternity Care Services and Culture: A Systematic Global Mapping of Interventions

PubMed Central

Coast, Ernestina; Jones, Eleri; Portela, Anayda; Lattof, Samantha R.

2014-01-01

Background A vast body of global research shows that cultural factors affect the use of skilled maternity care services in diverse contexts. While interventions have sought to address this issue, the literature on these efforts has not been synthesised. This paper presents a systematic mapping of interventions that have been implemented to address cultural factors that affect women's use of skilled maternity care. It identifies and develops a map of the literature; describes the range of interventions, types of literature and study designs; and identifies knowledge gaps. Methods and Findings Searches conducted systematically in ten electronic databases and two websites for literature published between 01/01/1990 and 28/02/2013 were combined with expert-recommended references. Potentially eligible literature included journal articles and grey literature published in English, French or Spanish. Items were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria, yielding 96 items in the final map. Data extracted from the full text documents are presented in tables and a narrative synthesis. The results show that a diverse range of interventions has been implemented in 35 countries to address cultural factors that affect the use of skilled maternity care. Items are classified as follows: (1) service delivery models; (2) service provider interventions; (3) health education interventions; (4) participatory approaches; and (5) mental health interventions. Conclusions The map provides a rich source of information on interventions attempted in diverse settings that might have relevance elsewhere. A range of literature was identified, from narrative descriptions of interventions to studies using randomised controlled trials to evaluate impact. Only 23 items describe studies that aim to measure intervention impact through the use of experimental or observational-analytic designs. Based on the findings, we identify avenues for further research in order to better document and measure the impact of interventions to address cultural factors that affect use of skilled maternity care. PMID:25268940

Using GIS Mapping to Assess Foster Care: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rine, Christine M.; Morales, Jocelyn; Vanyukevych, Anastasiya B.; Durand, Emily G.; Schroeder, Kurt A.

2012-01-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become widely used outside of traditional mapping applications, expanding their reach to social service organizations. The purpose of this article is to describe and explore the benefits of GIS mapping in identifying strengths and needs of foster care systems in rural settings through graphically assessing…

Web Based Rapid Mapping of Disaster Areas using Satellite Images, Web Processing Service, Web Mapping Service, Frequency Based Change Detection Algorithm and J-iView

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandibas, J. C.; Takarada, S.

2013-12-01

Timely identification of areas affected by natural disasters is very important for a successful rescue and effective emergency relief efforts. This research focuses on the development of a cost effective and efficient system of identifying areas affected by natural disasters, and the efficient distribution of the information. The developed system is composed of 3 modules which are the Web Processing Service (WPS), Web Map Service (WMS) and the user interface provided by J-iView (fig. 1). WPS is an online system that provides computation, storage and data access services. In this study, the WPS module provides online access of the software implementing the developed frequency based change detection algorithm for the identification of areas affected by natural disasters. It also sends requests to WMS servers to get the remotely sensed data to be used in the computation. WMS is a standard protocol that provides a simple HTTP interface for requesting geo-registered map images from one or more geospatial databases. In this research, the WMS component provides remote access of the satellite images which are used as inputs for land cover change detection. The user interface in this system is provided by J-iView, which is an online mapping system developed at the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ). The 3 modules are seamlessly integrated into a single package using J-iView, which could rapidly generate a map of disaster areas that is instantaneously viewable online. The developed system was tested using ASTER images covering the areas damaged by the March 11, 2011 tsunami in northeastern Japan. The developed system efficiently generated a map showing areas devastated by the tsunami. Based on the initial results of the study, the developed system proved to be a useful tool for emergency workers to quickly identify areas affected by natural disasters.

A multi-indicator framework for mapping cultural ecosystem services: The case of freshwater recreational fishing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Villamagna, Amy M.; Mogollón, Beatriz; Angermeier, Paul

2014-01-01

Despite recent interest, ecosystem services are not yet fully incorporated into private and public decisions about natural resource management. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are among the most challenging of services to include because they comprise complex ecological and social properties and processes that make them difficult to measure, map or monetize. Like others, CES are vulnerable to landscape changes and unsustainable use. To date, the sustainability of services has not been adequately addressed and few studies have considered measures of service capacity and demand simultaneously. To facilitate sustainability assessments and management of CES, our study objectives were to (1) develop a spatially explicit framework for mapping the capacity of ecosystems to provide freshwater recreational fishing, an important cultural service, (2) map societal demand for freshwater recreational fishing based on license data and identify areas of potential overuse, and (3) demonstrate how maps of relative capacity and relative demand could be interfaced to estimate sustainability of a CES. We mapped freshwater recreational fishing capacity at the 12-digit hydrologic unit-scale in North Carolina and Virginia using a multi-indicator service framework incorporating biophysical and social landscape metrics and mapped demand based on fishing license data. Mapping of capacity revealed a gradual decrease in capacity eastward from the mountains to the coastal plain and that fishing demand was greatest in urban areas. When comparing standardized relative measures of capacity and demand for freshwater recreational fishing, we found that ranks of capacity exceeded ranks of demand in most hydrologic units, except in 17% of North Carolina and 5% of Virginia. Our GIS-based approach to view freshwater recreational fishing through an ecosystem service lens will enable scientists and managers to examine (1) biophysical and social factors that foster or diminish cultural ecosystem services delivery, (2) demand for cultural ecosystem services relative to their capacity, and (3) ecological pressures like potential overuse that affect service sustainability. Ultimately, we expect such analyses to inform decision-making for freshwater recreational fisheries and other cultural ecosystem services.

Redesigning Children's Services: Mapping Interprofessional Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Joan

2009-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the policy themes of service integration, social justice and social inclusion which underpin the integrated community schools policy initiative in Scotland. That initiative is identified as an important vehicle for the Scottish Executive Government's aim of integrating children's services with the overarching…

[A functional analysis of healthcare auditors' skills in Venezuela, 2008].

PubMed

Chirinos-Muñoz, Mónica S

2010-10-01

Using functional analysis for identifying the basic, working, specific and generic skills and values which a health service auditor must have. Implementing the functional analysis technique with 10 experts, identifying specific, basic, generic skills and values by means of deductive logic. A functional map was obtained which started by establishing a key purpose based on improving healthcare and service quality from which three key functions emerged. The main functions and skills' units were then broken down into the competitive elements defining what a health service auditor is able to do. This functional map (following functional analysis methodology) shows in detail the simple and complex tasks which a healthcare auditor should apply in the workplace, adopting a forward management approach for improving healthcare and health service quality. This methodology, expressing logical-deductive awareness raising, provides expert consensual information validating each element regarding overall skills.

Development of spatial density maps based on geoprocessing web services: application to tuberculosis incidence in Barcelona, Spain.

PubMed

Dominkovics, Pau; Granell, Carlos; Pérez-Navarro, Antoni; Casals, Martí; Orcau, Angels; Caylà, Joan A

2011-11-29

Health professionals and authorities strive to cope with heterogeneous data, services, and statistical models to support decision making on public health. Sophisticated analysis and distributed processing capabilities over geocoded epidemiological data are seen as driving factors to speed up control and decision making in these health risk situations. In this context, recent Web technologies and standards-based web services deployed on geospatial information infrastructures have rapidly become an efficient way to access, share, process, and visualize geocoded health-related information. Data used on this study is based on Tuberculosis (TB) cases registered in Barcelona city during 2009. Residential addresses are geocoded and loaded into a spatial database that acts as a backend database. The web-based application architecture and geoprocessing web services are designed according to the Representational State Transfer (REST) principles. These web processing services produce spatial density maps against the backend database. The results are focused on the use of the proposed web-based application to the analysis of TB cases in Barcelona. The application produces spatial density maps to ease the monitoring and decision making process by health professionals. We also include a discussion of how spatial density maps may be useful for health practitioners in such contexts. In this paper, we developed web-based client application and a set of geoprocessing web services to support specific health-spatial requirements. Spatial density maps of TB incidence were generated to help health professionals in analysis and decision-making tasks. The combined use of geographic information tools, map viewers, and geoprocessing services leads to interesting possibilities in handling health data in a spatial manner. In particular, the use of spatial density maps has been effective to identify the most affected areas and its spatial impact. This study is an attempt to demonstrate how web processing services together with web-based mapping capabilities suit the needs of health practitioners in epidemiological analysis scenarios.

Development of spatial density maps based on geoprocessing web services: application to tuberculosis incidence in Barcelona, Spain

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Health professionals and authorities strive to cope with heterogeneous data, services, and statistical models to support decision making on public health. Sophisticated analysis and distributed processing capabilities over geocoded epidemiological data are seen as driving factors to speed up control and decision making in these health risk situations. In this context, recent Web technologies and standards-based web services deployed on geospatial information infrastructures have rapidly become an efficient way to access, share, process, and visualize geocoded health-related information. Methods Data used on this study is based on Tuberculosis (TB) cases registered in Barcelona city during 2009. Residential addresses are geocoded and loaded into a spatial database that acts as a backend database. The web-based application architecture and geoprocessing web services are designed according to the Representational State Transfer (REST) principles. These web processing services produce spatial density maps against the backend database. Results The results are focused on the use of the proposed web-based application to the analysis of TB cases in Barcelona. The application produces spatial density maps to ease the monitoring and decision making process by health professionals. We also include a discussion of how spatial density maps may be useful for health practitioners in such contexts. Conclusions In this paper, we developed web-based client application and a set of geoprocessing web services to support specific health-spatial requirements. Spatial density maps of TB incidence were generated to help health professionals in analysis and decision-making tasks. The combined use of geographic information tools, map viewers, and geoprocessing services leads to interesting possibilities in handling health data in a spatial manner. In particular, the use of spatial density maps has been effective to identify the most affected areas and its spatial impact. This study is an attempt to demonstrate how web processing services together with web-based mapping capabilities suit the needs of health practitioners in epidemiological analysis scenarios. PMID:22126392

Research into Australian emergency services personnel mental health and wellbeing: An evidence map.

PubMed

Varker, Tracey; Metcalf, Olivia; Forbes, David; Chisolm, Katherine; Harvey, Sam; Van Hooff, Miranda; McFarlane, Alexander; Bryant, Richard; Phelps, Andrea J

2018-02-01

Evidence maps are a method of systematically characterising the range of research activity in broad topic areas and are a tool for guiding research priorities. 'Evidence-mapping' methodology was used to quantify the nature and distribution of recent peer-reviewed research into the mental health and wellbeing of Australian emergency services personnel. A search of the PsycINFO, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases was performed for primary research articles that were published between January 2011 and July 2016. In all, 43 studies of primary research were identified and mapped. The majority of the research focused on organisational and individual/social factors and how they relate to mental health problems/wellbeing. There were several areas of research where very few studies were detected through the mapping process, including suicide, personality, stigma and pre-employment factors that may contribute to mental health outcomes and the use of e-health. No studies were detected which examined the prevalence of self-harm and/or harm to others, bullying, alcohol/substance use, barriers to care or experience of families of emergency services personnel. In addition, there was no comprehensive national study that had investigated all sectors of emergency services personnel. This evidence map highlights the need for future research to address the current gaps in mental health and wellbeing research among Australian emergency services personnel. Improved understanding of the mental health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel, and the factors that contribute, should guide organisations' wellbeing policies and procedures.

Access to dialysis services: A systematic mapping review based on geographical information systems.

PubMed

Hoseini, Benyamin; Bagheri, Nasser; Kiani, Behzad; Azizi, Amirabbas; Tabesh, Hamed; Tara, Mahmood

2018-05-07

Equitable access to healthcare services constitutes one of the leading priorities of healthcare provision and access to dialysis services (ADS) has an essential impact on patients depending on renal dialysis. The many existing GIS-based ADS evaluations include various spatial and non-spatial factors affecting ADS. We systematically mapped and reviewed the available literature with reference to this area identifying gaps in current GIS-based ADS measurements and developing recommendations for future studies. A threestep, systematic mapping review of the available GIS-related evidence in PubMed, Embase, Web of science, Scopus, Science Direct and IEEE Xplore was performed in May 2016 and the information collected updated October 2017 by two independent selection processes. The quality of the studies was assessed using an informal, mixed-approach scoring system. Out of 1119 literature references identified, 36 were identified and used for final review after removal of duplicates, study screenings and applying inclusion/exclusion criteria. Given the contents of the selected studies, three study groups were identified and 41 factors with potential effects on ADS determined. These studies mainly addressed the potential and/or spatial aspects of ADS. Our systematic mapping review of the evidence revealed that current GIS-based measures of ADS tend to calculate potential ADS instead of a realized one. It was also noted that listed factors affecting ADS were mainly nonspatial bringing forth the hypothesis that designing an integrated ADS index could possibly produce better ADS score than those currently advocated. Some primary and secondary research suggestions are made and a list of recommendations offered.

Getting past the dual logic: findings from a pilot asset mapping exercise in Sheffield, UK.

PubMed

South, Jane; Giuntoli, Gianfranco; Kinsella, Karina

2017-01-01

Asset-based approaches seek to identify and mobilise the personal, social and organisational resources available to communities. Asset mapping is a recognised method of gathering an inventory of neighbourhood assets and is underpinned by a fundamentally different logic to traditional needs assessments. The aim of this paper is to explore how asset mapping might be used as a tool for health improvement. It reports on a qualitative evaluation of a pilot asset mapping project carried out in two economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Sheffield, UK. The project involved community health champions working with two community organisations to identify assets linked to the health and wellbeing of their neighbourhoods. The evaluation was undertaken in 2012 after mapping activities had been completed. A qualitative design, using theory of change methodology, was used to explore assumptions between activities, mechanisms and outcomes. Semi structured interviews were undertaken with a purposive sample of 11 stakeholders including champions, community staff and strategic partners. Thematic analysis was used and themes were identified on the process of asset mapping, the role of champions and the early outcomes for neighbourhoods and services. Findings showed that asset mapping was developmental and understandings grew as participatory activities were planned and implemented. The role of the champions was limited by numbers involved, nonetheless meaningful engagement occurred with residents which led to personal and social resources being identified. Most early outcomes were focused on the lead community organisations. There was less evidence of results feeding into wider planning processes because of the requirements for more quantifiable information. The paper discusses the importance of relational aspects of asset mapping both within communities and between communities and services. The conclusions are that it is insufficient to switch from the logic of needs to assets without building asset mapping as part of a broader planning process. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mapping potential carbon and timber losses from hurricanes using a decision tree and ecosystem services driver model.

PubMed

Delphin, S; Escobedo, F J; Abd-Elrahman, A; Cropper, W

2013-11-15

Information on the effect of direct drivers such as hurricanes on ecosystem services is relevant to landowners and policy makers due to predicted effects from climate change. We identified forest damage risk zones due to hurricanes and estimated the potential loss of 2 key ecosystem services: aboveground carbon storage and timber volume. Using land cover, plot-level forest inventory data, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, and a decision tree-based framework; we determined potential damage to subtropical forests from hurricanes in the Lower Suwannee River (LS) and Pensacola Bay (PB) watersheds in Florida, US. We used biophysical factors identified in previous studies as being influential in forest damage in our decision tree and hurricane wind risk maps. Results show that 31% and 0.5% of the total aboveground carbon storage in the LS and PB, respectively was located in high forest damage risk (HR) zones. Overall 15% and 0.7% of the total timber net volume in the LS and PB, respectively, was in HR zones. This model can also be used for identifying timber salvage areas, developing ecosystem service provision and management scenarios, and assessing the effect of other drivers on ecosystem services and goods. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asset Mapping: A Course Assignment and Community Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crozier, Mary; Melchior, Florence

2013-01-01

Asset mapping is a relatively new data collection strategy to identify services, staff capacity, programs, resources, values, and other protective factors in a geographic area that can be juxtaposed to risk factors when initiating community planning. A substance abuse prevention course for undergraduates added an assignment of assessing community…

30 CFR 773.6 - Public participation in permit processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... address of the applicant. (ii) A map or description which clearly shows or describes the precise location... information which would identify the location. If a map is used, it shall indicate the north direction. (iii... operation, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service district office, the local...

30 CFR 773.6 - Public participation in permit processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... address of the applicant. (ii) A map or description which clearly shows or describes the precise location... information which would identify the location. If a map is used, it shall indicate the north direction. (iii... operation, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service district office, the local...

30 CFR 773.6 - Public participation in permit processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... address of the applicant. (ii) A map or description which clearly shows or describes the precise location... information which would identify the location. If a map is used, it shall indicate the north direction. (iii... operation, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service district office, the local...

Towards Mapping the Provision of Ecosystem Services from Headwater Wetlands in the Susquehanna River Basin

EPA Science Inventory

Headwater wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services including habitat provisioning and flood retention. Following the River Ecosystem Synthesis framework we identified and assessed not only headwater wetlands, but unconstrained reaches with the potential to support diverse s...

Building online brand perceptual map.

PubMed

Chiang, I-Ping; Lin, Chih-Ying; Wang, Kaisheng M

2008-10-01

Many companies have launched their products or services online as a new business focus, but only a few of them have survived the competition and made profits. The most important key to an online business's success is to create "brand value" for the customers. Although the concept of online brand has been discussed in previous studies, there is no empirical study on the measurement of online branding. As Web 2.0 emerges to be critical to online branding, the purpose of this study was to measure Taiwan's major Web sites with a number of personality traits to build a perceptual map for online brands. A pretest identified 10 most representative online brand perceptions. The results of the correspondence analysis showed five groups in the perceptual map. This study provided a practical view of the associations and similarities among online brands for potential alliance or branding strategies. The findings also suggested that brand perceptions can be used with identified consumer needs and behaviors to better position online services. The brand perception map in the study also contributed to a better understanding of the online brands in Taiwan.

Mapping the critical service needs of adolescent children of prisoners.

PubMed

Johnson, Toni

2012-01-01

This study explores the service needs of adolescent children of prisoners by collecting information directly from the youth. The conceptual and empirical literature focused on children of prisoners generally attempts to describe or understand the effects of parental incarceration on prisoners' offspring but frequently fails to include data gathered directly from youth or include their voices in the litany of suggested programs and services. This study employed concept mapping technology to investigate the service needs of 14 adolescent children of prisoners living in an urban city in the Midwest. The findings revealed perceptions of unmet physical, emotional, psychological, and social needs divided into six thematic clusters. The findings also suggest that a single-service focus such as mentoring or tutoring may fail to meet the multiple and varied needs that these youth identified, especially those related to basic care such as food and clothing. Participants were asked to rate the themes on importance, and data suggest a high level of consistency between young women and young men. Strength-based solutions were then identified from the data to meet the needs of these youth.

EnviroAtlas - Bird National Biodiversity Ecosystem Services Metrics by 12-digit HUC for the Conterminous United States

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This dataset was produced by a joint effort of New Mexico State University (NMSU), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. Ecosystem services, i.e., services provided to humans from ecological systems, have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with economics to help understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on both ecosystem function and human well-being. Some aspects of biodiversity are valued by humans in varied ways, and thus are important to include in any assessment that seeks to identify and quantify the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., abundance and diversity of harvestable species), whereas others may reflect indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., relevance of species diversity to ecosystem resilience, or cultural and aesthetic values). Wildlife habitat has been modeled at broad spatial scales and can be used to map a number of biodiversity metrics. We map 15 biodiversity metrics reflecting ecosystem services or other aspects of biodiversity for bird species. Metrics include all bird species richness, lists identif

Parameters of the Future Food Service World of Work. A Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, Thomas F.; Swinton, John R.

The document is a study of the food service industry intended for use as a reference by food service teachers and curriculum planners. The purpose of the study is to map the economic and technological territory of the industry, to identify the dynamics shaping the industry today, and to consider questions crucial to an orderly consideration of the…

Mapping Pre-Service Teachers' Evolving Information and Communication Technologies Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Moira

2016-01-01

The research examined the nature and scope of e-portfolio reflective writing by primary pre-service teachers about their classroom implementation of information and communication technologies. Familiar and new technologies require a teacher to be able to confidently identify the pedagogical potential for effective learning and teaching. With the…

Mapping a Careflow Network to assess the connectedness of Connected Health.

PubMed

Carroll, Noel; Richardson, Ita

2017-04-01

Connected Health is an emerging and rapidly developing field which has the potential to transform healthcare service systems by increasing its safety, quality and overall efficiency. From a healthcare perspective, process improvement models have mainly focused on the static workflow viewpoint. The objective of this article is to study and model the dynamic nature of healthcare delivery, allowing us to identify where potential issues exist within the service system and to examine how Connected Health technological solutions may support service efficiencies. We explore the application of social network analysis (SNA) as a modelling technique which captures the dynamic nature of a healthcare service. We demonstrate how it can be used to map the 'Careflow Network' and guide Connected Health innovators to examine specific opportunities within the healthcare service. Our results indicate that healthcare technology must be correctly identified and implemented within the Careflow Network to enjoy improvements in service delivery. Oftentimes, prior to making the transformation to Connected Health, researchers use various modelling techniques that fail to identify where Connected Health innovation is best placed in a healthcare service network. Using SNA allows us to develop an understanding of the current operation of healthcare system within which they can effect change. It is important to identify and model the resource exchanges to ensure that the quality and safety of care are enhanced, efficiencies are increased and the overall healthcare service system is improved. We have shown that dynamic models allow us to study the exchange of resources. These are often intertwined within a socio-technical context in an informal manner and not accounted for in static models, yet capture a truer insight on the operations of a Careflow Network.

EnviroAtlas - Biodiversity Metrics by 12-digit HUC for the Southwestern United States

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset was produced by a joint effort of New Mexico State University, US EPA, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. Ecosystem services, i.e., services provided to humans from ecological systems, have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with economics to help understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on both ecosystem function and human well-being. Some aspects of biodiversity are valued by humans in varied ways, and thus are important to include in any assessment that seeks to identify and quantify the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., abundance and diversity of harvestable species), whereas others may reflect indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., relevance of species diversity to ecosystem resilience, or cultural and aesthetic values). Wildlife habitat has been modeled at broad spatial scales and can be used to map a number of biodiversity metrics. We map 15 biodiversity metrics reflecting ecosystem services or other aspects of biodiversity for all vertebrate species except fish. Metrics include species richness for all vertebrates, specific taxon gr

EnviroAtlas - Biodiversity Metrics by 12-digit HUC for the Southeastern United States

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset was produced by a joint effort of New Mexico State University, US EPA, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. Ecosystem services, i.e., services provided to humans from ecological systems, have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with economics to help understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on both ecosystem function and human well-being. Some aspects of biodiversity are valued by humans in varied ways, and thus are important to include in any assessment that seeks to identify and quantify the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., abundance and diversity of harvestable species), whereas others may reflect indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., relevance of species diversity to ecosystem resilience, or cultural and aesthetic values). Wildlife habitat has been modeled at broad spatial scales and can be used to map a number of biodiversity metrics. We map 14 biodiversity metrics reflecting ecosystem services or other aspects of biodiversity for all vertebrate species except fish. Metrics include species richness for all vertebrates, specific taxon gr

EnviroAtlas - Total reptile species by 12-digit HUC for the conterminous United States

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset was produced by a joint effort of New Mexico State University, US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA,) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. Ecosystem services, i.e., services provided to humans from ecological systems have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with economics to help understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on both ecosystem function and human well-being. Some aspects of biodiversity are valued by humans in varied ways, and thus are important to include in any assessment that seeks to identify and quantify the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., abundance and diversity of harvestable species), whereas others may reflect indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., relevance of species diversity to ecosystem resilience, cultural and aesthetic values). Wildlife habitat has been modeled at broad spatial scales and can be used to map a number of biodiversity metrics. We map 15 biodiversity metrics reflecting ecosystem services or other aspects of biodiversity for all vertebrate species except fish. Metrics include species richness fo

Mapping Ecosystem Services in the Jordan Valley, Jordan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luz, Ana; Marques, Ana; Ribeiro, Inês; Alho, Maria; Catarina Afonso, Ana; Almeida, Erika; Branquinho, Cristina; Talozi, Samer; Pinho, Pedro

2016-04-01

In the last decade researchers started using ecosystem services as a new framework to understand the relationships between environment and society. Habitat quality and water quality are related with ecosystem services regulation and maintenance, or even provision. According to the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) both habitat quality and water quality are associated with lifecycle maintenance, habitat and gene pool protection, and water conditions, among others. As there is increased pressure on habitats and rivers especially for agricultural development, mapping and evaluating habitat and water quality has important implications for resource management and conservation, as well as for rural development. Here, we model and map habitat and water quality in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. In this study, we aim to identify and analyse ecosystem services both through 1) habitat quality and 2) water quality modelling using InVest, an integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs. The data used in this study mainly includes the LULC, Jordan River watershed and main threats and pollutants in the study area, such as agriculture, industry, fish farms and urbanization. Results suggest a higher pressure on natural habitats in the Northern region of the Jordan Valley, where industry is dominant. Agriculture is present along the Jordan Valley and limits the few natural forested areas. Further, water pollution is mainly concentrated in disposal sites due to the low flow of the Jordan River. Our results can help to identify areas where natural resources and water resource management is most needed in the Jordan Valley. Acknowledgements: Transbasin FP7 project

Analyzing the spatial patterns and drivers of ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing Taihu Lake Basin of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Junyong; Sun, Xiang; Feng, Lan; Li, Yangfan; Zhu, Xiaodong

2015-09-01

Quantifying and mapping the distribution patterns of ecosystem services can help to ascertain which services should be protected and where investments should be directed to improve synergies and reduce tradeoffs. Moreover, the indicators of urbanization that affect the provision of ecosystem services must be identified to determine which approach to adopt in formulating policies related to these services. This paper presents a case study that maps the distribution of multiple ecosystem services and analyzes the ways in which they interact. The relationship between the supply of ecosystem services and the socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin of eastern China is also revealed. Results show a significant negative relationship between crop production and tourism income ( p<0.005) and a positive relationship between crop production, nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration ( p<0.005). The negative effects of the urbanization process on providing and regulating services are also identified through a comparison of the ecosystem services in large and small cities. Regression analysis was used to compare and elucidate the relative significance of the selected urbanization factors to ecosystem services. The results indicate that urbanization level is the most substantial factor inversely correlated with crop production ( R 2 = 0.414) and nutrient retention services ( R 2 = 0.572). Population density is the most important factor that negatively affects carbon sequestration ( R 2 = 0.447). The findings of this study suggest the potential relevance of ecosystem service dynamics to urbanization management and decision making.

Process mapping as a tool for home health network analysis.

PubMed

Pluto, Delores M; Hirshorn, Barbara A

2003-01-01

Process mapping is a qualitative tool that allows service providers, policy makers, researchers, and other concerned stakeholders to get a "bird's eye view" of a home health care organizational network or a very focused, in-depth view of a component of such a network. It can be used to share knowledge about community resources directed at the older population, identify gaps in resource availability and access, and promote on-going collaborative interactions that encourage systemic policy reassessment and programmatic refinement. This article is a methodological description of process mapping, which explores its utility as a practice and research tool, illustrates its use in describing service-providing networks, and discusses some of the issues that are key to successfully using this methodology.

Using concept mapping in the knowledge-to-action process to compare stakeholder opinions on barriers to use of cancer screening among South Asians.

PubMed

Lobb, Rebecca; Pinto, Andrew D; Lofters, Aisha

2013-03-23

Using the knowledge-to-action (KTA) process, this study examined barriers to use of evidence-based interventions to improve early detection of cancer among South Asians from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. In 2011, we used concept mapping with South Asian residents, and representatives from health service and community service organizations in the region of Peel Ontario. As part of concept mapping procedures, brainstorming sessions were conducted with stakeholders (n = 53) to identify barriers to cancer screening among South Asians. Participants (n = 46) sorted barriers into groups, and rated barriers from lowest (1) to highest (6) in terms of importance for use of mammograms, Pap tests and fecal occult blood tests, and how feasible it would be to address them. Multi-dimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. A total of 45 unique barriers to use of mammograms, Pap tests, and fecal occult blood tests among South Asians were classified into seven clusters using concept mapping procedures: patient's beliefs, fears, lack of social support; health system; limited knowledge among residents; limited knowledge among physicians; health education programs; ethno-cultural discordance with the health system; and cost. Overall, the top three ranked clusters of barriers were 'limited knowledge among residents,' 'ethno-cultural discordance,' and 'health education programs' across surveys. Only residents ranked 'cost' second in importance for fecal occult blood testing, and stakeholders from health service organizations ranked 'limited knowledge among physicians' third for the feasibility survey. Stakeholders from health services organizations ranked 'limited knowledge among physicians' fourth for all other surveys, but this cluster consistently ranked lowest among residents. The limited reach of cancer control programs to racial and ethnic minority groups is a critical implementation issue that requires attention. Opinions of community service and health service organizations on why this deficit in implementation occurs are fundamental to understanding the solutions because these are the settings in which evidence-based interventions are implemented. Using concept mapping within a KTA process can facilitate the engagement of multiple stakeholders in the utilization of study results and in identifying next steps for action.

Research and Practice of the News Map Compilation Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, T.; Liu, W.; Ma, W.

2018-04-01

Based on the needs of the news media on the map, this paper researches on the news map compilation service, conducts demand research on the service of compiling news maps, designs and compiles the public authority base map suitable for media publication, and constructs the news base map material library. It studies the compilation of domestic and international news maps with timeliness and strong pertinence and cross-regional characteristics, constructs the hot news thematic gallery and news map customization services, conducts research on types of news maps, establish closer liaison and cooperation methods with news media, and guides news media to use correct maps. Through the practice of the news map compilation service, this paper lists two cases of news map preparation services used by different media, compares and analyses cases, summarizes the research situation of news map compilation service, and at the same time puts forward outstanding problems and development suggestions in the service of news map compilation service.

Towards an EO-based Landslide Web Mapping and Monitoring Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hölbling, Daniel; Weinke, Elisabeth; Albrecht, Florian; Eisank, Clemens; Vecchiotti, Filippo; Friedl, Barbara; Kociu, Arben

2017-04-01

National and regional authorities and infrastructure maintainers in mountainous regions require accurate knowledge of the location and spatial extent of landslides for hazard and risk management. Information on landslides is often collected by a combination of ground surveying and manual image interpretation following landslide triggering events. However, the high workload and limited time for data acquisition result in a trade-off between completeness, accuracy and detail. Remote sensing data offers great potential for mapping and monitoring landslides in a fast and efficient manner. While facing an increased availability of high-quality Earth Observation (EO) data and new computational methods, there is still a lack in science-policy interaction and in providing innovative tools and methods that can easily be used by stakeholders and users to support their daily work. Taking up this issue, we introduce an innovative and user-oriented EO-based web service for landslide mapping and monitoring. Three central design components of the service are presented: (1) the user requirements definition, (2) the semi-automated image analysis methods implemented in the service, and (3) the web mapping application with its responsive user interface. User requirements were gathered during semi-structured interviews with regional authorities. The potential users were asked if and how they employ remote sensing data for landslide investigation and what their expectations to a landslide web mapping service regarding reliability and usability are. The interviews revealed the capability of our service for landslide documentation and mapping as well as monitoring of selected landslide sites, for example to complete and update landslide inventory maps. In addition, the users see a considerable potential for landslide rapid mapping. The user requirements analysis served as basis for the service concept definition. Optical satellite imagery from different high resolution (HR) and very high resolution (VHR) sensors, e.g. Landsat, Sentinel-2, SPOT-5, WorldView-2/3, was acquired for different study areas in the Alps. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) methods were used for semi-automated mapping of landslides. Selected mapping routines and results, including a step-by-step guidance, are integrated in the service by means of a web processing chain. This allows the user to gain insights into the service idea, the potential of semi-automated mapping methods, and the applicability of various satellite data for specific landslide mapping tasks. Moreover, an easy-to use and guided classification workflow, which includes image segmentation, statistical classification and manual editing options, enables the user to perform his/her own analyses. For validation, the classification results can be downloaded or compared against uploaded reference data using the implemented tools. Furthermore, users can compare the classification results to freely available data such as OpenStreetMap to identify landslide-affected infrastructure (e.g. roads, buildings). They also can upload infrastructure data available at their organization for specific assessments or monitor the evolution of selected landslides over time. Further actions will include the validation of the service in collaboration with stakeholders, decision makers and experts, which is essential to produce landslide information products that can assist the targeted management of natural hazards, and the evaluation of the potential towards the development of an operational Copernicus downstream service.

Using decision mapping to inform the development of a stated choice survey to elicit youth preferences for sexual and reproductive health and HIV services in rural Malawi.

PubMed

Michaels-Igbokwe, Christine; Lagarde, Mylene; Cairns, John; Terris-Prestholt, Fern

2014-03-01

The process of designing and developing discrete choice experiments (DCEs) is often under reported. The need to adequately report the results of qualitative work used to identify attributes and levels used in a DCE is recognised. However, one area that has received relatively little attention is the exploration of the choice question of interest. This paper provides a case study of the process used to design a stated preference survey to assess youth preferences for integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV outreach services in Malawi. Development and design consisted of six distinct but overlapping and iterative stages. Stage one was a review of the literature. Stage two involved developing a decision map to conceptualise the choice processes involved. Stage three included twelve focus group discussions with young people aged 15-24 (n = 113) and three key informant interviews (n = 3) conducted in Ntcheu District, Malawi. Stage four involved analysis of qualitative data and identification of potential attributes and levels. The choice format and experimental design were selected in stages five and six. The results of the literature review were used to develop a decision map outlining the choices that young people accessing SRH services may face. For youth that would like to use services two key choices were identified: the choice between providers and the choice of service delivery attributes within a provider type. Youth preferences for provider type are best explored using a DCE with a labelled design, while preferences for service delivery attributes associated with a particular provider are better understood using an unlabelled design. Consequently, two DCEs were adopted to jointly assess preferences in this context. Used in combination, the results of the literature review, the decision mapping process and the qualitative work provided robust approach to designing the DCEs individually and as complementary pieces of work. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of an integrated and sustainable rural service for people with diabetes in the Scottish Highlands.

PubMed

Cramp, Geoffrey J

2006-01-01

The number of people with diabetes is increasing leading to a greater burden on health care services. The impact of the growing prevalence is accentuated by remote and rural demographic and geographic characteristics. Highland is a sparsely populated remote and rural area in the north of Scotland, characterised by poor access to health-care services and pockets of marked deprivation. Centralised policy developments demanding local implementation compounded the pressures on a system that already had waiting times of over 90 weeks for some people with diabetes. A regional review of services, engaging stakeholders from all disciplines and geographical locations was required to develop acceptable and sustainable solutions. This article describes the extensive mapping process involved, how solutions were derived, and suggests a new service structure to encompass remote health-care issues. Health-care professionals with an interest in diabetes were identified and workshops were organised to include the remote areas of Highland. Patient and carers views were ascertained through workshops and supplemented by written submissions. Using the redesign methodology the patient pathway was mapped, noting service deficiencies and good practice. The information gathered was constructed into a service-level map representing the patient journey. A conference was organised to develop solutions to the issues raised during the mapping process. From these solutions a new service configuration was constructed. Over 300 health-care professionals patients and carers contributed. Fourteen workshops were held across the region including the remote areas, providing 15 local maps of the patient pathways subsequently amalgamated into a service-level map. The current patient pathway in Highland follows a traditional and dichotomous cycle of care in the primary and secondary care setting, partly reflecting the rural nature of healthcare in the Highlands. Four main areas for service improvement were identified: a reduction in waiting times for secondary care out patients; an improvement in communication between health-care professionals; further education for both health-care professionals and patients; and the use and role of allied health professionals. Seventeen solutions were recommended, including the introduction of a managed clinical network, use of an integrated IT system, use of a remote access consultation clinic, and web-based peer education and group sessions for allied health professionals. A new service configuration was proposed with the patient at the centre of a non-hierarchical system using standardised referral letters with a seamless flow of information. Local processes for the implementation of government directives are imposing pressures on relatively smaller organisations. These pressures develop as a result of attempts to ensure local ownership and in overcoming the difficulties unique to the remote and rural setting. Further evaluation of the implementation of initiatives to solve the issues of service planning in remote areas is needed to clarify their level of effectiveness.

Applied regional monitoring of the vernal advancement and retrogradation (Green wave effect) of natural vegetation in the Great Plains corridor. [Texas and Oklahoma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouse, J. W., Jr. (Principal Investigator)

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. A TV16 isoline map at the 6.25 million hectare extended test site area in north central Texas and southern Oklahoma was produced. The map was compared to a published USDA Statistical Reporting Service map, which shows pasture and range feed conditions, as reported by rancher respondents. Both maps show similar areas of drought stress and good to excellent forage conditions, but preliminary indications are that the LANDSAT-derived map more accurately depicts the areal extent of each condition class.

Improving pulmonary rehabilitation services.

PubMed

Beckford, Katy

The Clinical Audit of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services in England and Wales was the first national audit of pulmonary rehabilitation services in England and Wales. Forming part of the National Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Audit Programme, it was commissioned by Healthcare Quality Improvement Programme and conducted by the Royal College of Physicians and British Thoracic Society. The audit was undertaken to geographically map pulmonary rehabilitation services and identify how they can improve. This article summarises the key findings of the audit, and its recommendations.

Nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction and nutrient removal in the Nordic and Arctic regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bring, Arvid; Kalantari, Zahra

2017-04-01

Natural ecological functions provide essential and fundamental benefits to mankind, but can also be actively employed in nature-based solutions to specific challenges in society. For example, water-related ecosystem services have a role in such societal benefits as flood protection, erosion control, and excess nutrient removal. Ecosystem services may be produced and consumed in different locations, and research has recently attempted to formalize this discrepancy in identifying service providing areas (SPAs), service benefitting areas (SBAs), and service connecting areas (SCAs). However, in terms of water-related services, there is a lack of formal evaluation of how SPAs, SBAs, and SCAs are related to hydrological measures such as discharge, flood recurrence, excess nutrient removal, etc. We seek to map SPAs, SBAs and SCAs for a number of key ecosystem services in the Nordic and Arctic region though established ecological definitions (typically, based on land use) and evaluate the findings alongside metrics of hydrological connectivity (river networks), provisioning areas (runoff generating areas), and benefitting areas (river stretches where water flow is moderated). We make use of extensive GIS analysis using both high-resolution land cover data and river network maps. In the end, the results are expected to contribute to identifying how water-related ecosystem services can be employed as nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction and nutrient removal in a changing climate in the Nordic and Arctic regions.

The patient experience in community mental health services for older people: a concept mapping approach to support the development of a new quality measure.

PubMed

Wilberforce, Mark; Batten, Eric; Challis, David; Davies, Linda; Kelly, Michael P; Roberts, Chris

2018-06-18

The patient experience is a crucial part of the measurement of service quality. However, instruments to evaluate experiential quality in the community mental health care of older adults are lacking. Before designing a new instrument, clarity is needed about what is to be measured, and how care experiences are articulated by patients. The study aimed to construct a framework to describe older patients' experience of community mental health and social care. Concept mapping blends structured qualitative data collection with quantitative analysis in a mixed method approach. Five activities were undertaken. Patients first identified sentences describing the care experience; a card-sort exercise then grouped these thematically; multidimensional analysis portrayed these data in a map of clusters; interpretation was by patient advisers; finally a new questionnaire was designed. The research involved 22 older people with mental health problems and 29 mental health practitioners, from one region of England. Sixty-seven statements were identified that described the care experience. Analysis of card sort data revealed seven clusters, which were interpreted by patient advisers to the study as: personal qualities and relationships; communication problems; feeling powerless; in-and-out care; bureaucracy; focus on life, not just mental health; and continuity of care. These themes and the component statements were used as a foundation for later work, developing a new measure of the care experience in mental health services for older people. Concept mapping has many strengths as an empirical and participant-driven means for underpinning new measurement instruments. A group of older people identified 67 candidate statements that could act as questionnaire items grouped within seven themes. Future research will establish the psychometric properties of the new measure.

Mapping specific soil functions based on digital soil property maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pásztor, László; Fodor, Nándor; Farkas-Iványi, Kinga; Szabó, József; Bakacsi, Zsófia; Koós, Sándor

2016-04-01

Quantification of soil functions and services is a great challenge in itself even if the spatial relevance is supposed to be identified and regionalized. Proxies and indicators are widely used in ecosystem service mapping. Soil services could also be approximated by elementary soil features. One solution is the association of soil types with services as basic principle. Soil property maps however provide quantified spatial information, which could be utilized more versatilely for the spatial inference of soil functions and services. In the frame of the activities referred as "Digital, Optimized, Soil Related Maps and Information in Hungary" (DOSoReMI.hu) numerous soil property maps have been compiled so far with proper DSM techniques partly according to GSM.net specifications, partly by slightly or more strictly changing some of its predefined parameters (depth intervals, pixel size, property etc.). The elaborated maps have been further utilized, since even DOSoReMI.hu was intended to take steps toward the regionalization of higher level soil information (secondary properties, functions, services). In the meantime the recently started AGRAGIS project requested spatial soil related information in order to estimate agri-environmental related impacts of climate change and support the associated vulnerability assessment. One of the most vulnerable services of soils in the context of climate change is their provisioning service. In our work it was approximated by productivity, which was estimated by a sequential scenario based crop modelling. It took into consideration long term (50 years) time series of both measured and predicted climatic parameters as well as accounted for the potential differences in agricultural practice and crop production. The flexible parametrization and multiple results of modelling was then applied for the spatial assessment of sensitivity, vulnerability, exposure and adaptive capacity of soils in the context of the forecasted changes in climatic conditions in the Carpathian Basin. In addition to soil fertility, degradation risk due to N-leaching was also assessed by the model runs by taking into account the movement of nitrate in the profile during the simulated periods. Our paper will present the resulted national maps and some conclusions drawn from the experiences. Acknowledgement: Our work was supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and the REC (Project No: EEA C12-12) and the Hungarian National Scientific Research Foundation (OTKA, Grant No. K105167).

Digital soils survey map of the Patagonia Mountains, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Norman, Laura; Wissler, Craig; Guertin, D. Phillip; Gray, Floyd

2002-01-01

The ‘Soil Survey of Santa Cruz and Parts of Cochise and Pima Counties, Arizona,' a product of the USDA’s Soil Conservation Service and the Forest Service in cooperation with the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, released in 1979, was created according to the site conditions in 1971, when soil scientists identified soils types on aerial photographs. The scale at which these maps were published is 1:20,000. These soil maps were automated for incorporation into the hydrologic modeling within a GIS. The aerial photos onto which the soils units were drawn had not been orthoganalized, and contained distortion. A total of 15 maps composed the study area. These maps were scanned into TIFF format using an 8-bit black and white drum scanner at 100 dpi. The images were imported into ERDAS IMAGINE and the white borders were removed through subset decollaring processes. Five CD-ROM’s containing Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quads (DOQQ’s) were used to register and rectify the scanned soils maps. Polygonal data was then attributed according to the datasets.

Regional scale prioritisation for key ecosystem services, renewable energy production and urban development.

PubMed

Casalegno, Stefano; Bennie, Jonathan J; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J

2014-01-01

Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services.

Regional Scale Prioritisation for Key Ecosystem Services, Renewable Energy Production and Urban Development

PubMed Central

Casalegno, Stefano; Bennie, Jonathan J.; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J.

2014-01-01

Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services. PMID:25250775

Uncertainties in ecosystem service maps: a comparison on the European scale.

PubMed

Schulp, Catharina J E; Burkhard, Benjamin; Maes, Joachim; Van Vliet, Jasper; Verburg, Peter H

2014-01-01

Safeguarding the benefits that ecosystems provide to society is increasingly included as a target in international policies. To support such policies, ecosystem service maps are made. However, there is little attention for the accuracy of these maps. We made a systematic review and quantitative comparison of ecosystem service maps on the European scale to generate insights in the uncertainty of ecosystem service maps and discuss the possibilities for quantitative validation. Maps of climate regulation and recreation were reasonably similar while large uncertainties among maps of erosion protection and flood regulation were observed. Pollination maps had a moderate similarity. Differences among the maps were caused by differences in indicator definition, level of process understanding, mapping aim, data sources and methodology. Absence of suitable observed data on ecosystem services provisioning hampers independent validation of the maps. Consequently, there are, so far, no accurate measures for ecosystem service map quality. Policy makers and other users need to be cautious when applying ecosystem service maps for decision-making. The results illustrate the need for better process understanding and data acquisition to advance ecosystem service mapping, modelling and validation.

Using Landsat 5 TM Data to Identify and Map Areas of Mangrove in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meachum, Samuel Standish

Mangroves are recognized worldwide as a major ecosystem that provides significant ecosystem services. They are threatened due to rising pressures from human overpopulation and economic development. The Caribbean Coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula contains mangrove habitat that have been negatively impacted by the development of the region's tourist industry. However, little research has been done to map and quantify the extent of mangrove in the region. This study used remote sensing techniques to identify mangrove in the Municipality of Tulum located in Quintana Roo, and to produce an accurate vector based thematic map that inventories these areas. Anatomical differences were analyzed and related to high-resolution field spectral data for each mangrove species. A vector map of mangrove habitat, including areas of inland mangrove, was produced with an overall accuracy of 88%. The 19,262 ha. of mangrove identified by this study represents a 140% increase in area over previous studies.

Academic Radiologist Subspecialty Identification Using a Novel Claims-Based Classification System.

PubMed

Rosenkrantz, Andrew B; Wang, Wenyi; Hughes, Danny R; Ginocchio, Luke A; Rosman, David A; Duszak, Richard

2017-06-01

The objective of the present study is to assess the feasibility of a novel claims-based classification system for payer identification of academic radiologist subspecialties. Using a categorization scheme based on the Neiman Imaging Types of Service (NITOS) system, we mapped the Medicare Part B services billed by all radiologists from 2012 to 2014, assigning them to the following subspecialty categories: abdominal imaging, breast imaging, cardiothoracic imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, nuclear medicine, interventional radiology, and neuroradiology. The percentage of subspecialty work relative value units (RVUs) to total billed work RVUs was calculated for each radiologist nationwide. For radiologists at the top 20 academic departments funded by the National Institutes of Health, those percentages were compared with subspecialties designated on faculty websites. NITOS-based subspecialty assignments were also compared with the only radiologist subspecialty classifications currently recognized by Medicare (i.e., nuclear medicine and interventional radiology). Of 1012 academic radiologists studied, the median percentage of Medicare-billed NITOS-based subspecialty work RVUs matching the subspecialty designated on radiologists' own websites ranged from 71.3% (for nuclear medicine) to 98.9% (for neuroradiology). A NITOS-based work RVU threshold of 50% correctly classified 89.8% of radiologists (5.9% were not mapped to any subspecialty; subspecialty error rate, 4.2%). In contrast, existing Medicare provider codes identified only 46.7% of nuclear medicine physicians and 39.4% of interventional radiologists. Using a framework based on a recently established imaging health services research tool that maps service codes based on imaging modality and body region, Medicare claims data can be used to consistently identify academic radiologists by subspecialty in a manner not possible with the use of existing Medicare physician specialty identifiers. This method may facilitate more appropriate performance metrics for subspecialty academic physicians under emerging value-based payment models.

Care maps for children with medical complexity.

PubMed

Adams, Sherri; Nicholas, David; Mahant, Sanjay; Weiser, Natalie; Kanani, Ronik; Boydell, Katherine; Cohen, Eyal

2017-12-01

Children with medical complexity require multiple providers and services to keep them well and at home. A care map is a patient/family-created diagram that pictorially maps out this complex web of services. This study explored what care maps mean for families and healthcare providers to inform potential for clinical use. Parents (n=15) created care maps (hand drawn n=10 and computer-generated n=5) and participated in semi-structured interviews about the process of developing care maps and their perceived impact. Healthcare providers (n=30) reviewed the parent-created care maps and participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed for themes and emerging theory using a grounded theory analytical approach. Data analysis revealed 13 overarching themes that were further categorized into three domains: features (characteristics of care maps), functions (what care maps do), and emerging outcomes (benefits of care map use). These domains further informed a definition and a theoretical model of how care maps work. Our findings suggest that care maps may be a way of supporting patient- and family-centred care by graphically identifying and integrating experiences of the family as well as priorities for moving forward. Care maps were endorsed as a useful tool by families and providers. They help healthcare providers better understand parental priorities for care. Parents can create care maps to demonstrate the complex burden of care. They are a unique visual way to incorporate narrative medicine into practice. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.

Validating a method for transferring social values of ecosystem services between public lands in the Rocky Mountain region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrouse, Benson C.; Semmens, Darius J.

2014-01-01

With growing pressures on ecosystem services, social values attributed to them are increasingly important to land management decisions. Social values, defined here as perceived values the public ascribes to ecosystem services, particularly cultural services, are generally not accounted for through economic markets or considered alongside economic and ecological values in ecosystem service assessments. Social-values data can be elicited through public value and preference surveys; however, limitations prevent them from being regularly collected. These limitations led to our three study objectives: (1) demonstrate an approach for applying benefit transfer, a nonmarket-valuation method, to spatially explicit social values; (2) validate the approach; and (3) identify potential improvements. We applied Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) to survey data for three national forests in Colorado and Wyoming. Social-value maps and models were generated, describing relationships between the maps and various combinations of environmental variables. Models from each forest were used to estimate social-value maps for the other forests via benefit transfer. Model performance was evaluated relative to the locally derived models. Performance varied with the number and type of environmental variables used, as well as differences in the forests' physical and social contexts. Enhanced metadata and better social-context matching could improve model transferability.

Development of flood-inundation maps for the West Branch Susquehanna River near the Borough of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roland, Mark A.; Hoffman, Scott A.

2011-01-01

Streamflow data, water-surface-elevation profiles derived from a Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System hydraulic model, and geographical information system digital elevation models were used to develop a set of 18 flood-inundation maps for an approximately 5-mile reach of the West Branch Susquehanna River near the Borough of Jersey Shore, Pa. The inundation maps were created by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and Lycoming County as part of an ongoing effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service to focus on continued improvements to the flood forecasting and warning abilities in the Susquehanna River Basin and to modernize flood-forecasting methodologies. The maps, ranging from 23.0 to 40.0 feet in 1-foot increments, correspond to river stage at the U.S. Geological Survey streamgage 01549760 at Jersey Shore. The electronic files used to develop the maps were provided to the National Weather Service for incorporation into their Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service website. The maps are displayed on this website, which serves as a web-based floodwarning system, and can be used to identify areas of predicted flood inundation associated with forecasted flood-peak stages. During times of flooding or predicted flooding, these maps can be used by emergency managers and the public to take proactive steps to protect life and reduce property damage caused by floods.

US EPA Nonattainment Areas and Designations-Annual PM2.5 (1997 NAAQS)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This web service contains the following layers: PM2.5 Annual 1997 NAAQS State Level and PM2.5 Annual 1997 NAAQS National . It also contains the following tables: maps99.FRED_MAP_VIEWER.%fred_area_map_data and maps99.FRED_MAP_VIEWER.%fred_area_map_view. Full FGDC metadata records for each layer may be found by clicking the layer name at the web service endpoint (https://gispub.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/OAR_OAQPS/NAA1997PM25Annual/MapServer) and viewing the layer description.These layers identify areas in the U.S. where air pollution levels have not met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria air pollutants and have been designated nonattainment?? areas (NAA). The data are updated weekly from an OAQPS internal database. However, that does not necessarily mean the data have changed. The EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) has set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six principal pollutants, which are called criteria pollutants. Under provisions of the Clean Air Act, which is intended to improve the quality of the air we breathe, EPA is required to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six common air pollutants. These commonly found air pollutants (also known as criteria pollutants) are found all over the United States. They are particle pollution (often referred to as particulate matter), ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. For each criteria pollutant, there

A framework for identifying carbon hotspots and forest management drivers

Treesearch

Nilesh Timilsina; Francisco J. Escobedo; Wendell P. Cropper; Amr Abd-Elrahman; Thomas Brandeis; Sonia Delphin; Samuel Lambert

2013-01-01

Spatial analyses of ecosystem system services that are directly relevant to both forest management decision making and conservation in the subtropics are rare. Also, frameworks that identify and map carbon stocks and corresponding forest management drivers using available regional, national, and international-level forest inventory datasets could provide insights into...

Leveraging the NLM map from SNOMED CT to ICD-10-CM to facilitate adoption of ICD-10-CM.

PubMed

Cartagena, F Phil; Schaeffer, Molly; Rifai, Dorothy; Doroshenko, Victoria; Goldberg, Howard S

2015-05-01

Develop and test web services to retrieve and identify the most precise ICD-10-CM code(s) for a given clinical encounter. Facilitate creation of user interfaces that 1) provide an initial shortlist of candidate codes, ideally visible on a single screen; and 2) enable code refinement. To satisfy our high-level use cases, the analysis and design process involved reviewing available maps and crosswalks, designing the rule adjudication framework, determining necessary metadata, retrieving related codes, and iteratively improving the code refinement algorithm. The Partners ICD-10-CM Search and Mapping Services (PI-10 Services) are SOAP web services written using Microsoft's.NET 4.0 Framework, Windows Communications Framework, and SQL Server 2012. The services cover 96% of the Partners problem list subset of SNOMED CT codes that map to ICD-10-CM codes and can return up to 76% of the 69,823 billable ICD-10-CM codes prior to creation of custom mapping rules. We consider ways to increase 1) the coverage ratio of the Partners problem list subset of SNOMED CT codes and 2) the upper bound of returnable ICD-10-CM codes by creating custom mapping rules. Future work will investigate the utility of the transitive closure of SNOMED CT codes and other methods to assist in custom rule creation and, ultimately, to provide more complete coverage of ICD-10-CM codes. ICD-10-CM will be easier for clinicians to manage if applications display short lists of candidate codes from which clinicians can subsequently select a code for further refinement. The PI-10 Services support ICD-10 migration by implementing this paradigm and enabling users to consistently and accurately find the best ICD-10-CM code(s) without translation from ICD-9-CM. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Contribution of the voluntary sector to mental health crisis care in England: protocol for a multimethod study.

PubMed

Newbigging, Karen; Mohan, John; Rees, James; Harlock, Jenny; Davis, Alex

2017-11-08

Timely access to the right kind of support for people experiencing a mental health crisis can be problematic. The voluntary sector (VS) plays a key role in providing support and enabling access, but there is a knowledge gap concerning its contribution and interface with public services in mental health crisis care. This study aims to address this. The study has three empirical elements: (1) a national survey of voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) in England and national stakeholder interviews to develop a typology of organisations and interventions provided by VSOs; (2) detailed mapping of VS services in two regions through interviews and extending the national survey; (3) four case studies, identified from the regional mapping, of VS mental health crisis services and their interface with National Health Service (NHS) and local authority services, at both a system and individual level. Data collection will involve interviews with commissioners; VSO and NHS or local authority providers; and focus groups with people who have experience of VSO crisis support, both service users and carers; and mapping the crisis trajectory of 10 service users in each study site through narrative interviews with service users and informal carers to understand the experience of VSO crisis care and its impact. The University of Birmingham Humanities and Social Sciences Ethical Review Committee granted ethical approval (reference ERN_16-1183) for the national and regional elements of the study. Ethical review by the Health Research Authority will be required for the case study research once the sites have been identified from the first two elements of the study. A range of methods including a policy seminar, publication in academic journals and a tool kit for commissioners and practitioners will be produced to maximise the impact of the findings on policy and practice. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Contribution of the voluntary sector to mental health crisis care in England: protocol for a multimethod study

PubMed Central

Newbigging, Karen; Mohan, John; Rees, James; Harlock, Jenny; Davis, Alex

2017-01-01

Introduction Timely access to the right kind of support for people experiencing a mental health crisis can be problematic. The voluntary sector (VS) plays a key role in providing support and enabling access, but there is a knowledge gap concerning its contribution and interface with public services in mental health crisis care. This study aims to address this. Methods and analysis The study has three empirical elements: (1) a national survey of voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) in England and national stakeholder interviews to develop a typology of organisations and interventions provided by VSOs; (2) detailed mapping of VS services in two regions through interviews and extending the national survey; (3) four case studies, identified from the regional mapping, of VS mental health crisis services and their interface with National Health Service (NHS) and local authority services, at both a system and individual level. Data collection will involve interviews with commissioners; VSO and NHS or local authority providers; and focus groups with people who have experience of VSO crisis support, both service users and carers; and mapping the crisis trajectory of 10 service users in each study site through narrative interviews with service users and informal carers to understand the experience of VSO crisis care and its impact. Ethics and dissemination The University of Birmingham Humanities and Social Sciences Ethical Review Committee granted ethical approval (reference ERN_16–1183) for the national and regional elements of the study. Ethical review by the Health Research Authority will be required for the case study research once the sites have been identified from the first two elements of the study. A range of methods including a policy seminar, publication in academic journals and a tool kit for commissioners and practitioners will be produced to maximise the impact of the findings on policy and practice. PMID:29122807

Surface Water and Flood Extent Mapping, Monitoring, and Modeling Products and Services for the SERVIR Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Eric

2016-01-01

SERVIR is a joint NASA - US Agency for International Development (USAID) project to improve environmental decision-making using Earth observations and geospatial technologies. A common need identified among SERVIR regions has been improved information for disaster risk reduction and in specific surface water and flood extent mapping, monitoring and forecasting. Of the 70 SERVIR products (active, complete, and in development), 4 are related to surface water and flood extent mapping, monitoring or forecasting. Visit http://www.servircatalog.net for more product details.

Place-making with older persons: Establishing sense-of-place through participatory community mapping workshops.

PubMed

Fang, Mei Lan; Woolrych, Ryan; Sixsmith, Judith; Canham, Sarah; Battersby, Lupin; Sixsmith, Andrew

2016-11-01

Principles of aging-in-place emphasize the importance of creating sustainable environments that enable older people to maintain a sense of belonging, autonomy, independence, safety and security. Simply altering the built environment is insufficient for creating more inclusive environments for older persons, as creating 'meaningful' places for aging involves consideration of psychosocial and cultural issues that go beyond issues of physical space. This paper illustrates how applications of community-based participatory research methods, in particular, participatory community mapping workshops (PCMWs), can be used to access experiences of place, identify facilitators and barriers to accessing the built environment and co-create place-based solutions among older people and service providers in a new affordable housing development in Western Canada. Founded on tenets of empowerment and relationship building, four PCMWs were undertaken with 54 participants (N = 38 older people; N = 16 local service providers). PCMWs comprised (i) experiential group walks around the community to access understandings of place and community and (ii) mapping exercises, whereby participants articulated their place-based needs within the context of the new affordable housing development and surrounding neighbourhood. Dialogues were digitally recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Visual data, including photographs taken during experiential group walks were categorized and integrated into the narrative to illustrate place meanings. PCMWs enabled senior housing and social care professionals and decision-makers to co-construct knowledge with older tenants that facilitated place action and change. Key themes identified by participants included: identifying services and needs for health and wellbeing, having opportunities for social participation and overcoming cross-cultural challenges. PCMWs were found to be a nuanced method of identifying needs and resources and generating knowledge. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementation of a parallel protein structure alignment service on cloud.

PubMed

Hung, Che-Lun; Lin, Yaw-Ling

2013-01-01

Protein structure alignment has become an important strategy by which to identify evolutionary relationships between protein sequences. Several alignment tools are currently available for online comparison of protein structures. In this paper, we propose a parallel protein structure alignment service based on the Hadoop distribution framework. This service includes a protein structure alignment algorithm, a refinement algorithm, and a MapReduce programming model. The refinement algorithm refines the result of alignment. To process vast numbers of protein structures in parallel, the alignment and refinement algorithms are implemented using MapReduce. We analyzed and compared the structure alignments produced by different methods using a dataset randomly selected from the PDB database. The experimental results verify that the proposed algorithm refines the resulting alignments more accurately than existing algorithms. Meanwhile, the computational performance of the proposed service is proportional to the number of processors used in our cloud platform.

Implementation of a Parallel Protein Structure Alignment Service on Cloud

PubMed Central

Hung, Che-Lun; Lin, Yaw-Ling

2013-01-01

Protein structure alignment has become an important strategy by which to identify evolutionary relationships between protein sequences. Several alignment tools are currently available for online comparison of protein structures. In this paper, we propose a parallel protein structure alignment service based on the Hadoop distribution framework. This service includes a protein structure alignment algorithm, a refinement algorithm, and a MapReduce programming model. The refinement algorithm refines the result of alignment. To process vast numbers of protein structures in parallel, the alignment and refinement algorithms are implemented using MapReduce. We analyzed and compared the structure alignments produced by different methods using a dataset randomly selected from the PDB database. The experimental results verify that the proposed algorithm refines the resulting alignments more accurately than existing algorithms. Meanwhile, the computational performance of the proposed service is proportional to the number of processors used in our cloud platform. PMID:23671842

Lean methodology for performance improvement in the trauma discharge process.

PubMed

O'Mara, Michael Shaymus; Ramaniuk, Aliaksandr; Graymire, Vickie; Rozzell, Monica; Martin, Stacey

2014-07-01

High-volume, complex services such as trauma and acute care surgery are at risk for inefficiency. Lean process improvement can reduce health care waste. Lean allows a structured look at processes not easily amenable to analysis. We applied lean methodology to the current state of communication and discharge planning on an urban trauma service, citing areas for improvement. A lean process mapping event was held. The process map was used to identify areas for immediate analysis and intervention-defining metrics for the stakeholders. After intervention, new performance was assessed by direct data evaluation. The process was completed with an analysis of effect and plans made for addressing future focus areas. The primary area of concern identified was interservice communication. Changes centering on a standardized morning report structure reduced the number of consult questions unanswered from 67% to 34% (p = 0.0021). Physical therapy rework was reduced from 35% to 19% (p = 0.016). Patients admitted to units not designated to the trauma service had 1.6 times longer stays (p < 0.0001). The lean process lasted 8 months, and three areas for new improvement were identified: (1) the off-unit patients; (2) patients with length of stay more than 15 days contribute disproportionately to length of stay; and (3) miscommunication exists around patient education at discharge. Lean process improvement is a viable means of health care analysis. When applied to a trauma service with 4,000 admissions annually, lean identifies areas ripe for improvement. Our inefficiencies surrounded communication and patient localization. Strategies arising from the input of all stakeholders led to real solutions for communication through a face-to-face morning report and identified areas for ongoing improvement. This focuses resource use and identifies areas for improvement of throughput in care delivery.

Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES): using GIS to include social values information in ecosystem services assessments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrouse, B.C.; Semmens, D.J.

2010-01-01

Ecosystem services can be defined in various ways; simply put, they are the benefits provided by nature, which contribute to human well-being. These benefits can range from tangible products such as food and fresh water to cultural services such as recreation and esthetics. As the use of these benefits continues to increase, additional pressures are placed on the natural ecosystems providing them. This makes it all the more important when assessing possible tradeoffs among ecosystem services to consider the human attitudes and preferences that express underlying social values associated with their benefits. While some of these values can be accounted for through economic markets, other values can be more difficult to quantify, and attaching dollar amounts to them may not be very useful in all cases. Regardless of the processes or units used for quantifying such values, the ability to map them across the landscape and relate them to the ecosystem services to which they are attributed is necessary for effective assessments. To address some of the needs associated with quantifying and mapping social values for inclusion in ecosystem services assessments, scientists at the Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC), in collaboration with Colorado State University, have developed a public domain tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES). SolVES is a geographic information system (GIS) application designed to use data from public attitude and preference surveys to assess, map, and quantify social values for ecosystem services. SolVES calculates and maps a 10-point Value Index representing the relative perceived social values of ecosystem services such as recreation and biodiversity for various groups of ecosystem stakeholders. SolVES output can also be used to identify and model relationships between social values and physical characteristics of the underlying landscape. These relationships can then be used to generate predicted Value Index maps for areas where survey data are not available. RMGSC will continue to develop more robust versions of SolVES by pursuing opportunities to work with land and resource managers as well as other researchers to apply SolVES to specific ecosystem management problems.

Prioritising Mangrove Ecosystem Services Results in Spatially Variable Management Priorities.

PubMed

Atkinson, Scott C; Jupiter, Stacy D; Adams, Vanessa M; Ingram, J Carter; Narayan, Siddharth; Klein, Carissa J; Possingham, Hugh P

2016-01-01

Incorporating the values of the services that ecosystems provide into decision making is becoming increasingly common in nature conservation and resource management policies, both locally and globally. Yet with limited funds for conservation of threatened species and ecosystems there is a desire to identify priority areas where investment efficiently conserves multiple ecosystem services. We mapped four mangrove ecosystems services (coastal protection, fisheries, biodiversity, and carbon storage) across Fiji. Using a cost-effectiveness analysis, we prioritised mangrove areas for each service, where the effectiveness was a function of the benefits provided to the local communities, and the costs were associated with restricting specific uses of mangroves. We demonstrate that, although priority mangrove areas (top 20%) for each service can be managed at relatively low opportunity costs (ranging from 4.5 to 11.3% of overall opportunity costs), prioritising for a single service yields relatively low co-benefits due to limited geographical overlap with priority areas for other services. None-the-less, prioritisation of mangrove areas provides greater overlap of benefits than if sites were selected randomly for most ecosystem services. We discuss deficiencies in the mapping of ecosystems services in data poor regions and how this may impact upon the equity of managing mangroves for particular services across the urban-rural divide in developing countries. Finally we discuss how our maps may aid decision-makers to direct funding for mangrove management from various sources to localities that best meet funding objectives, as well as how this knowledge can aid in creating a national mangrove zoning scheme.

Prioritising Mangrove Ecosystem Services Results in Spatially Variable Management Priorities

PubMed Central

Atkinson, Scott C.; Jupiter, Stacy D.; Adams, Vanessa M.; Ingram, J. Carter; Narayan, Siddharth; Klein, Carissa J.; Possingham, Hugh P.

2016-01-01

Incorporating the values of the services that ecosystems provide into decision making is becoming increasingly common in nature conservation and resource management policies, both locally and globally. Yet with limited funds for conservation of threatened species and ecosystems there is a desire to identify priority areas where investment efficiently conserves multiple ecosystem services. We mapped four mangrove ecosystems services (coastal protection, fisheries, biodiversity, and carbon storage) across Fiji. Using a cost-effectiveness analysis, we prioritised mangrove areas for each service, where the effectiveness was a function of the benefits provided to the local communities, and the costs were associated with restricting specific uses of mangroves. We demonstrate that, although priority mangrove areas (top 20%) for each service can be managed at relatively low opportunity costs (ranging from 4.5 to 11.3% of overall opportunity costs), prioritising for a single service yields relatively low co-benefits due to limited geographical overlap with priority areas for other services. None-the-less, prioritisation of mangrove areas provides greater overlap of benefits than if sites were selected randomly for most ecosystem services. We discuss deficiencies in the mapping of ecosystems services in data poor regions and how this may impact upon the equity of managing mangroves for particular services across the urban-rural divide in developing countries. Finally we discuss how our maps may aid decision-makers to direct funding for mangrove management from various sources to localities that best meet funding objectives, as well as how this knowledge can aid in creating a national mangrove zoning scheme. PMID:27008421

Burn severity mapping in Australia 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKinley, Randy; Clark, J.; Lecker, Jennifer

2012-01-01

In 2009, the Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment estimated approximately 430,000 hectares of Victoria Australia were burned by numerous bushfires. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams from the United States were deployed to Victoria to assist local fire managers. The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (USGS/EROS) and U.S. Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (USFS/RSAC) aided the support effort by providing satellite-derived "soil burn severity " maps for over 280,000 burned hectares. In the United States, BAER teams are assembled to make rapid assessments of burned lands to identify potential hazards to public health and property. An early step in the assessment process is the creation of a soil burn severity map used to identify hazard areas and prioritize treatment locations. These maps are developed primarily using Landsat satellite imagery and the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) algorithm.

Identifying priority areas for ecosystem service management in South African grasslands.

PubMed

Egoh, Benis N; Reyers, Belinda; Rouget, Mathieu; Richardson, David M

2011-06-01

Grasslands provide many ecosystem services required to support human well-being and are home to a diverse fauna and flora. Degradation of grasslands due to agriculture and other forms of land use threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Various efforts are underway around the world to stem these declines. The Grassland Programme in South Africa is one such initiative and is aimed at safeguarding both biodiversity and ecosystem services. As part of this developing programme, we identified spatial priority areas for ecosystem services, tested the effect of different target levels of ecosystem services used to identify priority areas, and evaluated whether biodiversity priority areas can be aligned with those for ecosystem services. We mapped five ecosystem services (below ground carbon storage, surface water supply, water flow regulation, soil accumulation and soil retention) and identified priority areas for individual ecosystem services and for all five services at the scale of quaternary catchments. Planning for individual ecosystem services showed that, depending on the ecosystem service of interest, between 4% and 13% of the grassland biome was required to conserve at least 40% of the soil and water services. Thirty-four percent of the biome was needed to conserve 40% of the carbon service in the grassland. Priority areas identified for five ecosystem services under three target levels (20%, 40%, 60% of the total amount) showed that between 17% and 56% of the grassland biome was needed to conserve these ecosystem services. There was moderate to high overlap between priority areas selected for ecosystem services and already-identified terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity priority areas. This level of overlap coupled with low irreplaceability values obtained when planning for individual ecosystem services makes it possible to combine biodiversity and ecosystem services in one plan using systematic conservation planning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Body Mapping to Explore Reproductive Ethno-Physiological Beliefs and Knowledge of Contraception in Timor-Leste.

PubMed

Wallace, Heather Julie; McDonald, Susan; Belton, Suzanne; Miranda, Agueda Isolina; da Costa, Eurico; da Conceicao Matos, Livio; Henderson, Helen; Taft, Angela

2018-06-01

Maternal mortality remains a significant public health challenge for Timor-Leste. Although access to quality family planning measures may greatly reduce such deaths, consideration of indigenous perceptions, and how they influence reproductive health decision-making and behavior, is crucial if health services are to provide initiatives that are accepted and helpful in improving reproductive health outcomes. We aimed to demonstrate that body mapping is an effective method to traverse language and culture to gain emic insights and indigenous worldviews. The authors' two qualitative research projects (2013 and 2015) used a decolonizing methodology in four districts of Timor-Leste, body mapping with 67 men and 40 women to illuminate ethno-physiology and indigenous beliefs about conception, reproduction, and contraception. Body mapping provided a beneficial conduit for identifying established indigenous reproductive perceptions, understandings, and vocabulary, plus fears surrounding contraception. This may inform health service provision and engagement, ultimately improving the reproductive health of community members.

Integrating Socioeconomic and Earth Science Data Using Geobrowsers and Web Services: A Demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumacher, J. A.; Yetman, G. G.

2007-12-01

The societal benefit areas identified as the focus for the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) 10- year implementation plan are an indicator of the importance of integrating socioeconomic data with earth science data to support decision makers. To aid this integration, CIESIN is delivering its global and U.S. demographic data to commercial and open source Geobrowsers and providing open standards based services for data access. Currently, data on population distribution, poverty, and detailed census data for the U.S. are available for visualization and access in Google Earth, NASA World Wind, and a browser-based 2-dimensional mapping client. The mapping client allows for the creation of web map documents that pull together layers from distributed servers and can be saved and shared. Visualization tools with Geobrowsers, user-driven map creation and sharing via browser-based clients, and a prototype for characterizing populations at risk to predicted precipitation deficits will be demonstrated.

Using family and staff experiences of a botulinum toxin-A service to improve service quality.

PubMed

Burton, K L O; Bau, K; Lewis, J; Aroyan, K R; Botha, B; Botman, A G M; Stewart, K; Waugh, M-C A; Paget, S P

2017-11-01

The decision for families to proceed with botulinum toxin-A (BoNT-A) injections for managing childhood conditions involving hypertonia can be complex. Family-centred care is a service model that facilitates supporting families in this decision-making process. Understanding families' experiences of services is critical to developing family-centred care. The aim of this project was therefore to increase understanding of the experiences of families of children attending a BoNT-A service in order to improve the service and its family-centred approach to care. Sixteen staff of a BoNT-A service participated in a patient journey mapping exercise. Nine families of the service participated in in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data from the staff session and interviews were analysed independently using grounded, hermeneutic thematic analysis. Staff sessions revealed 5 core themes that related to impacting on the family experience. Family interviews revealed 4 core themes, with 7 subthemes and 1 latent theme. Areas of importance identified by families relating to BoNT-A treatment included acknowledgement of individual needs, care coordination, empowerment of families and patients, consistency in service delivery, and the distressing nature of appointment and decision-making. Comparison of the data from the staff patient journey mapping and family interviews suggested that staff have a good but incomplete understanding of the factors important to families, highlighting the need for consumer engagement in establishing family-centred care. The themes identified can guide the provision of family-centred BoNT-A injection clinics. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[The concept mapping of representations of the future of health services in French in linguistic minority].

PubMed

Bouchard, Louise

2013-06-06

In the context of institutional incompleteness affecting the official minority language communities, we examine how the Francophones in a minority context see the future of health services offered in French. The study is based on a participatory methodology: the concept mapping will serve to identify the conceptual universe of a given problem. From a master statement such as: "When I think about the future of health services in French, I think of ...", participants are invited to make as many statements as come to mind. These statements are then categorized individually and treated collectively through a multivariate analysis. The main themes emerging from the mapping exercise indicate the issues and challenges raised by the participants, namely the geographical context, specific needs, language rights, education and training, human resources, bilingualism and translation, the minority experience, active offer, the role of governmental bodies, community mobilization, collaboration and networking. The participatory approach that concept mapping allows is interesting in more than one way: its flexibility provides a space for both individual and collective reflection; it allows identification and structuring of the crucial dimensions of an issue; and the research outcomes are useful both to researchers and participants in guiding action and achieving goals. Social actors can therefore benefit from a collective dynamic to reflect on the foundations for the development and organization of health services in French.

A New Vision for Integrated Breast Care.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-09-01

Analysis tools to Mapping; and established counseling methods to Debriefing. We are now investigating how Neurolinguistic Programming to may help... programs and services for the benefit of the patient. Our Continuous Quality Improvement, Informatics and Education Cores are working together to help...streamline implementation of programs . This enables us to identify the quality improvements we hope to gain by changing a service and the quality

Culling a clinical terminology: a systematic approach to identifying problematic content.

PubMed Central

Sable, J. H.; Nash, S. K.; Wang, A. Y.

2001-01-01

The College of American Pathologists and the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom are merging their respective clinical terminologies, SNOMED RT and Clinical Terms Version 3, into a new terminology, SNOMED CT. This requires mapping concept descriptions between the two existing terminologies. During the mapping process, many descriptions were identified as being potentially problematic. They require further review by the SNOMED editorial process before either (1) being incorporated into SNOMED CT, or (2) retired from active use. This article presents data on the concept descriptions that were identified as needing further review during the early phases of SNOMED CT development. Based on this work, we describe fourteen types of problematic terminology content. Identifying problematic terminology content can be approached in a systematic manner. PMID:11825253

EnviroAtlas - Metrics for Austin, TX

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/EnviroAtlas). The layers in this web service depict ecosystem services at the census block group level for the community of Austin, Texas. These layers illustrate the ecosystems and natural resources that are associated with clean air (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_CleanAir/MapServer); clean and plentiful water (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_CleanPlentifulWater/MapServer); natural hazard mitigation (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_NaturalHazardMitigation/MapServer); climate stabilization (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_ClimateStabilization/MapServer); food, fuel, and materials (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_FoodFuelMaterials/MapServer); recreation, culture, and aesthetics (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_RecreationCultureAesthetics/MapServer); and biodiversity conservation (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Communities/ESC_ATX_BiodiversityConservation/MapServer), and factors that place stress on those resources. EnviroAtlas allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the conterminous United States as well as de

Reaching young women who sell sex: Methods and results of social mapping to describe and identify young women for DREAMS impact evaluation in Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Chiyaka, Tarisai; Mushati, Phillis; Hensen, Bernadette; Chabata, Sungai; Hargreaves, James R; Floyd, Sian; Birdthistle, Isolde J; Cowan, Frances M; Busza, Joanna R

2018-01-01

Young women (aged 15-24) who exchange sex for money or other support are among the highest risk groups for HIV acquisition, particularly in high prevalence settings. To prepare for introduction and evaluation of the DREAMS programme in Zimbabwe, which provides biomedical and social interventions to reduce adolescent girls' and young women's HIV vulnerability, we conducted a rapid needs assessment in 6 towns using a "social mapping" approach. In each site, we talked to adult sex workers and other key informants to identify locations where young women sell sex, followed by direct observation, group discussions and interviews. We collected data on socio-demographic characteristics of young women who sell sex, the structure and organisation of their sexual exchanges, interactions with each other and adult sex workers, and engagement with health services. Over a two-week period, we developed a "social map" for each study site, identifying similarities and differences across contexts and their implications for programming and research. Similarities include the concentration of younger women in street-based venues in town centres, their conflict with older sex workers due to competition for clients and acceptance of lower payments, and reluctance to attend existing services. Key differences were found in the 4 university towns included in our sample, where female students participate in diverse forms of sexual exchange but do not identify themselves as selling sex. In smaller towns where illegal gold panning or trucking routes were found, young women migrated in from surrounding rural areas specifically to sell sex. Young women who sell sex are different from each other, and do not work with or attend the same services as adult sex workers. Our findings are being used to inform appropriate intervention activities targeting these vulnerable young women, and to identify effective strategies for recruiting them into the DREAMS process and impact evaluations.

Food production and service in UK hospitals.

PubMed

Ahmed, Mohamed; Jones, Eleri; Redmond, Elizabeth; Hewedi, Mahmoud; Wingert, Andreas; Gad El Rab, Mohamed

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to apply value stream mapping holistically to hospital food production/service systems focused on high-quality food. Multiple embedded case study of three (two private-sector and one public-sector) hospitals in the UK. The results indicated various issues affecting hospital food production including: the menu and nutritional considerations; food procurement; food production; foodservice; patient perceptions/expectations. Value stream mapping is a new approach for food production systems in UK hospitals whether private or public hospitals. The paper identifies opportunities for enhancing hospital food production systems. The paper provides a theoretical basis for process enhancement of hospital food production and the provision of high-quality hospital food.

Utilizing multi-sensor fire detections to map fires in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Stephen M.; Picotte, Joshua J.; Coan, Michael

2014-01-01

In 2006, the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project began a cooperative effort between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) to map and assess burn severity all large fires that have occurred in the United States since 1984. Using Landsat imagery, MTBS is mandated to map wildfire and prescribed fire that meet specific size criteria: greater than 1000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east, regardless of ownership. Relying mostly on federal and state fire occurrence records, over 15,300 individual fires have been mapped. While mapping recorded fires, an additional 2,700 “unknown” or undocumented fires were discovered and assessed. It has become apparent that there are perhaps thousands of undocumented fires in the US that are yet to be mapped. Fire occurrence records alone are inadequate if MTBS is to provide a comprehensive accounting of fire across the US. Additionally, the sheer number of fires to assess has overwhelmed current manual procedures. To address these problems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Applied Sciences Program is helping to fund the efforts of the USGS and its MTBS partners (USFS, National Park Service) to develop, and implement a system to automatically identify fires using satellite data. In near real time, USGS will combine active fire satellite detections from MODIS, AVHRR and GOES satellites with Landsat acquisitions. Newly acquired Landsat imagery will be routinely scanned to identify freshly burned area pixels, derive an initial perimeter and tag the burned area with the satellite date and time of detection. Landsat imagery from the early archive will be scanned to identify undocumented fires. Additional automated fire assessment processes will be developed. The USGS will develop these processes using open source software packages in order to provide freely available tools to local land managers providing them with the capability to assess fires at the local level.

Imaging Cerebral Microhemorrhages in Military Service Members with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Soderlund, Karl; Senseney, Justin S; Joy, David; Yeh, Ping-Hong; Ollinger, John; Sham, Elyssa B; Liu, Tian; Wang, Yi; Oakes, Terrence R; Riedy, Gerard

2016-02-01

To detect cerebral microhemorrhages in military service members with chronic traumatic brain injury by using susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The longitudinal evolution of microhemorrhages was monitored in a subset of patients by using quantitative susceptibility mapping. The study was approved by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center institutional review board and is compliant with HIPAA guidelines. All participants underwent two-dimensional conventional gradient-recalled-echo MR imaging and three-dimensional flow-compensated multiecho gradient-recalled-echo MR imaging (processed to generate susceptibility-weighted images and quantitative susceptibility maps), and a subset of patients underwent follow-up imaging. Microhemorrhages were identified by two radiologists independently. Comparisons of microhemorrhage number, size, and magnetic susceptibility derived from quantitative susceptibility maps between baseline and follow-up imaging examinations were performed by using the paired t test. Among the 603 patients, cerebral microhemorrhages were identified in 43 patients, with six excluded for further analysis owing to artifacts. Seventy-seven percent (451 of 585) of the microhemorrhages on susceptibility-weighted images had a more conspicuous appearance than on gradient-recalled-echo images. Thirteen of the 37 patients underwent follow-up imaging examinations. In these patients, a smaller number of microhemorrhages were identified at follow-up imaging compared with baseline on quantitative susceptibility maps (mean ± standard deviation, 9.8 microhemorrhages ± 12.8 vs 13.7 microhemorrhages ± 16.6; P = .019). Quantitative susceptibility mapping-derived quantitative measures of microhemorrhages also decreased over time: -0.85 mm(3) per day ± 1.59 for total volume (P = .039) and -0.10 parts per billion per day ± 0.14 for mean magnetic susceptibility (P = .016). The number of microhemorrhages and quantitative susceptibility mapping-derived quantitative measures of microhemorrhages all decreased over time, suggesting that hemosiderin products undergo continued, subtle evolution in the chronic stage. © RSNA, 2015.

Utilizing Multi-Sensor Fire Detections to Map Fires in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, S. M.; Picotte, J. J.; Coan, M. J.

2014-11-01

In 2006, the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project began a cooperative effort between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) to map and assess burn severity all large fires that have occurred in the United States since 1984. Using Landsat imagery, MTBS is mandated to map wildfire and prescribed fire that meet specific size criteria: greater than 1000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east, regardless of ownership. Relying mostly on federal and state fire occurrence records, over 15,300 individual fires have been mapped. While mapping recorded fires, an additional 2,700 "unknown" or undocumented fires were discovered and assessed. It has become apparent that there are perhaps thousands of undocumented fires in the US that are yet to be mapped. Fire occurrence records alone are inadequate if MTBS is to provide a comprehensive accounting of fire across the US. Additionally, the sheer number of fires to assess has overwhelmed current manual procedures. To address these problems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Applied Sciences Program is helping to fund the efforts of the USGS and its MTBS partners (USFS, National Park Service) to develop, and implement a system to automatically identify fires using satellite data. In near real time, USGS will combine active fire satellite detections from MODIS, AVHRR and GOES satellites with Landsat acquisitions. Newly acquired Landsat imagery will be routinely scanned to identify freshly burned area pixels, derive an initial perimeter and tag the burned area with the satellite date and time of detection. Landsat imagery from the early archive will be scanned to identify undocumented fires. Additional automated fire assessment processes will be developed. The USGS will develop these processes using open source software packages in order to provide freely available tools to local land managers providing them with the capability to assess fires at the local level.

Beyond the biomedical: community resources for mental health care in rural Ethiopia.

PubMed

Selamu, Medhin; Asher, Laura; Hanlon, Charlotte; Medhin, Girmay; Hailemariam, Maji; Patel, Vikram; Thornicroft, Graham; Fekadu, Abebaw

2015-01-01

The focus of discussion in addressing the treatment gap is often on biomedical services. However, community resources can benefit health service scale-up in resource-constrained settings. These assets can be captured systematically through resource mapping, a method used in social action research. Resource mapping can be informative in developing complex mental health interventions, particularly in settings with limited formal mental health resources. We employed resource mapping within the Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME), to systematically gather information on community assets that can support integration of mental healthcare into primary care in rural Ethiopia. A semi-structured instrument was administered to key informants. Community resources were identified for all 58 sub-districts of the study district. The potential utility of these resources for the provision of mental healthcare in the district was considered. The district is rich in community resources: There are over 150 traditional healers, 164 churches and mosques, and 401 religious groups. There were on average 5 eddir groups (traditional funeral associations) per sub-district. Social associations and 51 micro-finance institutions were also identified. On average, two traditional bars were found in each sub-district. The eight health centres and 58 satellite clinics staffed by Health Extension Workers (HEWs) represented all the biomedical health services in the district. In addition the Health Development Army (HDA) are community volunteers who support health promotion and prevention activities. The plan for mental healthcare integration in this district was informed by the resource mapping. Community and religious leaders, HEWs, and HDA may have roles in awareness-raising, detection and referral of people with mental illness, improving access to medical care, supporting treatment adherence, and protecting human rights. The diversity of community structures will be used to support rehabilitation and social reintegration. Alcohol use was identified as a target disorder for community-level intervention.

Beyond the Biomedical: Community Resources for Mental Health Care in Rural Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Selamu, Medhin; Asher, Laura; Hanlon, Charlotte; Medhin, Girmay; Hailemariam, Maji; Patel, Vikram; Thornicroft, Graham; Fekadu, Abebaw

2015-01-01

Background The focus of discussion in addressing the treatment gap is often on biomedical services. However, community resources can benefit health service scale-up in resource-constrained settings. These assets can be captured systematically through resource mapping, a method used in social action research. Resource mapping can be informative in developing complex mental health interventions, particularly in settings with limited formal mental health resources. Method We employed resource mapping within the Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME), to systematically gather information on community assets that can support integration of mental healthcare into primary care in rural Ethiopia. A semi-structured instrument was administered to key informants. Community resources were identified for all 58 sub-districts of the study district. The potential utility of these resources for the provision of mental healthcare in the district was considered. Results The district is rich in community resources: There are over 150 traditional healers, 164 churches and mosques, and 401 religious groups. There were on average 5 eddir groups (traditional funeral associations) per sub-district. Social associations and 51 micro-finance institutions were also identified. On average, two traditional bars were found in each sub-district. The eight health centres and 58 satellite clinics staffed by Health Extension Workers (HEWs) represented all the biomedical health services in the district. In addition the Health Development Army (HDA) are community volunteers who support health promotion and prevention activities. Discussion The plan for mental healthcare integration in this district was informed by the resource mapping. Community and religious leaders, HEWs, and HDA may have roles in awareness-raising, detection and referral of people with mental illness, improving access to medical care, supporting treatment adherence, and protecting human rights. The diversity of community structures will be used to support rehabilitation and social reintegration. Alcohol use was identified as a target disorder for community-level intervention. PMID:25962075

Mapping Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services for Prioritizing Restoration Efforts in a Semi-arid Mediterranean River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trabucchi, Mattia; O'Farrell, Patrick J.; Notivol, Eduardo; Comín, Francisco A.

2014-06-01

Semi-arid Mediterranean regions are highly susceptible to desertification processes which can reduce the benefits that people obtain from healthy ecosystems and thus threaten human wellbeing. The European Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 recognizes the need to incorporate ecosystem services into land-use management, conservation, and restoration actions. The inclusion of ecosystem services into restoration actions and plans is an emerging area of research, and there are few documented approaches and guidelines on how to undertake such an exercise. This paper responds to this need, and we demonstrate an approach for identifying both key ecosystem services provisioning areas and the spatial relationship between ecological processes and services. A degraded semi-arid Mediterranean river basin in north east Spain was used as a case study area. We show that the quantification and mapping of services are the first step required for both optimizing and targeting of specific local areas for restoration. Additionally, we provide guidelines for restoration planning at a watershed scale; establishing priorities for improving the delivery of ecosystem services at this scale; and prioritizing the sub-watersheds for restoration based on their potential for delivering a combination of key ecosystem services for the entire basin.

Mapping ecological processes and ecosystem services for prioritizing restoration efforts in a semi-arid Mediterranean river basin.

PubMed

Trabucchi, Mattia; O'Farrell, Patrick J; Notivol, Eduardo; Comín, Francisco A

2014-06-01

Semi-arid Mediterranean regions are highly susceptible to desertification processes which can reduce the benefits that people obtain from healthy ecosystems and thus threaten human wellbeing. The European Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 recognizes the need to incorporate ecosystem services into land-use management, conservation, and restoration actions. The inclusion of ecosystem services into restoration actions and plans is an emerging area of research, and there are few documented approaches and guidelines on how to undertake such an exercise. This paper responds to this need, and we demonstrate an approach for identifying both key ecosystem services provisioning areas and the spatial relationship between ecological processes and services. A degraded semi-arid Mediterranean river basin in north east Spain was used as a case study area. We show that the quantification and mapping of services are the first step required for both optimizing and targeting of specific local areas for restoration. Additionally, we provide guidelines for restoration planning at a watershed scale; establishing priorities for improving the delivery of ecosystem services at this scale; and prioritizing the sub-watersheds for restoration based on their potential for delivering a combination of key ecosystem services for the entire basin.

The impact of geo-tagging on the photo industry and creating revenue streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, Rolf; Böge, Henning; Weckmann, Christoph; Schloen, Malte

2010-02-01

Internet geo and mapping services like Google Maps, Google Earth and Microsoft Bing Maps have reinvented the use of geographical information and have reached an enormous popularity. Besides that, location technologies like GPS have become affordable and are now being integrated in many camera phones. GPS is also available for standalone cameras as add on products or integrated in cameras. These developments are the enabler for new products for the photo industry or they enhance existing products. New commercial opportunities have been identified in the areas of photo hardware, internet/software and photo finishing.

Opportunity potential matrix for Atlantic Canadians

Treesearch

Greg Danchuk; Ed Thomson

1992-01-01

Opportunity for provision of Parks Service benefit to Atlantic Canadians was investigated by mapping travel behaviour into a matrix in terms of origin, season, purpose, distance, time, and destination. Findings identified potential for benefit in several activity areas, particularly within residents' own province.

The National Map: New Viewer, Services, and Data Download

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dollison, Robert M.

2010-01-01

Managed by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program, The National Map has transitioned data assets and viewer applications to a new visualization and product and service delivery environment, which includes an improved viewing platform, base map data and overlay services, and an integrated data download service. This new viewing solution expands upon the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) Palanterra X3 viewer, providing a solid technology foundation for navigation and basic Web mapping functionality. Building upon the NGA viewer allows The National Map to focus on improving data services, functions, and data download capabilities. Initially released to the public at the 125th anniversary of mapping in the USGS on December 3, 2009, the viewer and services are now the primary distribution point for The National Map data. The National Map Viewer: http://viewer.nationalmap.gov

Mapping the literature of nursing administration.

PubMed

Galganski, Carol J

2006-04-01

As part of Phase I of a project to map the literature of nursing, sponsored by the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section of the Medical Library Association, this study identifies the core literature cited in nursing administration and the indexing services that provide access to the core journals. The results of this study will assist librarians and end users searching for information related to this nursing discipline, as well as database producers who might consider adding specific titles to their indexing services. Using the common methodology described in the overview article, five source journals for nursing administration were identified and selected for citation analysis over a three-year period, 1996 to 1998, to identify the most frequently cited titles according to Bradford's Law of Scattering. From this core of most productive journal titles, the bibliographic databases that provide the best access to these titles were identified. Results reveal that nursing administration literature relies most heavily on journal articles and on those titles identified as core nursing administrative titles. When the indexing coverage of nine services is compared, PubMed/MEDLINE and CINAHL provide the most comprehensive coverage of this nursing discipline. No one indexing service adequately covers this nursing discipline. Researchers needing comprehensive coverage in this area must search more than one database to effectively research their projects. While PubMed/MEDLINE and CINAHL provide more coverage for this discipline than the other indexing services, none is sufficiently broad in scope to provide indexing of nursing, health care management, and medical literature in a single file. Nurse administrators using the literature to research current work issues need to review not only the nursing titles covered by CINAHL but should also include the major weekly medical titles, core titles in health care administration, and general business sources if they wish to adequately cover the many aspects of nursing administration.

Specialized care for people with AIDS in the state of Ceara, Brazil

PubMed Central

Pedrosa, Nathália Lima; Santos, Vanessa da Frota; Paiva, Simone de Sousa; Galvão, Marli Teresinha Gimeniz; de Almeida, Rosa Lívia Freitas; Kerr, Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE To analyze if the distribution of specialized care services for HIV/AIDS is associated with AIDS rates. METHODS Ecological study, for which the distribution of 10 specialized care services in the Ceara state, Northeastern Brazil, was obtained, and the mean rates of the disease were estimated per mesoregion. We evaluated 7,896 individuals who had been diagnosed with AIDS, were aged 13 years or older, lived in Ceara, and had been informed of their condition between 2001 and 2011. Maps were constructed to verify the relationship between the distribution of AIDS cases and institutionalized support networks in the 2001-2006 and 2007-2011 periods. BoxMap and LisaMap were used for data analysis. The Voronoi diagram was applied for the distribution of the studied services. RESULTS Specialized care services concentrated in AIDS clusters in the metropolitan area. The Noroeste Cearense and west of the Sertoes Cearenses had high AIDS rates, but a low number of specialized care services over time. Two of these services were implemented where clusters of the disease exist in the second period. The application of the Voronoi diagram showed that the specialized care services located outside the metropolitan area covered a large territory. We identified one polygon that had no services. CONCLUSIONS The scenario of AIDS cases spread away from major urban areas demands the creation of social support services in areas other than the capital and the metropolitan area of the state; this can reduce access barriers to these institutions. It is necessary to create specialized care services for HIV/AIDS in the Noroeste Cearense and north of Jaguaribe. PMID:26487292

A Map-Based Service Supporting Different Types of Geographic Knowledge for the Public

PubMed Central

Zhou, Mengjie; Wang, Rui; Tian, Jing; Ye, Ning; Mai, Shumin

2016-01-01

The internet enables the rapid and easy creation, storage, and transfer of knowledge; however, services that transfer geographic knowledge and facilitate the public understanding of geographic knowledge are still underdeveloped to date. Existing online maps (or atlases) can support limited types of geographic knowledge. In this study, we propose a framework for map-based services to represent and transfer different types of geographic knowledge to the public. A map-based service provides tools to ensure the effective transfer of geographic knowledge. We discuss the types of geographic knowledge that should be represented and transferred to the public, and we propose guidelines and a method to represent various types of knowledge through a map-based service. To facilitate the effective transfer of geographic knowledge, tools such as auxiliary background knowledge and auxiliary map-reading tools are provided through interactions with maps. An experiment conducted to illustrate our idea and to evaluate the usefulness of the map-based service is described; the results demonstrate that the map-based service is useful for transferring different types of geographic knowledge. PMID:27045314

A Map-Based Service Supporting Different Types of Geographic Knowledge for the Public.

PubMed

Zhou, Mengjie; Wang, Rui; Tian, Jing; Ye, Ning; Mai, Shumin

2016-01-01

The internet enables the rapid and easy creation, storage, and transfer of knowledge; however, services that transfer geographic knowledge and facilitate the public understanding of geographic knowledge are still underdeveloped to date. Existing online maps (or atlases) can support limited types of geographic knowledge. In this study, we propose a framework for map-based services to represent and transfer different types of geographic knowledge to the public. A map-based service provides tools to ensure the effective transfer of geographic knowledge. We discuss the types of geographic knowledge that should be represented and transferred to the public, and we propose guidelines and a method to represent various types of knowledge through a map-based service. To facilitate the effective transfer of geographic knowledge, tools such as auxiliary background knowledge and auxiliary map-reading tools are provided through interactions with maps. An experiment conducted to illustrate our idea and to evaluate the usefulness of the map-based service is described; the results demonstrate that the map-based service is useful for transferring different types of geographic knowledge.

Map as a Service: A Framework for Visualising and Maximising Information Return from Multi-Modal Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Hammoudeh, Mohammad; Newman, Robert; Dennett, Christopher; Mount, Sarah; Aldabbas, Omar

2015-01-01

This paper presents a distributed information extraction and visualisation service, called the mapping service, for maximising information return from large-scale wireless sensor networks. Such a service would greatly simplify the production of higher-level, information-rich, representations suitable for informing other network services and the delivery of field information visualisations. The mapping service utilises a blend of inductive and deductive models to map sense data accurately using externally available knowledge. It utilises the special characteristics of the application domain to render visualisations in a map format that are a precise reflection of the concrete reality. This service is suitable for visualising an arbitrary number of sense modalities. It is capable of visualising from multiple independent types of the sense data to overcome the limitations of generating visualisations from a single type of sense modality. Furthermore, the mapping service responds dynamically to changes in the environmental conditions, which may affect the visualisation performance by continuously updating the application domain model in a distributed manner. Finally, a distributed self-adaptation function is proposed with the goal of saving more power and generating more accurate data visualisation. We conduct comprehensive experimentation to evaluate the performance of our mapping service and show that it achieves low communication overhead, produces maps of high fidelity, and further minimises the mapping predictive error dynamically through integrating the application domain model in the mapping service. PMID:26378539

Quantifying annual changes in built-up area in complex urban-rural landscapes from analyses of PALSAR and Landsat images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Yuanwei; Xiao, Xiangming; Dong, Jinwei; Chen, Bangqian; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Geli; Zhang, Yao; Wang, Jie; Wu, Xiaocui

2017-02-01

Built-up area supports human settlements and activities, and its spatial distribution and temporal dynamics have significant impacts on ecosystem services and global environment change. To date, most of urban remote sensing has generated the maps of impervious surfaces, and limited effort has been made to explicitly identify the area, location and density of built-up in the complex and fragmented landscapes based on the freely available datasets. In this study, we took the lower Yangtze River Delta (Landsat Path/Row: 118/038), China, where extensive urbanization and industrialization have occurred, as a case study site. We analyzed the structure and optical features of typical land cover types from (1) the HH and HV gamma-naught imagery from the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR), and (2) time series Landsat imagery. We proposed a pixel- and rule-based decision tree approach to identify and map built-up area at 30-m resolution from 2007 to 2010, using PALSAR HH gamma-naught and Landsat annual maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVImax). The accuracy assessment showed that the resultant annual maps of built-up had relatively high user (87-93%) and producer accuracies (91-95%) from 2007 to 2010. The built-up area was 2805 km2 in 2010, about 16% of the total land area of the study site. The annual maps of built-up in 2007-2010 show relatively small changes in the urban core regions, but large outward expansion along the peri-urban regions. The average annual increase of built-up areas was about 80 km2 per year from 2007 to 2010. Our annual maps of built-up in the lower Yangtze River Delta clearly complement the existing maps of impervious surfaces in the region. This study provides a promising new approach to identify and map built-up area, which is critical to investigate the interactions between human activities and ecosystem services in urban-rural systems.

Integrating future scenario‐based crop expansion and crop conditions to map switchgrass biofuel potential in eastern Nebraska, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gu, Yingxin; Wylie, Bruce K.

2018-01-01

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been evaluated as one potential source for cellulosic biofuel feedstocks. Planting switchgrass in marginal croplands and waterway buffers can reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and improve regional ecosystem services (i.e. it serves as a potential carbon sink). In previous studies, we mapped high risk marginal croplands and highly erodible cropland buffers that are potentially suitable for switchgrass development, which would improve ecosystem services and minimally impact food production. In this study, we advance our previous study results and integrate future crop expansion information to develop a switchgrass biofuel potential ensemble map for current and future croplands in eastern Nebraska. The switchgrass biomass productivity and carbon benefits (i.e. NEP: net ecosystem production) for the identified biofuel potential ensemble areas were quantified. The future scenario‐based (‘A1B’) land use and land cover map for 2050, the US Geological Survey crop type and Compound Topographic Index (CTI) maps, and long‐term (1981–2010) averaged annual precipitation data were used to identify future crop expansion regions that are suitable for switchgrass development. Results show that 2528 km2 of future crop expansion regions (~3.6% of the study area) are potentially suitable for switchgrass development. The total estimated biofuel potential ensemble area (including cropland buffers, marginal croplands, and future crop expansion regions) is 4232 km2 (~6% of the study area), potentially producing 3.52 million metric tons of switchgrass biomass per year. Converting biofuel ensemble regions to switchgrass leads to potential carbon sinks (the total NEP for biofuel potential areas is 0.45 million metric tons C) and is environmentally sustainable. Results from this study improve our understanding of environmental conditions and ecosystem services of current and future cropland systems in eastern Nebraska and provide useful information to land managers to make land use decisions regarding switchgrass development.

Landscape prediction and mapping of game fish biomass, an ecosystem service of Michigan rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esselman, Peter C.; Stevenson, R Jan; Lupi, Frank; Riseng, Catherine M.; Wiley, Michael J.

2015-01-01

The increased integration of ecosystem service concepts into natural resource management places renewed emphasis on prediction and mapping of fish biomass as a major provisioning service of rivers. The goals of this study were to predict and map patterns of fish biomass as a proxy for the availability of catchable fish for anglers in rivers and to identify the strongest landscape constraints on fish productivity. We examined hypotheses about fish responses to total phosphorus (TP), as TP is a growth-limiting nutrient known to cause increases (subsidy response) and/or decreases (stress response) in fish biomass depending on its concentration and the species being considered. Boosted regression trees were used to define nonlinear functions that predicted the standing crops of Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis, Brown Trout Salmo trutta, Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu, panfishes (seven centrarchid species), and Walleye Sander vitreus by using landscape and modeled local-scale predictors. Fitted models were highly significant and explained 22–56% of the variation in validation data sets. Nonlinear and threshold responses were apparent for numerous predictors, including TP concentration, which had significant effects on all except the Walleye fishery. Brook Trout and Smallmouth Bass exhibited both subsidy and stress responses, panfish biomass exhibited a subsidy response only, and Brown Trout exhibited a stress response. Maps of reach-specific standing crop predictions showed patterns of predicted fish biomass that corresponded to spatial patterns in catchment area, water temperature, land cover, and nutrient availability. Maps illustrated predictions of higher trout biomass in coldwater streams draining glacial till in northern Michigan, higher Smallmouth Bass and panfish biomasses in warmwater systems of southern Michigan, and high Walleye biomass in large main-stem rivers throughout the state. Our results allow fisheries managers to examine the biomass potential of streams, describe geographic patterns of fisheries, explore possible nutrient management targets, and identify habitats that are candidates for species management.

Social-value maps for Arapaho, Roosevelt, Medicine Bow, Routt, and White River National Forests, Colorado and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ancona, Zachary H.; Semmens, Darius J.; Sherrouse, Benson C.

2016-03-25

Executive SummaryThe continued pressures of population growth on the life-sustaining, economic, and cultural ecosystem services provided by our national forests, particularly those located near rapidly growing urban areas, present ongoing challenges to forest managers. Achieving an effective assessment of these ecosystem services includes a proper accounting of the ecological, economic, and social values attributable to them. However, assessments of ecosystem goods and services notably lack information describing the spatial distribution and relative intensity of social values—the perceived, nonmarket values derived particularly from cultural ecosystem services. A geographic information system (GIS) tool developed to fill this need, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES; http://solves.cr.usgs.gov), now provides the capability to generate social-value maps at a range of spatial scales. This report presents some of the methods behind SolVES, procedures needed to apply the tool, the first formal map products resulting from its application at a regional scale, and a discussion of the management implications associated with this type of information.In this study, we use SolVES to identify the location and relative intensity of social values as derived from survey responses gathered from residents living in counties adjacent to Arapaho, Roosevelt, Medicine Bow, Routt, and White River National Forests. The results, presented as a series of social-value maps, represent the first publicly available spatial data on social-value intensity for the southern Rocky Mountain region. Our analysis identified high-value areas for social values including aesthetic, biodiversity, and life sustaining within wilderness areas. Other values, like recreation, show high-value areas both within wilderness and throughout the general forest areas, which can be attributed to people using the forests for a diverse set of recreational activities. The economic social-value type was lower within wilderness areas, which was an expected outcome because of the restrictions inside wilderness areas that preclude resource extraction, development, and motorized or mechanized recreation.Providing spatially explicit social-value information collected from residents in counties adjacent to these national forests can assist in facilitating the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528) note and the 2012 Forest Service Planning Rule (36 CFR Part 219), which encourage public participation in planning and management. By making these maps available to the public, we hope to encourage exploration of potential uses of these data for resource management and planning.

Communication strategies to promote the uptake of childhood vaccination in Nigeria: a systematic map

PubMed Central

Oku, Afiong; Oyo-Ita, Angela; Glenton, Claire; Fretheim, Atle; Ames, Heather; Muloliwa, Artur; Kaufman, Jessica; Hill, Sophie; Cliff, Julie; Cartier, Yuri; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Rada, Gabriel; Lewin, Simon

2016-01-01

Background Effective communication is a critical component in ensuring that children are fully vaccinated. Although numerous communication interventions have been proposed and implemented in various parts of Nigeria, the range of communication strategies used has not yet been mapped systematically. This study forms part of the ‘Communicate to vaccinate’ (COMMVAC) project, an initiative aimed at building research evidence for improving communication with parents and communities about childhood vaccinations in low- and middle-income countries. Objective This study aims to: 1) identify the communication strategies used in two states in Nigeria; 2) map these strategies against the existing COMMVAC taxonomy, a global taxonomy of vaccination communication interventions; 3) create a specific Nigerian country map of interventions organised by purpose and target; and 4) analyse gaps between the COMMVAC taxonomy and the Nigerian map. Design We conducted the study in two Nigerian states: Bauchi State in Northern Nigeria and Cross River State in Southern Nigeria. We identified vaccination communication interventions through interviews carried out among purposively selected stakeholders in the health services and relevant agencies involved in vaccination information delivery; through observations and through relevant documents. We used the COMMVAC taxonomy to organise the interventions we identified based on the intended purpose of the communication and the group to which the intervention was targeted. Results The Nigerian map revealed that most of the communication strategies identified aimed to inform and educate and remind or recall. Few aimed to teach skills, enhance community ownership, and enable communication. We did not identify any intervention that aimed to provide support or facilitate decision-making. Many interventions had more than one purpose. The main targets for most interventions were caregivers and community members, with few interventions directed at health workers. Most interventions identified were used in the context of campaigns rather than routine immunisation programmes. Conclusions The identification and development of the Nigerian vaccination communication interventions map could assist programme managers to identify gaps in vaccination communication. The map may be a useful tool as part of efforts to address vaccine hesitancy and improve vaccination coverage in Nigeria and similar settings. PMID:26880154

Communication strategies to promote the uptake of childhood vaccination in Nigeria: a systematic map.

PubMed

Oku, Afiong; Oyo-Ita, Angela; Glenton, Claire; Fretheim, Atle; Ames, Heather; Muloliwa, Artur; Kaufman, Jessica; Hill, Sophie; Cliff, Julie; Cartier, Yuri; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Rada, Gabriel; Lewin, Simon

2016-01-01

Effective communication is a critical component in ensuring that children are fully vaccinated. Although numerous communication interventions have been proposed and implemented in various parts of Nigeria, the range of communication strategies used has not yet been mapped systematically. This study forms part of the 'Communicate to vaccinate' (COMMVAC) project, an initiative aimed at building research evidence for improving communication with parents and communities about childhood vaccinations in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to: 1) identify the communication strategies used in two states in Nigeria; 2) map these strategies against the existing COMMVAC taxonomy, a global taxonomy of vaccination communication interventions; 3) create a specific Nigerian country map of interventions organised by purpose and target; and 4) analyse gaps between the COMMVAC taxonomy and the Nigerian map. We conducted the study in two Nigerian states: Bauchi State in Northern Nigeria and Cross River State in Southern Nigeria. We identified vaccination communication interventions through interviews carried out among purposively selected stakeholders in the health services and relevant agencies involved in vaccination information delivery; through observations and through relevant documents. We used the COMMVAC taxonomy to organise the interventions we identified based on the intended purpose of the communication and the group to which the intervention was targeted. The Nigerian map revealed that most of the communication strategies identified aimed to inform and educate and remind or recall. Few aimed to teach skills, enhance community ownership, and enable communication. We did not identify any intervention that aimed to provide support or facilitate decision-making. Many interventions had more than one purpose. The main targets for most interventions were caregivers and community members, with few interventions directed at health workers. Most interventions identified were used in the context of campaigns rather than routine immunisation programmes. The identification and development of the Nigerian vaccination communication interventions map could assist programme managers to identify gaps in vaccination communication. The map may be a useful tool as part of efforts to address vaccine hesitancy and improve vaccination coverage in Nigeria and similar settings.

76 FR 72437 - Minor Boundary Revision at Colorado National Monument

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-23

...Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 460l- 9(c)(1), the boundary of Colorado National Monument is modified to include an additional two and forty-five hundredths (2.45) acres of land identified as Tract 01-140, tax parcel number 2697-343-04-009. The land is located in Mesa County, Colorado, immediately adjacent to the current eastern boundary of Colorado National Monument. The boundary revision is depicted on Map No. 119/106,532 dated January 2011. The map is available for inspection at the following locations: National Park Service, Intermountain Land Resources Program Center, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80225-0287 and National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240.

EnviroAtlas Connects Urban Ecosystem Services and Human ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Ecosystem services in urban areas can improve public health and well-being by mitigating natural and anthropogenic pollution, and by promoting healthy lifestyles that include engagement with nature and enhanced opportunities for physical activity and social interaction. EPA’s EnviroAtlas online mapping tool identifies urban environmental features linked in the scientific and medical literature to specific aspects of public health and well-being. EnviroAtlas researchers have synthesized newly-generated one-meter resolution landcover data, downscaled census population data, and other existing datasets such as roads and parks. Resulting geospatial metrics represent health-related indicators of urban ecosystem services supply and demand by census block-group and finer scales. EnviroAtlas maps include percent of the population with limited window views of trees, tree cover along walkable roads, overall neighborhood green space, and proximity to parks. Demographic data can be overlaid to perform analyses of disproportionate distribution of urban ecosystem services across population groups. Together with the Eco-Health Relationship Browser, EnviroAtlas data can be linked to numerous aspects of public health and well-being including school performance, physical fitness, social capital, and longevity. EnviroAtlas maps have been developed using consistent methods to allow for comparisons between neighborhoods and across multiple U.S. communities. To feature eco-heal

An android application for crime analysis in San Diego

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonchikara, Likhita

Over the past few years, smartphone adoption has increased worldwide. In this era of smartphones, one of the easiest ways to make this information available to many users is through smartphone applications. Smartphone applications can provide requested information in a readable and user friendly format. Information related to data such as real estate, property, post offices, crime locations and many others can be very useful. Such information helps city planners, residents, students and commuters to identify and communicate trends and patterns about places. ESRI`s ARCGIS provides various services and tools which help visualize real-world features, discover patterns, obtain information, and communicate that information to others. When these services work in conjunction with GPS based location services in smartphones, they create new avenues for applications. This thesis implements an Android smartphone application with features to analyze location based crime data. The user of this application can view crime data in a region and filter different crime types. The application allows the user to query and analyze crimes that have occurred near his location or at a location of interest. The application includes features to measure distance between crime spots and also measure area on the map. The user can also switch the base-map from street map to NatGeo map. Powered with this information, renters and home buyers can ensure that their new home is in a safe location. Real estate agents can buy or sell property in safer locations. Commuters can find routes which avoid crime spots. Tourists can find accommodation in safer places. Students can be aware of the high crime rate areas around the school campus. This application uses ArcGIS feature service by ESRI to render all data on the map.

Analysis of the private market for LANDSAT products and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The private sector was examined and evaluated to develop base line strategies and mechanisms for its increased utilization of LANDSAT (and future satellite) technologies as both consumer and producer of products and services. Methodologies used to assess the digital analysis service and national mapping industries are described. Private sector users in business and industry are identified and the potential U.S. industry role in the foreign LANDSAT market is considered.

Assessing urban vacant land ecosystem services: Urban vacant land as green infrastructure in the City of Roanoke, Virginia

Treesearch

Gunwoo Kim; Patrick A. Miller; David J. Nowak

2015-01-01

The research reported here quantifies the ecosystem services and values of vacant land using the City of Roanoke, Virginia as a study site. Aerial photo interpretation with ground-truthing was used to identify and catalog vacant parcels of land within the city limits and the results mapped using the i-Tree Canopy and i-Tree Eco models to define land cover classes and...

Leveraging community health worker system to map a mountainous rural district in low resource setting: a low-cost approach to expand use of geographic information systems for public health.

PubMed

Munyaneza, Fabien; Hirschhorn, Lisa R; Amoroso, Cheryl L; Nyirazinyoye, Laetitia; Birru, Ermyas; Mugunga, Jean Claude; Murekatete, Rachel M; Ntaganira, Joseph

2014-12-06

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become an important tool in monitoring and improving health services, particularly at local levels. However, GIS data are often unavailable in rural settings and village-level mapping is resource-intensive. This study describes the use of community health workers' (CHW) supervisors to map villages in a mountainous rural district of Northern Rwanda and subsequent use of these data to map village-level variability in safe water availability. We developed a low literacy and skills-focused training in the local language (Kinyarwanda) to train 86 CHW Supervisors and 25 nurses in charge of community health at the health center (HC) and health post (HP) levels to collect the geographic coordinates of the villages using Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Data were validated through meetings with key stakeholders at the sub-district and district levels and joined using ArcMap 10 Geo-processing tools. Costs were calculated using program budgets and activities' records, and compared with the estimated costs of mapping using a separate, trained GIS team. To demonstrate the usefulness of this work, we mapped drinking water sources (DWS) from data collected by CHW supervisors from the chief of the village. DWSs were categorized as safe versus unsafe using World Health Organization definitions. Following training, each CHW Supervisor spent five days collecting data on the villages in their coverage area. Over 12 months, the CHW supervisors mapped the district's 573 villages using 12 shared GPS devices. Sector maps were produced and distributed to local officials. The cost of mapping using CHW supervisors was $29,692, about two times less than the estimated cost of mapping using a trained and dedicated GIS team ($60,112). The availability of local mapping was able to rapidly identify village-level disparities in DWS, with lower access in populations living near to lakes and wetlands (p < .001). Existing national CHW system can be leveraged to inexpensively and rapidly map villages even in mountainous rural areas. These data are important to provide managers and decision makers with local-level GIS data to rapidly identify variability in health and other related services to better target and evaluate interventions.

Comprehensive Evaluation and Analysis of China's Mainstream Online Map Service Websites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H.; Jiang, J.; Huang, W.; Wang, Q.; Gu, X.

2012-08-01

With the flourish development of China's Internet market, all kinds of users for map service demand is rising continually, within it contains tremendous commercial interests. Many internet giants have got involved in the field of online map service, and defined it as an important strategic product of the company. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate these online map service websites comprehensively with a model, and analyse the problems according to the evaluation results. Then some corresponding solving measures are proposed, which provides a theoretical and application guidance for the future development of fiercely competitive online map websites. The research consists of three stages: (a) the mainstream online map service websites in China are introduced and the present situation of them is analysed through visit, investigation, consultant, analysis and research. (b) a whole comprehensive evaluation quota system of online map service websites from the view of functions, layout, interaction design color position and so on, combining with the data indexes such as time efficiency, accuracy, objectivity and authority. (c) a comprehensive evaluation to these online map service websites is proceeded based on the fuzzy evaluation mathematical model, and the difficulty that measure the map websites quantitatively is solved.

National Geospatial Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carswell, William J.

2011-01-01

increases the efficiency of the Nation's geospatial community by improving communications about geospatial data, products, services, projects, needs, standards, and best practices. The NGP comprises seven major components (described below), that are managed as a unified set. For example, The National Map establishes data standards and identifies geographic areas where specific types of geospatial data need to be incorporated into The National Map. Partnership Network Liaisons work with Federal, State, local, and tribal partners to help acquire the data. Geospatial technical operations ensure the quality control, integration, and availability to the public of the data acquired. The Emergency Operations Office provides the requirements to The National Map and, during emergencies and natural disasters, provides rapid dissemination of information and data targeted to the needs of emergency responders. The National Atlas uses data from The National Map and other sources to make small-scale maps and multimedia articles about the maps.

Permeability of soils in Mississippi

USGS Publications Warehouse

O'Hara, Charles G.

1994-01-01

The permeability of soils in Mississippi was determined and mapped using a geographic information system (GIS). Soil permeabilities in Mississippi were determined to range in value from nearly 0.0 to values exceeding 5.0 inches per hour. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service's State Soil Geographic Data Base (STATSGO) was used as the primary source of data for the determination of area-weighted soil permeability. STATSGO provides soil layer properties that are spatially referenced to mapped areas. These mapped areas are referred to as polygons in the GIS. The polygons arc boundaries of soils mapped as a group and are given unique Map Unit Identifiers (MUIDs). The data describing the physical characteristics of the soils within each polygon are stored in a tabular data base format and are referred to as attributes. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service developed STATSGO to be primarily used as a guide for regional resource planning, management, and monitoring. STATSGO was designed so that soil information could be extracted from properties tables at the layer level, combined by component, and statistically expanded to cover the entire map unit. The results of this study provide a mapped value for permeability which is representative of the vertical permeability of soils in that area. The resultant permeability map provides a representative vertical soil permeability for a given area sufficient for county, multi- county, and area planning, and will be used as the soil permeability data component in the evaluation of the susceptibility of major aquifers to contami- nation in Mississippi.

Field Guide to the Plant Community Types of Voyageurs National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faber-Langendoen, Don; Aaseng, Norman; Hop, Kevin; Lew-Smith, Michael

2007-01-01

INTRODUCTION The objective of the U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program is to classify, describe, and map vegetation for most of the park units within the National Park Service (NPS). The program was created in response to the NPS Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring Guidelines issued in 1992. Products for each park include digital files of the vegetation map and field data, keys and descriptions to the plant communities, reports, metadata, map accuracy verification summaries, and aerial photographs. Interagency teams work in each park and, following standardized mapping and field sampling protocols, develop products and vegetation classification standards that document the various vegetation types found in a given park. The use of a standard national vegetation classification system and mapping protocol facilitate effective resource stewardship by ensuring compatibility and widespread use of the information throughout the NPS as well as by other Federal and state agencies. These vegetation classifications and maps and associated information support a wide variety of resource assessment, park management, and planning needs, and provide a structure for framing and answering critical scientific questions about plant communities and their relation to environmental processes across the landscape. This field guide is intended to make the classification accessible to park visitors and researchers at Voyageurs National Park, allowing them to identify any stand of natural vegetation and showing how the classification can be used in conjunction with the vegetation map (Hop and others, 2001).

EnviroAtlas: Incorporation of Community-Scale Data for Additional Communities

EPA Science Inventory

EnviroAtlas is ORD’s online spatial decision support tool for viewing and analyzing the supply, demand, and drivers of change related to natural and built infrastructure at multiple scales for the nation. Maps and text identify known relationships between the goods and services ...

A concept mapping approach to guide and understand dissemination and implementation.

PubMed

Green, Amy E; Fettes, Danielle L; Aarons, Gregory A

2012-10-01

Many efforts to implement evidence-based programs do not reach their full potential or fail due to the variety of challenges inherent in dissemination and implementation. This article describes the use of concept mapping-a mixed method strategy-to study implementation of behavioral health innovations and evidence-based practice (EBP). The application of concept mapping to implementation research represents a practical and concise way to identify and quantify factors affecting implementation, develop conceptual models of implementation, target areas to address as part of implementation readiness and active implementation, and foster communication among stakeholders. Concept mapping is described and a case example is provided to illustrate its use in an implementation study. Implications for the use of concept mapping methods in both research and applied settings towards the dissemination and implementation of behavioral health services are discussed.

Mapping Cultural Ecosystem Services in Vilnius using Hot-Spot Analysis.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Paulo; Depellegrin, Daniel; Egarter-Vigl, Lukas; Oliva, Marc; Misiune, Ieva; Keesstra, Saskia; Estebaranz, Ferran; Cerda, Artemi

2017-04-01

Cultural services in urban areas are very important to promote tourism activities and develop the economy. These activities are fundamental for the sustainability of the urban areas since can represent an important monetary source. However, one of the major threats to the sustainability of cultural services is the high amount of visitants that can lead to a degradation of the services provided (Depellegrin et al., 2016). Mapping the potential of cultural ecosystems services is fundamental to assess the capacity that the territory have to provide it. Previous works used land use classification to identify the ecosystem services potential, and revealed to be a good methodology to attribute to each type of land use a specific capacity (Burkhard et al., 2008). The objective of this work is to map the cultural services in Vilnius area using a hot-spot analysis. Ecosystem services potential was assessed using the matrix developed by Burkhard et al. (2009), which ranks ES capacity from 0= no capacity to 5=very high relevant capacity to a different land use type. The results showed that with the exception of Cultural Heritage ecosystem services that had a random pattern (Z-score=0.62, p<0.530), all the others had clustered pattern: Recreation and Tourism (Z-score=4.02, p<0.001), Landscape Aesthetics (Z-score=4.44, p<0.001), Knowledge Systems (Z-score=4.15, p<0.001), Religious and Spiritual (Z-score=3.80, p<0.001) and Natural Heritage (Z-score=5.64, p<0.001). The incremental Moran's I result showed that Recreation and Tourism ecosystem services had the maximum spatial correlation at the distance of 5125.12 m, Landscape Aesthetics at 3495.70 m, Knowledge Systems at 5218.66 m, Religious and Spiritual at 3495.70 m, Cultural Heritage at 6746.17 m and Natural Heritage at 6205.82 m. This showed that the cultural services studied have a different spatial correlation. References Burkhard B, Kroll F, Müller F, Windhorst W. 2009. Landscapes' capacities to provide ecosystem services- a concept for land-cover based assessments. Landscape Online. 15, 1-22. Depellegrin, D.A., Pereira, P., Misiune, I., Egarter-Vigl, L. Mapping Ecosystem Services potential in Lithuania. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 23, 441-455.

Validating the usability of an interactive Earth Observation based web service for landslide investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albrecht, Florian; Weinke, Elisabeth; Eisank, Clemens; Vecchiotti, Filippo; Hölbling, Daniel; Friedl, Barbara; Kociu, Arben

2017-04-01

Regional authorities and infrastructure maintainers in almost all mountainous regions of the Earth need detailed and up-to-date landslide inventories for hazard and risk management. Landslide inventories usually are compiled through ground surveys and manual image interpretation following landslide triggering events. We developed a web service that uses Earth Observation (EO) data to support the mapping and monitoring tasks for improving the collection of landslide information. The planned validation of the EO-based web service does not only cover the analysis of the achievable landslide information quality but also the usability and user friendliness of the user interface. The underlying validation criteria are based on the user requirements and the defined tasks and aims in the work description of the FFG project Land@Slide (EO-based landslide mapping: from methodological developments to automated web-based information delivery). The service will be validated in collaboration with stakeholders, decision makers and experts. Users are requested to test the web service functionality and give feedback with a web-based questionnaire by following the subsequently described workflow. The users will operate the web-service via the responsive user interface and can extract landslide information from EO data. They compare it to reference data for quality assessment, for monitoring changes and for assessing landslide-affected infrastructure. An overview page lets the user explore a list of example projects with resulting landslide maps and mapping workflow descriptions. The example projects include mapped landslides in several test areas in Austria and Northern Italy. Landslides were extracted from high resolution (HR) and very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, such as Landsat, Sentinel-2, SPOT-5, WorldView-2/3 or Pléiades. The user can create his/her own project by selecting available satellite imagery or by uploading new data. Subsequently, a new landslide extraction workflow can be initiated through the functionality that the web service provides: (1) a segmentation of the image into spectrally homogeneous objects, (2) a classification of the objects into landslide and non-landslide areas and (3) an editing tool for the manual refinement of extracted landslide boundaries. In addition, the user interface of the web service provides tools that enable the user (4) to perform a monitoring that identifies changes between landslide maps of different points in time, (5) to perform a validation of the landslide maps by comparing them to reference data, and (6) to perform an assessment of affected infrastructure by comparing the landslide maps to respective infrastructure data. After exploring the web service functionality, the users are asked to fill in the online validation protocol in form of a questionnaire in order to provide their feedback. Concerning usability, we evaluate how intuitive the web service functionality can be operated, how well the integrated help information guides the users, and what kind of background information, e.g. remote sensing concepts and theory, is necessary for a practitioner to fully exploit the value of EO data. The feedback will be used for improving the user interface and for the implementation of additional functionality.

Programs and Place: Risk and Asset Mapping for Fall Prevention

PubMed Central

Smith, Matthew Lee; Towne, Samuel D.; Motlagh, Audry S.; Smith, Donald R.; Boolani, Ali; Horel, Scott A.; Ory, Marcia G.

2017-01-01

Identifying ways to measure access, availability, and utilization of health-care services, relative to at-risk areas or populations, is critical in providing practical and actionable information to key stakeholders. This study identified the prevalence and geospatial distribution of fall-related emergency medical services (EMS) calls in relation to the delivery of an evidence-based fall prevention program in Tarrant County, Texas over a 3-year time period. It aims to educate public health professionals and EMS first respondents about the application of geographic information system programs to identify risk-related “hot spots,” service gaps, and community assets to reduce falls among older adults. On average, 96.09 (±108.65) calls were received per ZIP Code (ranging from 0 calls to 386 calls). On average, EMS calls per ZIP Code increased from 30.80 (±34.70) calls in 2009 to 33.75 (±39.58) calls in 2011, which indicate a modest annual call increase over the 3-year study period. The percent of ZIP Codes offering A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader Model (AMOB/VLL) workshops increased from 27.3% in 2009 to 34.5% in 2011. On average, AMOB/VLL workshops were offered in ZIP Codes with more fall-related EMS calls over the 3-year study period. Findings suggest that the study community was providing evidence-based fall prevention programming (AMOB/VLL workshops) in higher-risk areas. Opportunities for strategic service expansion were revealed through the identification of fall-related hot spots and asset mapping. PMID:28361049

Method and system for a network mapping service

DOEpatents

Bynum, Leo

2017-10-17

A method and system of publishing a map includes providing access to a plurality of map data files or mapping services between at least one publisher and at least one subscriber; defining a map in a map context comprising parameters and descriptors to substantially duplicate a map by reference to mutually accessible data or mapping services, publishing a map to a channel in a table file on server; accessing the channel by at least one subscriber, transmitting the mapping context from the server to the at least one subscriber, executing the map context by the at least one subscriber, and generating the map on a display software associated with the at least one subscriber by reconstituting the map from the references and other data in the mapping context.

From the voices of women: facilitating survivor access to IPV services.

PubMed

Simmons, Catherine A; Farrar, Melissa; Frazer, Kitty; Thompson, Mary Jane

2011-10-01

This mixed-method study investigated perceptions women domestic violence survivors/victims have about why women do not seek help from formal support structures and actions domestic helping agencies can take to facilitate survivor access to services. Congruent with previous research, quantitative analysis identified 17 reasons women do not seek help from formal support structures. Expanding current knowledge, concept mapping revealed six ways family violence programs can better reach women in abusive relationships, including (1) remove barriers to services, (2) improve comfort with services, (3) "talk about it," (4) improve community awareness, (5) victim-targeted marketing, and (6) "I honestly don't know."

Migrating Department of Defense (DoD) Web Service Based Applications to Mobile Computing Platforms

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Geolocation API to identify the device’s location and then center the map on the device. Finally, we modify the entry...THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK xii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations API Application Programming Interface CSS Cascading Style Sheets CLIMO...Java API for XML Web Services Reference Implementation JS JavaScript JSNI JavaScript Native Interface METOC Meteorological and Oceanographic MAA Mobile

Utilizing ERTS-A imagery for tectonic analysis through study of the Bighorn Mountains Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoppin, R. A. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary vegetation analysis has been undertaken on MSS scene 1085-17294, Oct. 16, 1973 in the Bighorn region. Forest Service maps showing detailed distribution of dominant forest types have been compared with MSS bands 5 and 7 positive transparencies, enlarged positive prints, and color imagery produced on an Addcol viewer. Patterns on the ERTS imagery match those on the Forest Service maps quite well. A tectonic map ovearlay of MSS band 7 of the Bighorn region reveals a strong concentration of linears in the uplift as compared to basins. Folds in the Bighorn Basin are visible where not covered by post-Paleocene deposits. In regions where far less is known of the geology than in this area, it might be possible to predict the subsurface occurrence of folds and lineaments on the basis of imagery analysis and more confidently explore covered areas for concealed oil structures and mineral deposits.

Mapping the literature of case management nursing.

PubMed

White, Pamela; Hall, Marilyn E

2006-04-01

Nursing case management provides a continuum of health care services for defined groups of patients. Its literature is multidisciplinary, emphasizing clinical specialties, case management methodology, and the health care system. This study is part of a project to map the literature of nursing, sponsored by the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section of the Medical Library Association. The study identifies core journals cited in case management literature and indexing services that access those journals. Three source journals were identified based on established criteria, and cited references from each article published from 1997 to 1999 were analyzed. Nearly two-thirds of the cited references were from journals; others were from books, monographs, reports, government documents, and the Internet. Cited journal references were ranked in descending order, and Bradford's Law of Scattering was applied. The many journals constituting the top two zones reflect the diversity of this field. Zone 1 included journals from nursing administration, case management, general medicine, medical specialties, and social work. Two databases, PubMed/MEDLINE and OCLC ArticleFirst, provided the best indexing coverage. Collections that support case management require a relatively small group of core journals. Students and health care professionals will need to search across disciplines to identify appropriate literature.

Ground and Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Time Tradeoffs Assessed with Geographic Information.

PubMed

Widener, Michael J; Ginsberg, Zac; Schleith, Daniel; Floccare, Douglas J; Hirshon, Jon Mark; Galvagno, Samuel

2015-07-01

We describe how geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to assess and compare estimated transport time for helicopter and ground emergency medical services. Recent research shows that while the odds of a trauma patient's survival increase with helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), they may not increase to the extent necessary to make HEMS cost effective. This study offers an analytic tool to objectively quantify the patient travel time advantage that HEMS offers compared to ground emergency medical services (GEMS). Using helicopter dispatch data from the Maryland State Police from 2000-2011, we computed transport time estimates for HEMS and GEMS, compare these results to a reference transport time of 60 min, and use geospatial interpolation to extrapolate the total response times for each mode across the study region. Mapping the region's trauma incidents and modeling response times, our findings indicate the GIS framework for calculating transportation time tradeoffs is useful in identifying which areas can be better served by HEMS or GEMS. The use of GIS and the analytical methodology described in this study present a method to compare transportation by air and ground in the prehospital setting that accounts for how mode, distance, and road infrastructure impact total transport time. Whether used to generate regional maps in advance or applied real-time, the presented framework provides a tool to identify earlier incident locations that favor HEMS over GEMS transport modes.

12 CFR 345.43 - Content and availability of public file.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...; (3) A list of the bank's branches, their street addresses, and geographies; (4) A list of branches... street addresses, and geographies; (5) A list of services (including hours of operation, available loan...) A map of each assessment area showing the boundaries of the area and identifying the geographies...

An Effective Method for Detecting Potential Woodland Vernal Pools Using High-Resolution LiDAR Data and Aerial Imagery

EPA Science Inventory

Effective conservation of woodland vernal pools – important components of regional amphibian diversity and ecosystem services – depends on locating and mapping these pools accurately. Current methods for identifying potential vernal pools are primarily based on visual interpretat...

How do small rural primary health care services sustain themselves in a constantly changing health system environment?

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The ability to sustain comprehensive primary health care (PHC) services in the face of change is crucial to the health of rural communities. This paper illustrates how one service has proactively managed change to remain sustainable. Methods A 6-year longitudinal evaluation of the Elmore Primary Health Service (EPHS) located in rural Victoria, Australia, is currently underway, examining the performance, quality and sustainability of the service. Threats to, and enablers of, sustainability have been identified from evaluation data (audit of service indicators, community surveys, key stakeholder interviews and focus groups) and our own observations. These are mapped against an overarching framework of service sustainability requirements: workforce organisation and supply; funding; governance, management and leadership; service linkages; and infrastructure. Results Four years into the evaluation, the evidence indicates EPHS has responded effectively to external and internal changes to ensure viability. The specific steps taken by the service to address risks and capitalise on opportunities are identified. Conclusions This evaluation highlights lessons for health service providers, policymakers, consumers and researchers about the importance of ongoing monitoring of sentinel service indicators; being attentive to changes that have an impact on sustainability; maintaining community involvement; and succession planning. PMID:22448876

Perils of using speed zone data to assess real-world compliance to speed limits.

PubMed

Chevalier, Anna; Clarke, Elizabeth; Chevalier, Aran John; Brown, Julie; Coxon, Kristy; Ivers, Rebecca; Keay, Lisa

2017-11-17

Real-world driving studies, including those involving speeding alert devices and autonomous vehicles, can gauge an individual vehicle's speeding behavior by comparing measured speed with mapped speed zone data. However, there are complexities with developing and maintaining a database of mapped speed zones over a large geographic area that may lead to inaccuracies within the data set. When this approach is applied to large-scale real-world driving data or speeding alert device data to determine speeding behavior, these inaccuracies may result in invalid identification of speeding. We investigated speeding events based on service provider speed zone data. We compared service provider speed zone data (Speed Alert by Smart Car Technologies Pty Ltd., Ultimo, NSW, Australia) against a second set of speed zone data (Google Maps Application Programming Interface [API] mapped speed zones). We found a systematic error in the zones where speed limits of 50-60 km/h, typical of local roads, were allocated to high-speed motorways, which produced false speed limits in the speed zone database. The result was detection of false-positive high-range speeding. Through comparison of the service provider speed zone data against a second set of speed zone data, we were able to identify and eliminate data most affected by this systematic error, thereby establishing a data set of speeding events with a high level of sensitivity (a true positive rate of 92% or 6,412/6,960). Mapped speed zones can be a source of error in real-world driving when examining vehicle speed. We explored the types of inaccuracies found within speed zone data and recommend that a second set of speed zone data be utilized when investigating speeding behavior or developing mapped speed zone data to minimize inaccuracy in estimates of speeding.

Geohazard monitoring and modelling using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry in the framework of the European project Terrafirma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooksley, Geraint; Arnaud, Alain; Banwell, Marie-Josée

2013-04-01

Increasingly, geohazard risk managers are looking to satellite observations as a promising option for supporting their risk management and mitigation strategies. The Terrafirma project, aimed at supporting civil protection agencies, local authorities in charge of risk assessment and mitigation is a pan-European ground motion information service funded by the European Space Agency's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative. Over 100 services were delivered to organizations over the last ten years. Terrafirma promotes the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) and Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PSI) within three thematic areas for terrain motion analysis: Tectonics, Flooding and Hydrogeology (ground water, landslides and inactive mines), as well as the innovative Wide Area mapping service, aimed at measuring land deformation over very large areas. Terrafirma's thematic services are based on advanced satellite interferometry products; however they exploit additional data sources, including non-EO, coupled with expert interpretation specific to each thematic line. Based on the combination of satellite-derived ground-motion information products with expert motion interpretation, a portfolio of services addressing geo-hazard land motion issues was made available to users. Although not a thematic in itself, the Wide Area mapping product constitutes the fourth quarter of the Terrafirma activities. The wide area processing chain is nearly fully automatic and requires only a little operator interaction. The service offers an operational PSI processing for wide-area mapping with mm accuracy of ground-deformation measurement at a scale of 1:250,000 (i.e. one cm in the map corresponds to 2.5 Km on the ground) on a country or continent level. The WAP was demonstrated using stripmap ERS data however it is foreseen to be a standard for the upcoming Sentinel-1 mission that will be operated in Terrain Observation by Progressive Scan (TOPS) mode. Within each theme, a series of products are offered. The Hydrogeology service delivers geo-information for hydrogeological hazards affecting urban areas, mountainous zones and infra-structures. Areas where groundwater has been severely exploited often experience subsidence as a result. Likewise, many European towns and cities built above abandoned and inactive mines experience strong ground deformation. The hydrogeology theme products study these phenomenon as well as slope instability in mountainous areas. The Tectonics service presents information on seismic hazards. The crustal block boundaries service provides users with information on terrain motion related to major and local faults, earthquake cycles, and vertical deformation sources. The vulnerability map service combines radar satellite date with in situ measurements to identify regions that may be vulnerable in the case of an earthquake. Within the Coastal Lowland and Flood Risk service, the flood plain hazard product assesses flood risk in coastal lowland areas and flood-prone river basins. The advanced subsidence mapping service combines PSI with levelling data and GPS to enable users to interpret subsidence maps within their geodetic reference systems. The flood defence monitoring service focuses on flood protection systems such as dykes and dams. Between 2003 and 2013, Terrafirma delivered services to 51 user organizations in over 25 countries. The archive of datasets is available to organisations involved in geohazard risk management and mitigation. Keywords: Persistent Scatterer Interferometry, Synthetic Aperture Radar, ground motion monitoring, Terrafirma project, multi-hazard analysis

The value of spatial analysis for tracking supply for family planning: the case of Kinshasa, DRC.

PubMed

Hernandez, Julie H; Akilimali, Pierre; Kayembe, Patrick; Dikamba, Nelly; Bertrand, Jane

2016-10-01

While geographic information systems (GIS) are frequently used to research accessibility issues for healthcare services around the world, sophisticated spatial analysis protocols and outputs often prove inappropriate and unsustainable to support evidence-based programme strategies in resource-constrained environments. This article examines how simple, open-source and interactive GIS tools have been used to locate family planning (FP) services delivery points in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and to identify underserved areas, determining the potential location of new service points, and to support advocacy for FP programmes. Using smartphone-based data collection applications (OpenDataKit), we conducted two surveys of FP facilities supported by partner organizations in 2012 and 2013 and used the results to assess gaps in FP services coverage, using both ratio of facilities per population and distance-based accessibility criteria. The cartographic outputs included both static analysis maps and interactive Google Earth displays, and sought to support advocacy and evidence-based planning for the placement of new service points. These maps, at the scale of Kinshasa or for each of the 35 health zones that cover the city, garnered a wide interest from the operational level of the health zones' Chief Medical Officers, who were consulted to contribute field knowledge on potential new service delivery points, to the FP programmes officers at the Ministry of Health, who could use the map to inform resources allocation decisions throughout the city. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Web servicing the biological office.

PubMed

Szugat, Martin; Güttler, Daniel; Fundel, Katrin; Sohler, Florian; Zimmer, Ralf

2005-09-01

Biologists routinely use Microsoft Office applications for standard analysis tasks. Despite ubiquitous internet resources, information needed for everyday work is often not directly and seamlessly available. Here we describe a very simple and easily extendable mechanism using Web Services to enrich standard MS Office applications with internet resources. We demonstrate its capabilities by providing a Web-based thesaurus for biological objects, which maps names to database identifiers and vice versa via an appropriate synonym list. The client application ProTag makes these features available in MS Office applications using Smart Tags and Add-Ins. http://services.bio.ifi.lmu.de/prothesaurus/

The customer-centered innovation map.

PubMed

Bettencourt, Lance A; Ulwick, Anthony W

2008-05-01

We all know that people "hire" products and services to get a job done. Surgeons hire scalpels to dissect soft tissue. Janitors hire soap dispensers and paper towels to remove grime from their hands. To find ways to innovate, it's critical to deconstruct the job the customer is trying to get done from beginning to end, to gain a complete view of all the points at which a customer might desire more help from a product or service. A methodology called job mapping helps companies analyze the biggest drawbacks of the products and services customers currently use and discover opportunities for innovation. It involves breaking down the task the customer wants to accomplish into the eight universal steps of a job: (1) defining the objectives, (2) locating the necessary inputs, (3) preparing the physical environment, (4) confirming that everything is ready, (5) executing the task, (6) monitoring its progress, (7) making modifications as necessary, and (8) concluding the job. Job mapping differs substantively from process mapping in that the goal is to identify what customers are trying to get done at every step, not what they are doing currently. For example, when an anesthesiologist checks a monitor during a surgical procedure, the action taken is just a means to the end. Detecting a change in patient vital signs is the job the doctor is trying to get done. Within each of the discrete steps lie multiple opportunities for making the job simpler, easier, or faster. By mapping out every step of the job and locating those opportunities, companies can discover new ways to differentiate their offerings.

DIY-style GIS service in mobile navigation system integrated with web and wireless GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yongbin; Wu, Jianping; Fan, Caiyou; Wang, Minqi; Dai, Sheng

2007-06-01

Mobile navigation system based on handheld device can not only provide basic GIS services, but also enable these GIS services to be provided without location limit, to be more instantly interacted between users and devices. However, we still see that most navigation systems have common defects on user experience like limited map format, few map resources, and unable location share. To overcome the above defects, we propose DIY-style GIS service which provide users a more free software environment and allow uses to customize their GIS services. These services include defining geographical coordinate system of maps which helps to hugely enlarge the map source, editing vector feature, related property information and hotlink images, customizing covered area of download map via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and sharing users' location information via SMS (Short Message Service) which establishes the communication between users who needs GIS services. The paper introduces the integration of web and wireless GIS service in a mobile navigation system and presents an implementation sample of a DIY-Style GIS service in a mobile navigation system.

DEVELOPMENT OF LAND COVER AND TERRAIN DATA BASES FOR THE INNOKO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, ALASKA, USING LANDSAT AND DIGITAL TERRAIN DATA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.; Talbot, Stephen

1986-01-01

Landsat-derived land cover maps and associated elevation, slope, and aspect class maps were produced for the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge (3,850,000 acres; 1,555,095 hectares) in northwestern Alaska. These maps and associated digital data products are being used by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for wildlife management, research, and comprehensive conservation planning. Portions of two Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) scenes and digital terrain data were used to produce 1:250,000 scale land cover and terrain maps. Prints of summer and winter Landsat MSS scenes were used to manually interpret broad physiographic strata. These strata were transferred to U. S. Geological Survey 1:250,000-scale topographic maps and digitized. Seven major land cover classes and 23 subclasses were identified. The major land cover classes include: forest, scrub, dwarf scrub and related types, herbaceous, scarcely vegetated areas, water, and shadow.

Genotyping in the cloud with Crossbow.

PubMed

Gurtowski, James; Schatz, Michael C; Langmead, Ben

2012-09-01

Crossbow is a scalable, portable, and automatic cloud computing tool for identifying SNPs from high-coverage, short-read resequencing data. It is built on Apache Hadoop, an implementation of the MapReduce software framework. Hadoop allows Crossbow to distribute read alignment and SNP calling subtasks over a cluster of commodity computers. Two robust tools, Bowtie and SOAPsnp, implement the fundamental alignment and variant calling operations respectively, and have demonstrated capabilities within Crossbow of analyzing approximately one billion short reads per hour on a commodity Hadoop cluster with 320 cores. Through protocol examples, this unit will demonstrate the use of Crossbow for identifying variations in three different operating modes: on a Hadoop cluster, on a single computer, and on the Amazon Elastic MapReduce cloud computing service.

Customised City Maps in Mobile Applications for Senior Citizens.

PubMed

Reins, Frank; Berker, Frank; Heck, Helmut

2017-01-01

Map services should be used in mobile applications for senior citizens. Do the commonly used map services meet the needs of elderly people? - Exemplarily, the contrast ratios of common maps in comparison to an optimized custom rendered map are examined in the paper.

Linking biophysical models and public preferences for ecosystem service assessments: a case study for the Southern Rocky Mountains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Reed, James; Semmens, Darius J.; Sherrouse, Ben C.; Troy, Austin

2016-01-01

Through extensive research, ecosystem services have been mapped using both survey-based and biophysical approaches, but comparative mapping of public values and those quantified using models has been lacking. In this paper, we mapped hot and cold spots for perceived and modeled ecosystem services by synthesizing results from a social-values mapping study of residents living near the Pike–San Isabel National Forest (PSI), located in the Southern Rocky Mountains, with corresponding biophysically modeled ecosystem services. Social-value maps for the PSI were developed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services tool, providing statistically modeled continuous value surfaces for 12 value types, including aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values. Biophysically modeled maps of carbon sequestration and storage, scenic viewsheds, sediment regulation, and water yield were generated using the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services tool. Hotspots for both perceived and modeled services were disproportionately located within the PSI’s wilderness areas. Additionally, we used regression analysis to evaluate spatial relationships between perceived biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services and corresponding biophysical model outputs. Our goal was to determine whether publicly valued locations for aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values relate meaningfully to results from corresponding biophysical ecosystem service models. We found weak relationships between perceived and biophysically modeled services, indicating that public perception of ecosystem service provisioning regions is limited. We believe that biophysical and social approaches to ecosystem service mapping can serve as methodological complements that can advance ecosystem services-based resource management, benefitting resource managers by showing potential locations of synergy or conflict between areas supplying ecosystem services and those valued by the public.

Planning an organizational wellness initiative at a multi-state social service agency.

PubMed

Miller, J Jay; Grise-Owens, Erlene; Addison, Donia; Marshall, Midaya; Trabue, Donna; Escobar-Ratliff, Laura

2016-06-01

Increasingly, organizations in general, and social service organizations, specifically, are recognizing the importance of planning and evaluating organizational wellness initiatives. Yet, few participatory models for carrying out these aims exist. For this study, researchers utilized concept mapping (CM) to explicate a conceptual framework for planning, and subsequently evaluating, a wellness initiative at a multi-state social service organization. CM is a participatory approach that analyzes qualitative data via multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses. Outputs include a number of visual depictions that allow researchers to explore complex relationships among sets of the data. Results from this study indicated that participants (N=64), all of whom were employees of the agency, conceptualized organizational wellness via an eight-cluster solution, or Concept Map. Priority areas of this framework, specifically importance and feasibility, were also explored. After a brief review of pertinent literature, this article explicates the CM methodology utilized in this study, describes results, discusses lessons learned, and identifies apt areas for future research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

12 CFR 563e.43 - Content and availability of public file.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... savings association's branches, their street addresses, and geographies; (4) A list of branches opened or... street addresses, and geographies; (5) A list of services (including hours of operation, available loan... boundaries of the area and identifying the geographies contained within the area, either on the map or in a...

What Do Pre-Service Physics Teachers Know and Think about Concept Mapping?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Didis, Nilüfer; Özcan, Özgür; Azar, Ali

2014-01-01

In order to use concept maps in physics classes effectively, teachers' knowledge and ideas about concept mapping are as important as the physics knowledge used in mapping. For this reason, we aimed to examine pre-service physics teachers' knowledge on concept mapping, their ideas about the implementation of concept mapping in physics…

Analysis of Reptile Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services within ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A focus for resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis has been mapping and quantifying biodiversity and ecosystem services. The challenge has been to integrate ecology with economics to better understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on human well-being and ecosystem function. Biodiversity is valued by humans in varied ways, and thus is an important input to include in assessing the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics more clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., game species, threatened and endangered species), whereas others may indicate indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., taxa richness and cultural value). In the present study, we identify and map reptile biodiversity and ecosystem services metrics. The importance of reptiles to biodiversity and ecosystems services is not often described. We used species distribution models for reptiles in the conterminous United States from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gap Analysis Program. We focus on species richness metrics including all reptile species richness, taxa groupings of lizards, snakes and turtles, NatureServe conservation status (G1, G2, G3) species, IUCN listed reptiles, threatened and endangered species, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation listed reptiles, and rare species. These metrics were analyzed with the Protected Areas Database of the United States to

Cancer support services--are they appropriate and accessible for Indigenous cancer patients in Queensland, Australia?

PubMed

Whop, Lisa J; Garvey, Gail; Lokuge, Kamalini; Mallitt, Kylie A; Valery, Patricia C

2012-01-01

In Queensland, Australia, the incidence of cancer (all cancers combined) is 21% lower for Indigenous people compared with non-Indigenous people but mortality is 36% higher. Support services play an important role in helping cancer patients through their cancer journey. Indigenous cancer patients are likely to face greater unmet supportive care needs and more barriers to accessing cancer care and support. Other barriers include the higher proportion of Indigenous people who live remotely and in regional areas, a known difficulty for access to health services. This study describes the availability of cancer support services in Queensland for Indigenous patients and relevant location. Using a set criteria 121 services were selected from a pre-existing database (n = 344) of cancer services. These services were invited to complete an online questionnaire. ArcGIS (http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/index.html) was used to map the services' location (using postcode) against Indigenous population by local government area. Services were classified as an 'Indigenous' or 'Indigenous friendly' service using set criteria. Eighty-three services (73.6%) completed the questionnaire. Mapping revealed services are located where there are relatively low percentages of Indigenous people compared with the whole population. No 'Indigenous-specific' services were identified; however, 11 services (13%) were classed 'Indigenous-friendly'. The primary support offered by these services was 'information'. Fewer referrals were received from Indigenous liaison officers compared with other health professionals. Only 8.6% of services reported frequently having contact with an Indigenous organisation; however, 44.6% of services reported that their staff participated in cultural training. Services also identified barriers to access which may exist for Indigenous clientele, including no Indigenous staff and the costs involved in accessing the service, but were unable to address these issues due to restricted staff and funding capacity. Further research into the best models for providing culturally appropriate cancer support services to Indigenous people is essential to ensure Indigenous patients are well supported throughout their cancer journey. Emphasis should be placed on providing support services where a high Indigenous population percentage resides to ensure support is maintained in rural and remote settings. Further efforts should be placed on relationships with Indigenous organisations and mainstream support services and encouraging referral from Indigenous liaison officers.

Building Interoperable FHIR-Based Vocabulary Mapping Services: A Case Study of OHDSI Vocabularies and Mappings.

PubMed

Jiang, Guoqian; Kiefer, Richard; Prud'hommeaux, Eric; Solbrig, Harold R

2017-01-01

The OHDSI Common Data Model (CDM) is a deep information model, in which its vocabulary component plays a critical role in enabling consistent coding and query of clinical data. The objective of the study is to create methods and tools to expose the OHDSI vocabularies and mappings as the vocabulary mapping services using two HL7 FHIR core terminology resources ConceptMap and ValueSet. We discuss the benefits and challenges in building the FHIR-based terminology services.

A Concept Mapping Approach to Guide and Understand Dissemination and Implementation

PubMed Central

Green, Amy E.; Fettes, Danielle L.; Aarons, Gregory A.

2013-01-01

Many efforts to implement evidence-based programs do not reach their full potential or fail due to the variety of challenges inherent in dissemination and implementation. This article describes the use of concept mapping—a mixed method strategy—to study implementation of behavioral health innovations and evidence-based practice (EBP). The application of concept mapping to implementation research represents a practical and concise way to identify and quantify factors affecting implementation, develop conceptual models of implementation, target areas to address as part of implementation readiness and active implementation, and foster communication among stakeholders. Concept mapping is described and a case example is provided to illustrate its use in an implementation study. Implications for the use of concept mapping methods in both research and applied settings towards the dissemination and implementation of behavioral health services are discussed. PMID:22892987

Mapping optimal areas of ecosystem services potential in Vilnius (Lithuania)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Paulo; Depellegrin, Daniel; Misiune, Ieva; Cerda, Artemi

2016-04-01

Maps are fundamental to understand the spatial pattern of natural and human impacts on the landscape (Brevik et al., 2016; Lavado Contador et al., 2009; Pereira et al., 2010a,b). Urban areas are subjected to an intense human pressure (Beniston et al., 2015), contributing to the degradation of the ecosystems, reducing their capacity to provide services in quality and quantity (Requier-Desjardins et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2011). Environments that can provide a high number and quality of ecosystem services (ES) must be identified and managed correctly, since are spaces that can mitigate the impacts of human settlements and improve their quality. thus is of major importance have identify the areas that can provide better ES (Deppelegrin and Pereira, 2015). The aim of this work is to identify areas with high ES potential in Vilnius city. Here, we identified a total of 4 different land uses, agricultural areas (32.48%), water bodies (1.46%), forest and semi-natural (31.91%) areas and artificial surfaces (34.16%). CORINE land cover 2006 was used as base information to classify ES potential. The assessment of each land cover potential was carried out using expert assessment. Each land use type was ranked from 0 (no potential) to 5 (High potential). In this work the sum of total regulating, providing and cultural ES were assessed. The areas with optimal ES were the ones with the sum of all ranks equal or higher than the 3rd Quartil of each distribution. After identifying these areas, data was mapped using ArcGIS software. The results showed that on average Vilnius city has a higher potential for regulating services (20.35±15.92), followed by cultural (14.43±8.81) and providing (14.26±8.87). There was a significant correlation among the different type of services. Regulating vs cultural (0.92, p<0.001), regulating vs providing (0.72, p<0.001) and providing vs cultural (0.65, p<0.001). The results of Morans I autocorrelation index showed that regulating (Z-score: 10.45, p<0.001), providing (Z-score: 11.39, p<0.001) and cultural services (Z-score: 10.46, p<0.001) in Vilnius were significantly clustered. In total 39.73% of the area covered was classified as optimal potential for "regulating" ES, 40.19% for "providing" ES and 31.91% for "cultural" ES. These results suggested that ES regulating, providing and cultural ES are located in specific regions, and according to optimal areas assessment, an important area of Vilnius had high potential to provide very good ES. These results are important for a better planing of these areas in order to maintain the quality of these services. References Beniston, J.W., Lal, R., Mercer, K.L. (2015) Assessing and managing soil quality for urban agriculture in a vacant lot soil. Land Degradation and Development, DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2342 Brevik, E., Baumgarten, A., Calzolari, C., Miller, B., Pereira, P., Kabala, C., Jordán, A. (2016) Soil mapping, classification, and modelling: history and future directions. Geoderma, 264, Part B, 256-274. Depellegrin, D.A., Pereira, P. (2015) Assessing the oil spill sensitivity of Lithuanian-Russian coastal areas of the South-Eastern Baltic Sea, Marine Pollution Bulletin, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.005 Requier-Desjardins, M., Adkhikari, B., Sperlich, S. (2011) Some notes on the economic assessment of land degradation. Land Degradation and Development, 22, 285-298. Lavado Contador, J.F., Schnabel, S., Gomez-Gutierrez, A., Pulido-Fernandez, M. (2009) Mappind sensivity to land degradation in Extremadura. SW Spain. Land Degradation and Development, 20, 129-144. Pereira, P., Úbeda, X., Baltrenaite, E. (2010) Mapping Total Nitrogen in ash after a Wildfire, a microplot analysis, Ekologija, 56 (3-4), 144-152. Pereira, P., Oliva, M., Baltrenaité, E. (2010) Modeling extreme precipitation in mountain hazard areas. A contribution to landscape planning and environmental management, Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, 18, 329-342. Zhang, J.J., Fu, M.C., Zeng, H., Geng, Y.H., Hassani, F.P. (2011) Variations in ecosystem service values and local economy in response to land use: A case study of Wuan, China. Land Degradation and Development, 24, 236-249.

77 FR 15369 - Mobility Fund Phase I Auction GIS Data of Potentially Eligible Census Blocks

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-15

....fcc.gov/auctions/901/ , are the following: Downloadable shapefile Web mapping service MapBox map tiles... GIS software allows you to add this service as a layer to your session or project. 6. MapBox map tiles are cached map tiles of the data. With this open source software approach, these image tiles can be...

Quantitative Trait Loci for Light Sensitivity, Body Weight, Body Size, and Morphological Eye Parameters in the Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris.

PubMed

Maebe, Kevin; Meeus, Ivan; De Riek, Jan; Smagghe, Guy

2015-01-01

Bumblebees such as Bombus terrestris are essential pollinators in natural and managed ecosystems. In addition, this species is intensively used in agriculture for its pollination services, for instance in tomato and pepper greenhouses. Here we performed a quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis on B. terrestris using 136 microsatellite DNA markers to identify genes linked with 20 traits including light sensitivity, body size and mass, and eye and hind leg measures. By composite interval mapping (IM), we found 83 and 34 suggestive QTLs for 19 of the 20 traits at the linkage group wide significance levels of p = 0.05 and 0.01, respectively. Furthermore, we also found five significant QTLs at the genome wide significant level of p = 0.05. Individual QTLs accounted for 7.5-53.3% of the phenotypic variation. For 15 traits, at least one QTL was confirmed with multiple QTL model mapping. Multivariate principal components analysis confirmed 11 univariate suggestive QTLs but revealed three suggestive QTLs not identified by the individual traits. We also identified several candidate genes linked with light sensitivity, in particular the Phosrestin-1-like gene is a primary candidate for its phototransduction function. In conclusion, we believe that the suggestive and significant QTLs, and markers identified here, can be of use in marker-assisted breeding to improve selection towards light sensitive bumblebees, and thus also the pollination service of bumblebees.

Mapping the literature of case management nursing

PubMed Central

White, Pamela; Hall, Marilyn E.

2006-01-01

Objectives: Nursing case management provides a continuum of health care services for defined groups of patients. Its literature is multidisciplinary, emphasizing clinical specialties, case management methodology, and the health care system. This study is part of a project to map the literature of nursing, sponsored by the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section of the Medical Library Association. The study identifies core journals cited in case management literature and indexing services that access those journals. Methods: Three source journals were identified based on established criteria, and cited references from each article published from 1997 to 1999 were analyzed. Results: Nearly two-thirds of the cited references were from journals; others were from books, monographs, reports, government documents, and the Internet. Cited journal references were ranked in descending order, and Bradford's Law of Scattering was applied. The many journals constituting the top two zones reflect the diversity of this field. Zone 1 included journals from nursing administration, case management, general medicine, medical specialties, and social work. Two databases, PubMed/MEDLINE and OCLC ArticleFirst, provided the best indexing coverage. Conclusion: Collections that support case management require a relatively small group of core journals. Students and health care professionals will need to search across disciplines to identify appropriate literature. PMID:16710470

The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects.

PubMed

Antonacci, Grazia; Reed, Julie E; Lennox, Laura; Barlow, James

2018-05-01

Introduction Process mapping provides insight into systems and processes in which improvement interventions are introduced and is seen as useful in healthcare quality improvement projects. There is little empirical evidence on the use of process mapping in healthcare practice. This study advances understanding of the benefits and success factors of process mapping within quality improvement projects. Methods Eight quality improvement projects were purposively selected from different healthcare settings within the UK's National Health Service. Data were gathered from multiple data-sources, including interviews exploring participants' experience of using process mapping in their projects and perceptions of benefits and challenges related to its use. These were analysed using inductive analysis. Results Eight key benefits related to process mapping use were reported by participants (gathering a shared understanding of the reality; identifying improvement opportunities; engaging stakeholders in the project; defining project's objectives; monitoring project progress; learning; increased empathy; simplicity of the method) and five factors related to successful process mapping exercises (simple and appropriate visual representation, information gathered from multiple stakeholders, facilitator's experience and soft skills, basic training, iterative use of process mapping throughout the project). Conclusions Findings highlight benefits and versatility of process mapping and provide practical suggestions to improve its use in practice.

Analogical-mapping-based comparison tasks as a scaffold for argumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emig, Brandon R.

Given the centrality of the argumentation process to science and consequent importance to science education, inviting science students to engage in argumentation and scaffolding that argumentation in order that it lead to learning and not frustration is important. The present research invites small groups of science content learners (54 preservice elementary teachers at a large research university) to use analogical-mapping-based comparison tasks in service of argumentation to determine which of two possible analogues, in this case simple machines, is most closely related to a third. These activities and associated instruction scaffolded student small-groups' argumentation in four ways: (1) supporting new analogical correspondences on the heels of prior correspondences; (2) discerning definitions and descriptions for simple machine elements; (3) identifying and dealing with ambiguity in potential correspondences; and (4) making reflections on prior analogical correspondences in service of their final arguments. Analogical-mapping-based comparison activities scaffolded student small groups both in their argumentation and in content learning about simple machines. Implications, limitations, and directions for future related research are also discussed.

Gap Assessment (FY 13 Update)

DOE Data Explorer

Getman, Dan

2013-09-30

To help guide its future data collection efforts, The DOE GTO funded a data gap analysis in FY2012 to identify high potential hydrothermal areas where critical data are needed. This analysis was updated in FY2013 and the resulting datasets are represented by this metadata. The original process was published in FY 2012 and is available here: https://pangea.stanford.edu/ERE/db/GeoConf/papers/SGW/2013/Esposito.pdf Though there are many types of data that can be used for hydrothermal exploration, five types of exploration data were targeted for this analysis. These data types were selected for their regional reconnaissance potential, and include many of the primary exploration techniques currently used by the geothermal industry. The data types include: 1. well data 2. geologic maps 3. fault maps 4. geochemistry data 5. geophysical data To determine data coverage, metadata for exploration data (including data type, data status, and coverage information) were collected and catalogued from nodes on the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS). It is the intention of this analysis that the data be updated from this source in a semi-automated fashion as new datasets are added to the NGDS nodes. In addition to this upload, an online tool was developed to allow all geothermal data providers to access this assessment and to directly add metadata themselves and view the results of the analysis via maps of data coverage in Geothermal Prospector (http://maps.nrel.gov/gt_prospector). A grid of the contiguous U.S. was created with 88,000 10-km by 10-km grid cells, and each cell was populated with the status of data availability corresponding to the five data types. Using these five data coverage maps and the USGS Resource Potential Map, sites were identified for future data collection efforts. These sites signify both that the USGS has indicated high favorability of occurrence of geothermal resources and that data gaps exist. The uploaded data are contained in two data files for each data category. The first file contains the grid and is in the SHP file format (shape file.) Each populated grid cell represents a 10k area within which data is known to exist. The second file is a CSV (comma separated value) file that contains all of the individual layers that intersected with the grid. This CSV can be joined with the map to retrieve a list of datasets that are available at any given site. The attributes in the CSV include: 1. grid_id : The id of the grid cell that the data intersects with 2. title: This represents the name of the WFS service that intersected with this grid cell 3. abstract: This represents the description of the WFS service that intersected with this grid cell 4. gap_type: This represents the category of data availability that these data fall within. As the current processing is pulling data from NGDS, this category universally represents data that are available in the NGDS and are ready for acquisition for analytic purposes. 5. proprietary_type: Whether the data are considered proprietary 6. service_type: The type of service 7. base_url: The service URL

Interagency collaboration models for people with mental ill health in contact with the police: a systematic scoping review

PubMed Central

Scantlebury, Arabella; Booth, Alison; MacBryde, Jillian Catherine; Scott, William J; Wright, Kath

2018-01-01

Objective To identify existing evidence on interagency collaboration between law enforcement, emergency services, statutory services and third sector agencies regarding people with mental ill health. Design Systematic scoping review. Scoping reviews map particular research areas to identify research gaps. Data sources and eligibility ASSIA, CENTRAL, the Cochrane Library databases, Criminal Justice Abstracts, ERIC, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PROSPERO and Social Care Online and Social Sciences Citation Index were searched up to 2017, as were grey literature and hand searches. Eligible articles were empirical evaluations or descriptions of models of interagency collaboration between the police and other agencies. Study appraisal and synthesis Screening and data extraction were undertaken independently by two researchers. Arksey’s framework was used to collate and map included studies. Results One hundred and twenty-five studies were included. The majority of articles were of descriptions of models (28%), mixed methods evaluations of models (18%) and single service evaluations (14%). The most frequently reported outcomes (52%) were ‘organisational or service level outcomes’ (eg, arrest rates). Most articles (53%) focused on adults with mental ill health, whereas others focused on adult offenders with mental ill health (17.4%). Thirteen models of interagency collaboration were described, each involving between 2 and 13 agencies. Frequently reported models were ‘prearrest diversion’ of people with mental ill health (34%), ‘coresponse’ involving joint response by police officers paired with mental health professionals (28.6%) and ‘jail diversion’ following arrest (23.8%). Conclusions We identified 13 different interagency collaboration models catering for a range of mental health-related interactions. All but one of these models involved the police and mental health services or professionals. Several models have sufficient literature to warrant full systematic reviews of their effectiveness, whereas others need robust evaluation, by randomised controlled trial where appropriate. Future evaluations should focus on health-related outcomes and the impact on key stakeholders. PMID:29588323

Interagency collaboration models for people with mental ill health in contact with the police: a systematic scoping review.

PubMed

Parker, Adwoa; Scantlebury, Arabella; Booth, Alison; MacBryde, Jillian Catherine; Scott, William J; Wright, Kath; McDaid, Catriona

2018-03-27

To identify existing evidence on interagency collaboration between law enforcement, emergency services, statutory services and third sector agencies regarding people with mental ill health. Systematic scoping review. Scoping reviews map particular research areas to identify research gaps. ASSIA, CENTRAL, the Cochrane Library databases, Criminal Justice Abstracts, ERIC, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PROSPERO and Social Care Online and Social Sciences Citation Index were searched up to 2017, as were grey literature and hand searches. Eligible articles were empirical evaluations or descriptions of models of interagency collaboration between the police and other agencies. Screening and data extraction were undertaken independently by two researchers. Arksey's framework was used to collate and map included studies. One hundred and twenty-five studies were included. The majority of articles were of descriptions of models (28%), mixed methods evaluations of models (18%) and single service evaluations (14%). The most frequently reported outcomes (52%) were 'organisational or service level outcomes' (eg, arrest rates). Most articles (53%) focused on adults with mental ill health, whereas others focused on adult offenders with mental ill health (17.4%). Thirteen models of interagency collaboration were described, each involving between 2 and 13 agencies. Frequently reported models were 'prearrest diversion' of people with mental ill health (34%), 'coresponse' involving joint response by police officers paired with mental health professionals (28.6%) and 'jail diversion' following arrest (23.8%). We identified 13 different interagency collaboration models catering for a range of mental health-related interactions. All but one of these models involved the police and mental health services or professionals. Several models have sufficient literature to warrant full systematic reviews of their effectiveness, whereas others need robust evaluation, by randomised controlled trial where appropriate. Future evaluations should focus on health-related outcomes and the impact on key stakeholders. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Multiple resource evaluation of region 2 US forest service lands utilizing LANDSAT MSS data. [San Juan Mountains, Colorado

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krebs, P. V.; Hoffer, R. M. (Principal Investigator)

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT MSS imagery provided an excellent overview which put a geomorphic study into a regional perspective, using scale 1:250,000 or smaller. It was used for deriving a data base for land use planning for southern San Juan Mountains. Stereo pairing of adjacent images was the best method for all geomorphic mapping. Combining this with snow enhancement, seasonal enhancement, and reversal aided in interpretation of geomorphic features. Drainage patterns were mapped in much greater detail from LANDSAT than from a two deg quadrangle base.

Writers and Their Maps: The Construction of a GAO Report on Sexual Harassment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Kelli Cargile

2000-01-01

Examines a 1994 General Accounting Office (GAO) report on sexual harassment at U.S. service academies to determine how power structures affected the report writers' rhetorical choices. Identifies what is valued and devalued in the report's contents. Describes Congress's reaction to the report and speculates on the report's impact on public…

78 FR 17632 - Caribou-Targhee National Forest; Idaho and Wyoming; Amendment to the Targhee Revised Forest Plan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-22

...; Amendment to the Targhee Revised Forest Plan--Canada Lynx Habitat AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION... Forest proposes to amend the Targhee Revised Forest Plan (1997) to include a map identifying specific... Administrative Review Process: The decision on this proposed plan amendment will be subject to the objection...

Growing the Desert: Educational Pathways for Remote Indigenous People. A National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation Program Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Metta; Guenther, John; Boyle, Alicia

2007-01-01

This report maps the picture of Indigenous people's participation in vocational education and training and other educational services across Australia's desert regions. The report identifies a range of innovations and barriers experienced in enabling pathways through learning into work and other meaningful livelihood opportunities. (Contains 6…

12 CFR 25.43 - Content and availability of public file.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... geographies; (4) A list of branches opened or closed by the bank during the current year and each of the prior two calendar years, their street addresses, and geographies; (5) A list of services (including hours... identifying the geographies contained within the area, either on the map or in a separate list; and (7) Any...

Mapping the ecosystem service delivery chain: Capacity, flow, and demand pertaining to aesthetic experiences in mountain landscapes.

PubMed

Egarter Vigl, Lukas; Depellegrin, Daniel; Pereira, Paulo; de Groot, Rudolf; Tappeiner, Ulrike

2017-01-01

Accounting for the spatial connectivity between the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and their beneficiaries (supply-benefit chain) is fundamental to understanding ecosystem functioning and its management. However, the interrelationships of the specific chain links within ecosystems and the actual benefits that flow from natural landscapes to surrounding land have rarely been analyzed. We present a spatially explicit model for the analysis of one cultural ecosystem service (aesthetic experience), which integrates the complete ecosystem service delivery chain for Puez-Geisler Nature Park (Italy): (1) The potential service stock (ES capacity) relies on an expert-based land use ranking matrix, (2) the actual supply (ES flow) is based on visibility properties of observation points along recreational routes, (3) the beneficiaries of the service (ES demand) are derived from socioeconomic data as a measure of the visitation rate to the recreation location, and (4) the supply-demand relationship (ES budget) addresses the spatially explicit oversupply and undersupply of ES. The results indicate that potential ES stocks are substantially higher in core and buffer zones of protected areas than in surrounding land owing to the specific landscape composition. ES flow maps reveal service delivery to 80% of the total area studied, with the highest actual service supply to locations with long and open vistas. ES beneficiary analyses show the highest demand for aesthetic experiences in all-season tourist destinations like Val Badia and Val Gardena, where both recreational amenity and overnight stays are equally high. ES budget maps identify ES hot and cold spots in terms of ES delivery, and they highlight ES undersupply in nature protection buffer zones although they are characterized by highest ES capacity. We show how decision/policy makers can use the presented methodology to plan landscape protection measures and develop specific regulation strategies for visitors based on the ES delivery chain concept. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The North Atlantic Data Portal: A Current Approach To Improving Marine Geophysical Data Discovery And Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jencks, J. H.; Cartwright, J.; Varner, J. D.

2016-12-01

Exploring, understanding, and managing the global oceans are a challenge when hydrographic maps are available for only 5% of the world's oceans. Seafloor mapping is expensive and most government and academic budgets continue to tighten. The first step for any mapping program, before setting out to map uncharted waters, should be to identify if data currently exist in the area of interest. There are many reasons why this seemingly simple suggestion is easier said than done.While certain datasets are accessible online (e.g., NOAA's NCEI, EMODnet, IHO-DCDB), many are not. In some cases, data that are publicly available are difficult to discover and access. No single agency can successfully resolve the complex and pressing demands of ocean and coastal mapping and the associated data stewardship. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an active participant in numerous campaign mapping projects whose goals are to carry out coordinated and comprehensive ocean mapping efforts. One of these international programs is an outcome of the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation signed by the European Union, Canada, and the United States in 2013. At NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), resources are focused on ensuring the security and widespread availability of the Nation's scientific marine geophysical data through long-term stewardship. NCEI draws on a variety of software technologies and adheres to international standards to meet this challenge. The result is a geospatial framework built on spatially-enabled databases, standards-based web services, and International Standards Organization (ISO) metadata. Through the use of industry standards, the services are constructed such that they can be combined and re-used in a variety of contexts. For example, users may leverage the services in desktop analysis tools, web applications created by the hosting organizations (e.g. the North Atlantic Data Portal), or in custom applications they develop themselves. In order to maximize the return on campaign mapping investments, legacy and newly acquired data must be easily discoverable and readily accessible by numerous applications and formats now and well into the future. Working together, we can ensure that valuable data are made available to the broadest community.

EnviroAtlas National Layers Master Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). This web service includes layers depicting EnviroAtlas national metrics mapped at the 12-digit HUC within the conterminous United States. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Imaging Cerebral Microhemorrhages in Military Service Members with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Liu, Wei; Soderlund, Karl; Senseney, Justin S.; Joy, David; Yeh, Ping-Hong; Ollinger, John; Sham, Elyssa B.; Liu, Tian; Wang, Yi; Oakes, Terrence R.; Riedy, Gerard

2017-01-01

Purpose To detect cerebral microhemorrhages in military service members with chronic traumatic brain injury by using susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The longitudinal evolution of microhemorrhages was monitored in a subset of patients by using quantitative susceptibility mapping. Materials and Methods The study was approved by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center institutional review board and is compliant with HIPAA guidelines. All participants underwent two-dimensional conventional gradient-recalled-echo MR imaging and three-dimensional flow-compensated multi-echo gradient-recalled-echo MR imaging (processed to generate susceptibility-weighted images and quantitative susceptibility maps), and a subset of patients underwent follow-up imaging. Microhemorrhages were identified by two radiologists independently. Comparisons of microhemorrhage number, size, and magnetic susceptibility derived from quantitative susceptibility maps between baseline and follow-up imaging examinations were performed by using the paired t test. Results Among the 603 patients, cerebral microhemorrhages were identified in 43 patients, with six excluded for further analysis owing to artifacts. Seventy-seven percent (451 of 585) of the microhemorrhages on susceptibility-weighted images had a more conspicuous appearance than on gradient-recalled-echo images. Thirteen of the 37 patients underwent follow-up imaging examinations. In these patients, a smaller number of microhemorrhages were identified at follow-up imaging compared with baseline on quantitative susceptibility maps (mean ± standard deviation, 9.8 microhemorrhages ± 12.8 vs 13.7 microhemorrhages ± 16.6; P = .019). Quantitative susceptibility mapping–derived quantitative measures of microhemorrhages also decreased over time: −0.85 mm3 per day ± 1.59 for total volume (P = .039) and −0.10 parts per billion per day ± 0.14 for mean magnetic susceptibility (P = .016). Conclusion The number of microhemorrhages and quantitative susceptibility mapping–derived quantitative measures of microhemorrhages all decreased over time, suggesting that hemosiderin products undergo continued, subtle evolution in the chronic stage. PMID:26371749

Conflict, displacement and sexual and reproductive health services in Mali: analysis of 2013 health resources availability mapping system (HeRAMS) survey.

PubMed

Tunçalp, Özge; Fall, Ibrahima Socé; Phillips, Sharon J; Williams, Inga; Sacko, Massambou; Touré, Ousmane Boubacar; Thomas, Lisa J; Say, Lale

2015-01-01

Little is known specifically about the effects of conflict and displacement on provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. We aimed to understand the association between levels of conflict and displacement and the availability of SRH services in post-conflict Mali. A national assessment was conducted between April and May 2013 employing Health Systems Availability Mapping System (HeRAMS). Data from 1581 primary care facilities were analysed, focusing on SRH services. Descriptive analyses and multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the availability of SRH services by different levels of conflict and displacement. Of 1581 facilities, 1551 had data available to identify the details of service provision. The majority of the facilities were part of the public sector (79.1 %), identified as basic community primary care facilities (71.9 %). Overall 15.7 % of the facilities were in the zones under occupation, 40.3 % in the areas with high concentration of displaced population and 44 % in areas with low concentration of displaced populations. Between zones of low concentration of displaced populations and under occupation the likelihood of service availability varied between OR: 2.9 (95 % CI 2.0-4.4) for basic emergency obstetric care and OR: 41.7 (95 % CI 20.4-85.3) for family planning. All of the services within the three domains of SRH were more likely to be available in the low and high concentration displaced population areas compared to the facilities in the under occupation zones, after adjusting for other facility-related variables. Areas with high concentration of displaced population had less service availability, and areas formerly under occupation had the least service availability. This suggests that those living in conflict areas, and many of those who are internally displaced, have poor access to essential SRH interventions. The systematic measurement of the availability of health services, including SRH, is feasible and can contribute to recovery planning in post-conflict and humanitarian settings.

EPA Region 1 - Map Layers for Valley ID Tool (Hosted Feature Service)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Valley Service Feature Layer hosts spatial data for EPA Region 1's Valley Identification Tool. These layers contain attribute information added by EPA R1 GIS Center to help identify populated valleys:- Fac_2011NEI: Pollution sources selected from the National Emissions Inventory (EPA, 2011).- NE_Towns_PopValleys: New England Town polygons (courtesy USGS), with Population in Valleys and Population Density in Valleys calculated by EPA R1 GIS, from 2010 US Census blocks. - VT_E911: Vermont residences (courtesy VT Center for Geographic Information E-911).

Does the 'diffusion of innovations' model enrich understanding of research use? Case studies of the implementation of thrombolysis services for stroke.

PubMed

Boaz, Annette; Baeza, Juan; Fraser, Alec

2016-10-01

To test whether the model of 'diffusion of innovations' enriches understanding of the implementation of evidence-based thrombolysis services for stroke patients. Four case studies of the implementation of evidence on thrombolysis in stroke services in England and Sweden. Semistructured interviews with 95 staff including doctors, nurses and managers working in stroke units, emergency medicine, radiology, the ambulance service, community rehabilitation services and commissioners. The implementation of thrombolysis in acute stroke management benefited from a critical mass of the factors featured in the model including: the support of national and local opinion leaders; a strong evidence base and financial incentives. However, while the model provided a starting point as an organizational framework for mapping the critical factors influencing implementation, to understand properly the process of implementation and the importance of the different factors identified, more detailed analyses of context and, in particular, of the human and social dimensions of change was needed. While recognising the usefulness of the model of diffusion of innovations in mapping the processes by which diffusion occurs, the use of methods that lend themselves to in-depth analysis, such as ethnography and the application of relevant bodies of social theory, are needed. © The Author(s) 2016.

What Is Case Management? A Scoping and Mapping Review

PubMed Central

Millington, Michael; Salvador-Carulla, Luis

2016-01-01

The description of case management in research and clinical practice is highly variable which impedes quality analysis, policy and planning. Case management makes a unique contribution towards the integration of health care, social services and other sector services and supports for people with complex health conditions. There are multiple components and variations of case management depending on the context and client population. This paper aims to scope and map case management in the literature to identify how case management is described in the literature for key complex health conditions (e.g., brain injury, diabetes, mental health, spinal cord injury). Following literature searches in multiple databases, grey literature and exclusion by health condition, community-based and adequate description, there were 661 potential papers for data extraction. Data from 79 papers (1988–2013) were analysed to the point of saturation (no new information) and mapped to the model, components and activities. The results included 22 definitions, five models, with 69 activities or tasks of case managers mapped to 17 key components (interventions). The results confirm the significant terminological variance in case management which produces role confusion, ambiguity and hinders comparability across different health conditions and contexts. There is an urgent need for an internationally agreed taxonomy for the coordination, navigation and management of care. PMID:28413368

Forest Fire Mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Fire Logistics Airborne Mapping Equipment (FLAME) system, mounted in a twin-engine and airplane operated by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an airborne instrument for detecting and pinpointing forest fires that might escape ground detection. The FLAME equipment rack includes the operator interface, a video monitor, the system's control panel and film output. FLAME's fire detection sensor is an infrared line scanner system that identifies fire boundaries. Sensor's information is correlated with the aircraft's position and altitude at the time the infrared imagery is acquired to fix the fire's location on a map. System can be sent to a fire locale anywhere in the U.S. at the request of a regional forester. USFS felt a need for a more advanced system to deliver timely fire information to fire management personnel in the decade of the 1990s. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) conducted a study, jointly sponsored by NASA and USDA, on what advanced technologies might be employed to produce an end-to-end thermal infrared fire detection and mapping system. That led to initiation of the Firefly system, currently in development at JPL and targeted for operational service beginning in 1992. Firefly will employ satellite-reference position fixing and provide performance superior to FLAME.

School-linked sexual health services for young people (SSHYP): a survey and systematic review concerning current models, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and research opportunities.

PubMed

Owen, J; Carroll, C; Cooke, J; Formby, E; Hayter, M; Hirst, J; Lloyd Jones, M; Stapleton, H; Stevenson, M; Sutton, A

2010-06-01

Report based on a service-mapping study and a systematic review concerning sexual health services for young people, either based in or closely linked to schools. To identify current forms of school-based sexual health services (SBSHS) and school-linked sexual health services (SLSHS) in the UK, review and synthesise existing evidence from qualitative and quantitative studies concerning the effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of these types of service and to identify potential areas for further research. Electronic databases were searched from 1985 onwards. For published material: the Cochrane Library (1991-), MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE (2007-), CINAHL, EMBASE, AMED, ASSIA (1987-), IBSS, ERIC, PsycINFO, Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index. For unpublished material and grey literature: the Social Care Institute of Excellence Research Register; the National Research Register (1997-), ReFeR; Index to Theses, and HMIC. A service-mapping questionnaire was circulated to school nurses in all parts of the UK, and semistructured telephone interviews with service coordinators in NHS and local authority (LA) roles were conducted. An evidence synthesis was performed based on a systematic review of the quantitative evidence about service effectiveness, qualitative evidence about user and professional views and a mixed-methods synthesis. A proof-of-concept model for assessing cost-effectiveness was drawn up. Three broad types of UK sexual health service provision were identified. Firstly, SBSHS staffed by school nurses, offering 'minimal' or 'basic' levels of service. Secondly, SBSHS and SLSHS staffed by a multiprofessional team, but not medical practitioners, offering 'basic' or 'intermediate' levels of service. Thirdly, SBSHS and SLSHS staffed by a multiprofessional team, including medical practitioners offering 'intermediate' or 'comprehensive' levels of service. The systematic review showed that SBSHS are not associated with higher rates of sexual activity among young people, nor with an earlier age of first intercourse. There was evidence to show positive effects in terms of reductions in births to teenage mothers, and in chlamydial infection rates among young men, although this evidence coming primarily from the USA. Therefore, the findings need to be tested in relation to UK-based services. Also evidence to suggest that broad-based, holistic service models, not restricted to sexual health, offer the strongest basis for protecting young people's privacy and confidentiality, countering perceived stigmatisation, offering the most comprehensive range of products and services, and maximising service uptake. Findings from the mapping study also indicate that broad-based services, which include medical practitioner input within a multiprofessional team, meet the stated preferences of staff and of young people most clearly. Partnership-based developments of this kind also conform to the broad policy principles embodied in the Every Child Matters framework in the UK and allied policy initiatives. However, neither these service models nor narrower ones have been rigorously evaluated in terms of their impact on the key outcomes of conception rates and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates, in the UK or in other countries. Therefore, appropriate data were not found to support cost-effectiveness modelling. Low response rate to the questionnaire. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were under-represented. Also, the distinction made in the questionnaire between 'general health' and 'sexual health' services did not prove robust. There is no single, dominant service model in the UK. The systematic review demonstrated that the evidence base for these services remains limited and uneven, and draws largely on US studies. Qualitative research is needed to develop robust process and outcome indicators for the evaluation of SLSHS/SBSHS in the UK. These indicators could then be used both in local evaluations, and in large, longitudinal studies of service effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Future research should examine the impact of the differing types of services currently evolving in the UK, encompassing school-based and school-linked models, as well as models with and without medical practitioner involvement.

Identification, definition and mapping of terrestrial ecosystems in interior Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. A reconstituted, simulated color-infrared print, enlarged to a scale of 1:250,000, was used to make a vegetation map of a 3,110 sq km area just west of Fairbanks, Alaska. Information was traced from the print which comprised the southeastern part of ERTS-1 scene 1033-21011. A 1:1,000,000 scale color-infrared transparency of this scene, obtained from NASA, was used along side the print as an aid in recognizing colors, color intensities and blends, and mosaics of different colors. Color units on the transparency and print were identified according to vegetation types using NASA air photos, U.S. Forest Service air photos, and experience of the investigator. Five more or less pure colors were identified and associated with vegetation types. These colors were designated according to their appearances on the print: (1) orange for forest vegetation dominated by broad-leaved trees: (2) gray for forest vegetation dominated by needle-leaved trees; (3) violet for scrub vegetation; (4) light violet denoting herbaceous tundra vegetation; and (5) dull violet for muskeg vegetation. This study has shown, through close examinations of the NASA transparency, that much more detailed vegetation landscape, or ecosystem maps could be produced, if only spectral signatures could be consistently and reliably recognized and transferred to a map of suitable scale.

Integrated Care to Address the Physical Health Needs of People with Severe Mental Illness: A Mapping Review of the Recent Evidence on Barriers, Facilitators and Evaluations.

PubMed

Rodgers, Mark; Dalton, Jane; Harden, Melissa; Street, Andrew; Parker, Gillian; Eastwood, Alison

2018-01-25

People with mental health conditions have a lower life expectancy and poorer physical health outcomes than the general population. Evidence suggests this is due to a combination of clinical risk factors, socioeconomic factors, and health system factors, notably a lack of integration when care is required across service settings. Several recent reports have looked at ways to better integrate physical and mental health care for people with severe mental illness (SMI). We built on these by conducting a mapping review that looked for the most recent evidence and service models in this area. This involved searching the published literature and speaking to people involved in providing or using current services. Few of the identified service models were described adequately and fewer still were evaluated, raising questions about the replicability and generalisability of much of the existing evidence. However, some common themes did emerge. Efforts to improve the physical health care of people with SMI should empower staff and service users and help remove everyday barriers to delivering and accessing integrated care. In particular, there is a need for improved communication among professionals and better information technology to support them, greater clarity about who is responsible and accountable for physical health care, and greater awareness of the effects of stigmatisation on the wider culture and environment in which services are delivered.

Coordinating the Provision of Health Services in Humanitarian Crises: a Systematic Review of Suggested Models.

PubMed

Lotfi, Tamara; Bou-Karroum, Lama; Darzi, Andrea; Hajjar, Rayan; El Rahyel, Ahmed; El Eid, Jamale; Itani, Mira; Brax, Hneine; Akik, Chaza; Osman, Mona; Hassan, Ghayda; El-Jardali, Fadi; Akl, Elie

2016-08-03

Our objective was to identify published models of coordination between entities funding or delivering health services in humanitarian crises, whether the coordination took place during or after the crises. We included reports describing models of coordination in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility. We also included reports describing implementation of identified models, as case studies. We searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the WHO Global Health Library. We also searched websites of relevant organizations. We followed standard systematic review methodology. Our search captured 14,309 citations. The screening process identified 34 eligible papers describing five models of coordination of delivering health services: the "Cluster Approach" (with 16 case studies), the 4Ws "Who is Where, When, doing What" mapping tool (with four case studies), the "Sphere Project" (with two case studies), the "5x5" model (with one case study), and the "model of information coordination" (with one case study). The 4Ws and the 5x5 focus on coordination of services for mental health, the remaining models do not focus on a specific health topic. The Cluster approach appears to be the most widely used. One case study was a mixed implementation of the Cluster approach and the Sphere model. We identified no model of coordination for funding of health service. This systematic review identified five proposed coordination models that have been implemented by entities funding or delivering health service in humanitarian crises. There is a need to compare the effect of these different models on outcomes such as availability of and access to health services.

37. Photo copy of map, (original in Forest Service Office, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

37. Photo copy of map, (original in Forest Service Office, Elkins, WV, 'Blister Rust Survey Map), 1930. PARSONS NURSERY SITE PLAN - Parsons Nursery, South side of U.S. Route 219, Parsons, Tucker County, WV

How to Evaluate Training.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-30

not changed because they are not subject to a careful evaluation. The solution The four job aids contained in this manual provide specific techniques...lesson plans tions. " training design, or * testing NOTICE This manual has been developed using the standards of the Information MappingO writing service...Information Mapping, Inc. S NOTICE This manual has been developed using the standards of the Information MappingS writing service. Infornation Mapping

Using Ecological Asset Mapping to Investigate Pre-Service Teachers' Cultural Assets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borrero, Noah; Yeh, Christine

2016-01-01

We examined the impact of a pedagogical strategy, ecological asset mapping, on 19 pre-service teachers' self-exploration, development of respect for others, and critical examination of social injustice. Data were analyzed from participants' ecological asset maps and essays describing the experience of completing and sharing the maps. The analysis…

Journey Mapping the User Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samson, Sue; Granath, Kim; Alger, Adrienne

2017-01-01

This journey-mapping pilot study was designed to determine whether journey mapping is an effective method to enhance the student experience of using the library by assessing our services from their point of view. Journey mapping plots a process or service to produce a visual representation of a library transaction--from the point at which the…

Climate Prediction Center - Expert Assessments Index

Science.gov Websites

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Home Site Map News Web resources and services. HOME > Monitoring and Data > Global Climate Data & Maps > ; Global Regional Climate Maps Regional Climate Maps Banner The Monthly regional analyses products are

InSAR.no: First results from the Norwegian national deformation mapping service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehls, John F.; Larsen, Yngvar; Marinkovic, Petar; Moldestad, Dag Anders

2017-04-01

For more than a decade, InSAR has been used in Norway to study landslides and subsidence. Initial studies concentrated on understanding and validating the technique in various settings. During the last seven years, however, we have moved towards using InSAR in operational settings, primarily using data from Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X. In May 2016, we launched a national InSAR-based deformation mapping service, based upon the Sentinel-1 satellites. Its mandate is to provide the public in Norway with nationwide deformation products. The service will provide periodically updated deformation data, with varying resolution for urban and non-urban areas. The products will be made available to various local, regional and national authorities via appropriate web GIS protocols. The data will also be made available to the public via a web map interface with simple tools to query and visualize the information. Scaling up from regional operations, based upon data every 24 days, to a national operation, with data every 6 days, is challenging. In addition to the the challenges of scaling up (processing system, algorithms, products, data management, dissemination), Norway has the additional challenges of long winter seasons and rough topography. In this contribution, we will present our approach by summarizing the basic product requirements from the end user perspective. We will also describe ongoing research and development activities needed to meet the identified requirements. We will conclude by demonstrating an initial version of large-scale deformation maps that are to be provided by InSAR.no.

Investigation of remote sensing techniques as inputs to operational resource management. [Butte County, Black Hills, South Dakota, Blackhawk Quadrangle, and Belle Fouche Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmer, F. A. (Principal Investigator); Isakson, R. E.; Eidenshink, J. C.

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Visual interpretation of 1:125,000 color LANDSAT prints produced timely level 1 maps of accuracies in excess of 80% for agricultural land identification. Accurate classification of agricultural land via digital analysis of LANDSAT CCT's required precise timing of the date of data collection with mid to late June optimum for western South Dakota. The LANDSAT repetitive nine day cycle over the state allowed the surface areas of stockdams and small reservoir systems to be monitored to provide a timely approximation of surface water conditions on the range. Combined use of DIRS, K-class, and LANDSAT CCT's demonstrated the ability to produce aspen maps of greater detail and timeliness than was available using US Forest Service maps. Visual temporal analyses of LANDSAT imagery improved highway map drainage information and were used to prepare a seven county drainage network. An optimum map of flood-prone areas was developed, utilizing high altitude aerial photography and USGS maps.

Adoption and diffusion of zoning bylaws banning fast food drive-through services across Canadian municipalities.

PubMed

Nykiforuk, Candace I J; Campbell, Elizabeth J; Macridis, Soultana; McKennitt, Daniel; Atkey, Kayla; Raine, Kim D

2018-01-15

Healthy public policy is an important tool for creating environments that support human health and wellbeing. At the local level, municipal policies, such as zoning bylaws, provide an opportunity for governments to regulate building location and the type of services offered. Across North America, there has been a recent proliferation of municipal bylaws banning fast food drive-through services. Research on the utilization of this policy strategy, including bylaw adopters and adopter characteristics, is limited within the Canadian context. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize Canadian municipalities based on level of policy innovation and nature of their adopted bylaw banning fast food drive-through services. A multiple case history methodology was utilized to identify and analyse eligible municipal bylaws, and included development of a chronological timeline and map of adopter municipalities within Canada. Grey literature and policy databases were searched for potential adopters of municipal fast food drive-through service bylaws. Adopters were confirmed through evidence of current municipal bylaws. Geographic diffusion and diffusion of innovations theories provided a contextual framework for analysis of bylaw documents. Analysis included assignment of adopter-types, extent and purpose of bans, and policy learning activities of each adopter municipality. From 2002 to 2016, 27 municipalities were identified as adopters: six innovators and twenty-one early adopters. Mapping revealed parallel geographic diffusion patterns in western and eastern Canada. Twenty-two municipalities adopted a partial ban and five adopted a full ban. Rationales for the drive-through bans included health promotion, environmental concerns from idling, community character and aesthetics, traffic concerns, and walkability. Policy learning, including research and consultation with other municipalities, was performed by nine early adopters. This study detailed the adoption of fast food drive-through bylaws across Canada. Understanding the adopter-type characteristics of municipalities and the nature of their bylaws can assist other jurisdictions in similar policy efforts. While the implications for research and practice are evolving and dynamic, fast food drive-through service bans may play a role in promoting healthier food environments. Further research is required to determine the viability of this strategy for health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

A GIS application for assessing, mapping, and quantifying the social values of ecosystem services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrouse, Benson C.; Clement, Jessica M.; Semmens, Darius J.

2011-01-01

As human pressures on ecosystems continue to increase, research involving the effective incorporation of social values information into the context of comprehensive ecosystem services assessments is becoming more important. Including quantified, spatially explicit social value metrics in such assessments will improve the analysis of relative tradeoffs among ecosystem services. This paper describes a GIS application, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), developed to assess, map, and quantify the perceived social values of ecosystem services by deriving a non-monetary Value Index from responses to a public attitude and preference survey. SolVES calculates and maps the Value Index for social values held by various survey subgroups, as distinguished by their attitudes regarding ecosystem use. Index values can be compared within and among survey subgroups to explore the effect of social contexts on the valuation of ecosystem services. Index values can also be correlated and regressed against landscape metrics SolVES calculates from various environmental data layers. Coefficients derived through these analyses were applied to their corresponding data layers to generate a predicted social value map. This map compared favorably with other SolVES output and led to the addition of a predictive mapping function to SolVES for value transfer to areas where survey data are unavailable. A more robust application is being developed as a public domain tool for decision makers and researchers to map social values of ecosystem services and to facilitate discussions among diverse stakeholders involving relative tradeoffs among different ecosystem services in a variety of physical and social contexts.

Classification of Schedule Management Barriers through Concept Mapping

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-26

of ballistic missiles and space systems were considered essential for national defense. Intense competition between the military services and their...Having identified only two papers that indirectly addressed potential barriers to schedule management, the search was expanded to find comments made...in books and papers that 17 referenced reasons why schedule management may not be adopted or done effectively within an organization

A National Approach to Quantify and Map Biodiversity Conservation Metrics within an Ecosystem Services Framework

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services, i.e., "services provided to humans from natural systems," have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, human well-being, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have be...

Mapping ecosystem services in the St. Louis River estuary (presentation)

EPA Science Inventory

Management of ecosystems for sustainable provision of services beneficial to human communities requires reliable data about from where in the ecosystem services flow. Our objective is to map ecosystem services in the St. Louis River with the overarching EPA goal of community sust...

Improving Land Cover Mapping: a Mobile Application Based on ESA Sentinel 2 Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melis, M. T.; Dessì, F.; Loddo, P.; La Mantia, C.; Da Pelo, S.; Deflorio, A. M.; Ghiglieri, G.; Hailu, B. T.; Kalegele, K.; Mwasi, B. N.

2018-04-01

The increasing availability of satellite data is a real value for the enhancement of environmental knowledge and land management. Possibilities to integrate different source of geo-data are growing and methodologies to create thematic database are becoming very sophisticated. Moreover, the access to internet services and, in particular, to web mapping services is well developed and spread either between expert users than the citizens. Web map services, like Google Maps or Open Street Maps, give the access to updated optical imagery or topographic maps but information on land cover/use - are not still provided. Therefore, there are many failings in the general utilization -non-specialized users- and access to those maps. This issue is particularly felt where the digital (web) maps could form the basis for land use management as they are more economic and accessible than the paper maps. These conditions are well known in many African countries where, while the internet access is becoming open to all, the local map agencies and their products are not widespread.

Climate services for the assessment of climate change impacts and risks in coastal areas at the regional scale: the North Adriatic case study (Italy).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentina, Gallina; Torresan, Silvia; Giannini, Valentina; Rizzi, Jonathan; Zabeo, Alex; Gualdi, Silvio; Bellucci, Alessio; Giorgi, Filippo; Critto, Andrea; Marcomini, Antonio

2013-04-01

At the international level, the interest for climate services is rising due to the social and economic benefits that different stakeholders can achieve to manage climate risks and take advantage of the opportunities associated with climate change impacts. However, there is a significant gap of tools aimed at providing information about risks and impacts induced by climate change and allowing non-expert stakeholders to use both climate-model and climate-impact data. Within the CLIM-RUN project (FP7), the case study of the North Adriatic Sea is aimed at analysing the need of climate information and the effectiveness of climate services for the integrated assessment of climate change impacts in coastal zones of the North Adriatic Sea at the regional to local scale. A participative approach was developed and applied to identify relevant stakeholders which have a mandate for coastal zone management and to interact with them in order to elicit their climate information needs. Specifically, the participative approach was carried out by means of two local workshops and trough the administration of a questionnaire related to climate information and services. The results of the process allowed identifying three major themes of interest for local stakeholders (i.e. hydro-climatic regime, coastal and marine environment, agriculture) and their preferences concerning key climate variables (e.g. extreme events, sea-level, wave height), mid-term temporal projections (i.e. for the next 30-40 years) and medium-high spatial resolution (i.e. from 1 to 50 km). Furthermore, the workshops highlighted stakeholder concern about several climate-related impacts (e.g. sea-level rise, storm surge, droughts) and vulnerable receptors (e.g. beaches, wetlands, agricultural areas) to be considered in vulnerability and risk assessment studies for the North Adriatic coastal zones. This information was used by climate and environmental risk experts in order to develop targeted climate information and services (e.g. climate projections and maps) for coastal stakeholders. The final results include climate products developed by climate experts through the analysis of climate observations and scenarios (e.g. standard indices of extreme precipitations and droughts, consecutive days of heavy rain, mean sea level pressure) and risk-based maps supplied by environmental risk experts to facilitate the definition of adaptation strategies (e.g. sea-level rise/storm surge risk maps with the surface of receptor lost; drought risk maps with the percentage of suffering agricultural areas). The preliminary climate products and the results of North Adriatic case study will be here presented and discussed.

A domains-based taxonomy of supported accommodation for people with severe and persistent mental illness.

PubMed

Siskind, Dan; Harris, Meredith; Pirkis, Jane; Whiteford, Harvey

2013-06-01

A lack of definitional clarity in supported accommodation and the absence of a widely accepted system for classifying supported accommodation models creates barriers to service planning and evaluation. We undertook a systematic review of existing supported accommodation classification systems. Using a structured system for qualitative data analysis, we reviewed the stratification features in these classification systems, identified the key elements of supported accommodation and arranged them into domains and dimensions to create a new taxonomy. The existing classification systems were mapped onto the new taxonomy to verify the domains and dimensions. Existing classification systems used either a service-level characteristic or programmatic approach. We proposed a taxonomy based around four domains: duration of tenure; patient characteristics; housing characteristics; and service characteristics. All of the domains in the taxonomy were drawn from the existing classification structures; however, none of the existing classification structures covered all of the domains in the taxonomy. Existing classification systems are regionally based, limited in scope and lack flexibility. A domains-based taxonomy can allow more accurate description of supported accommodation services, aid in identifying the service elements likely to improve outcomes for specific patient populations, and assist in service planning.

EnviroAtlas - Number of Water Markets per HUC8 Watershed, U.S., 2015, Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset contains polygons depicting the number of watershed-level market-based programs, referred to herein as markets, in operation per 8-digit HUC watershed throughout the United States. The data were collected via surveys and desk research conducted by Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace during 2014 regarding markets operating to protect watershed ecosystem services. Utilizing these data, the number of water market coverage areas overlaying each HUC8 watershed were calculated to produce this dataset. Only water markets identified as operating at the watershed level (i.e., single or multiple watersheds define the market boundaries) were included in the count of water markets per HUC8 watershed. Excluded were water markets operating at the national, state, county, or federal lands level and all water projects. Attribute data include the watershed's 8-digit hydrologic unit code and name, in addition to the watershed-level water market count associated with the watershed. This dataset was produced by Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Addi

The evolution of internet-based map server applications in the United States Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Services.

PubMed

Maroney, Susan A; McCool, Mary Jane; Geter, Kenneth D; James, Angela M

2007-01-01

The internet is used increasingly as an effective means of disseminating information. For the past five years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Veterinary Services (VS) has published animal health information in internet-based map server applications, each oriented to a specific surveillance or outbreak response need. Using internet-based technology allows users to create dynamic, customised maps and perform basic spatial analysis without the need to buy or learn desktop geographic information systems (GIS) software. At the same time, access can be restricted to authorised users. The VS internet mapping applications to date are as follows: Equine Infectious Anemia Testing 1972-2005, National Tick Survey tick distribution maps, the Emergency Management Response System-Mapping Module for disease investigations and emergency outbreaks, and the Scrapie mapping module to assist with the control and eradication of this disease. These services were created using Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)'s internet map server technology (ArcIMS). Other leading technologies for spatial data dissemination are ArcGIS Server, ArcEngine, and ArcWeb Services. VS is prototyping applications using these technologies, including the VS Atlas of Animal Health Information using ArcGIS Server technology and the Map Kiosk using ArcEngine for automating standard map production in the case of an emergency.

SWOT analysis on National Common Geospatial Information Service Platform of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Xinyan; He, Biao

2010-11-01

Currently, the trend of International Surveying and Mapping is shifting from map production to integrated service of geospatial information, such as GOS of U.S. etc. Under this circumstance, the Surveying and Mapping of China is inevitably shifting from 4D product service to NCGISPC (National Common Geospatial Information Service Platform of China)-centered service. Although State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of China has already provided a great quantity of geospatial information service to various lines of business, such as emergency and disaster management, transportation, water resource, agriculture etc. The shortcomings of the traditional service mode are more and more obvious, due to the highly emerging requirement of e-government construction, the remarkable development of IT technology and emerging online geospatial service demands of various lines of business. NCGISPC, which aimed to provide multiple authoritative online one-stop geospatial information service and API for further development to government, business and public, is now the strategic core of SBSM (State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of China). This paper focuses on the paradigm shift that NCGISPC brings up by using SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis, compared to the service mode that based on 4D product. Though NCGISPC is still at its early stage, it represents the future service mode of geospatial information of China, and surely will have great impact not only on the construction of digital China, but also on the way that everyone uses geospatial information service.

A GIS Approach to Identifying Socially and Medically Vulnerable Older Adult Populations in South Florida.

PubMed

Hames, Elizabeth; Stoler, Justin; Emrich, Christopher T; Tewary, Sweta; Pandya, Naushira

2017-11-10

We define, map, and analyze geodemographic patterns of socially and medically vulnerable older adults within the tri-county region of South Florida. We apply principal components analysis (PCA) to a set of previously identified indicators of social and medical vulnerability at the census tract level. We create and map age-stratified vulnerability scores using a geographic information system (GIS), and use spatial analysis techniques to identify patterns and interactions between social and medical vulnerability. Key factors contributing to social vulnerability in areas with higher numbers of older adults include age, large household size, and Hispanic ethnicity. Medical vulnerability in these same areas is driven by disease burden, access to emergency cardiac services, availability of nursing home and hospice beds, access to home health care, and available mental health services. Age-dependent areas of social vulnerability emerge in Broward County, whereas age-dependent areas of medical vulnerability emerge in Palm Beach County. Older-adult social and medical vulnerability interact differently throughout the study area. Spatial analysis of older adult social and medical vulnerability using PCA and GIS can help identify age-dependent pockets of vulnerability that are not easily identifiable in a populationwide analysis; improve our understanding of the dynamic spatial organization of health care, health care needs, access to care, and outcomes; and ultimately serve as a tool for health care planning. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Using GIS and secondary data to target diabetes-related public health efforts.

PubMed

Curtis, Amy B; Kothari, Catherine; Paul, Rajib; Connors, Elyse

2013-01-01

To efficiently help communities prevent and manage diabetes, health departments need to be able to target populations with high risk but low resources. To aid in this process, we mapped county-level diabetes-related rates and resources/use using publicly available secondary data to identify Michigan counties with high diabetes prevalence and low or no medical and/or community resources. We collected county-level diabetes-related rates and resources from Web-based sources and mapped them using geographic information systems (GIS) software. Data included age-adjusted county diabetes rates, diabetes-related medical resource and resource use (i.e., the number of endocrinologists and percentage of Medicare patients with diabetes who received hemoglobin A1c testing in the past year), community resources (i.e., the number of certified diabetes self-management education and diabetes support groups), as well as population estimates and demographics (e.g., rural residence, education, poverty, and race/ethnicity). We created GIS maps highlighting areas that had higher-than-median rates of disease and lower-than-median resources. We also conducted linear, logistic, and Poisson regression analyses to confirm GIS findings. There were clear regional trends in resource distribution across Michigan. The 15 counties in the Upper Peninsula were lacking in medical resources but higher in community resources compared with the 68 counties in the Lower Peninsula. There was little apparent association between need (diabetes prevalence) and diabetes-related resources/use. Specific counties with high diabetes prevalence and low resources were easily identified using GIS mapping. Using public data and mapping tools identified diabetes health-service shortage areas for targeted public health programming.

Mapping ecosystem services in the St. Louis River Estuary

EPA Science Inventory

Sustainable management of ecosystems for the perpetual flow of services beneficial to human communities requires reliable data about from where in the ecosystem services flow. Our objective is to map ecosystem services in the St. Louis River with the overarching U.S. EPA goal of ...

78 FR 39628 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Critical Habitat Map for the Fountain Darter

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-02

...-0064; 4500030114] RIN 1018-AZ68 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Critical Habitat Map for... U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are correcting the critical habitat map for the fountain... and the general public have an accurate critical habitat map for the species. This action does not...

Topographical Hill Shading Map Production Based Tianditu (map World)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C.; Zha, Z.; Tang, D.; Yang, J.

2018-04-01

TIANDITU (Map World) is the public version of National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Service, and the terrain service is an important channel for users on the platform. With the development of TIANDITU, topographical hill shading map production for providing and updating global terrain map on line becomes necessary for the characters of strong intuition, three-dimensional sense and aesthetic effect. As such, the terrain service of TIANDITU focuses on displaying the different scales of topographical data globally. And this paper mainly aims to research the method of topographical hill shading map production globally using DEM (Digital Elevation Model) data between the displaying scales about 1 : 140,000,000 to 1 : 4,000,000, corresponded the display level from 2 to 7 on TIANDITU website.

Development and validation of a Housing First fidelity survey.

PubMed

Gilmer, Todd P; Stefancic, Ana; Sklar, Marisa; Tsemberis, Sam

2013-09-01

Programs that use the Housing First model are being implemented throughout the United States and internationally. The authors describe the development and validation of a Housing First fidelity survey. A 46-item survey was developed to measure fidelity across five domains: housing process and structure, separation of housing and services, service philosophy, service array, and team structure. The survey was administered to staff and clients of 93 supported-housing programs in California. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify the items and model structure that best fit the data. Sixteen items were retained in a two-factor model, one related to approach to housing, separation of housing and services, and service philosophy and one related to service array and team structure. Our survey mapped program practices by using a common metric that captured variation in fidelity to Housing First across a large-scale implementation of supported-housing programs.

Interoperability in planetary research for geospatial data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hare, Trent M.; Rossi, Angelo P.; Frigeri, Alessandro; Marmo, Chiara

2018-01-01

For more than a decade there has been a push in the planetary science community to support interoperable methods for accessing and working with geospatial data. Common geospatial data products for planetary research include image mosaics, digital elevation or terrain models, geologic maps, geographic location databases (e.g., craters, volcanoes) or any data that can be tied to the surface of a planetary body (including moons, comets or asteroids). Several U.S. and international cartographic research institutions have converged on mapping standards that embrace standardized geospatial image formats, geologic mapping conventions, U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) cartographic and metadata standards, and notably on-line mapping services as defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The latter includes defined standards such as the OGC Web Mapping Services (simple image maps), Web Map Tile Services (cached image tiles), Web Feature Services (feature streaming), Web Coverage Services (rich scientific data streaming), and Catalog Services for the Web (data searching and discoverability). While these standards were developed for application to Earth-based data, they can be just as valuable for planetary domain. Another initiative, called VESPA (Virtual European Solar and Planetary Access), will marry several of the above geoscience standards and astronomy-based standards as defined by International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). This work outlines the current state of interoperability initiatives in use or in the process of being researched within the planetary geospatial community.

First Prototype of a Web Map Interface for ESA's Planetary Science Archive (PSA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manaud, N.; Gonzalez, J.

2014-04-01

We present a first prototype of a Web Map Interface that will serve as a proof of concept and design for ESA's future fully web-based Planetary Science Archive (PSA) User Interface. The PSA is ESA's planetary science archiving authority and central repository for all scientific and engineering data returned by ESA's Solar System missions [1]. All data are compliant with NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) Standards and are accessible through several interfaces [2]: in addition to serving all public data via FTP and the Planetary Data Access Protocol (PDAP), a Java-based User Interface provides advanced search, preview, download, notification and delivery-basket functionality. It allows the user to query and visualise instrument observations footprints using a map-based interface (currently only available for Mars Express HRSC and OMEGA instruments). During the last decade, the planetary mapping science community has increasingly been adopting Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and standards, originally developed for and used in Earth science. There is an ongoing effort to produce and share cartographic products through Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Services, or as standalone data sets, so that they can be readily used in existing GIS applications [3,4,5]. Previous studies conducted at ESAC [6,7] have helped identify the needs of Planetary GIS users, and define key areas of improvement for the future Web PSA User Interface. Its web map interface shall will provide access to the full geospatial content of the PSA, including (1) observation geometry footprints of all remote sensing instruments, and (2) all georeferenced cartographic products, such as HRSC map-projected data or OMEGA global maps from Mars Express. It shall aim to provide a rich user experience for search and visualisation of this content using modern and interactive web mapping technology. A comprehensive set of built-in context maps from external sources, such as MOLA topography, TES infrared maps or planetary surface nomenclature, provided in both simple cylindrical and polar stereographic projections, shall enhance this user experience. In addition, users should be able to import and export data in commonly used open- GIS formats. It is also intended to serve all PSA geospatial data through OGC-compliant Web Services so that they can be captured, visualised and analysed directly from GIS software, along with data from other sources. The following figure illustrates how the PSA web map interface and services shall fit in a typical Planetary GIS user working environment.

Harmonisation of geological data to support geohazard mapping: the case of eENVplus project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cipolloni, Carlo; Krivic, Matija; Novak, Matevž; Pantaloni, Marco; Šinigoj, Jasna

2014-05-01

In the eENVplus project, which aims is to unlock huge amounts of environmental datamanaged by the national and regional environmental agencies and other public and private organisations, we have developed a cross-border pilot on the geological data harmonisation through the integration and harmonisation of existing services. The pilot analyses the methodology and results of the OneGeology-Europe project, elaborated at the scale of 1:1M, to point out difficulties and unsolved problems highlighted during the project. This preliminary analysis is followed by a comparison of two geological maps provided by the neighbouring countries with the objective to compare and define the geometric and semantic anomalous contacts between geological polygons and lines in the maps. This phase will be followed by a detailed scale geological map analysis aimed to solve the anomalies identified in the previous phase. The two Geological Surveys involved into the pilot will discuss the problems highlighted during this phase. Subsequently the semantic description will be redefined and the geometry of the polygons in geological maps will be redrawn or adjusted according to a lithostratigraphic approach that takes in account the homogeneity of age, lithology, depositional environment and consolidation degree of geological units. The two Geological Surveys have decided to apply the harmonisation process on two different dataset: the first is represented by the Geological Map at the scale of 1:1,000,000, partially harmonised within the OneGeology-Europe project that will be re-aligned with GE INSPIRE data model to produce data and services compliant with INSPIRE target schema. The main target of Geological Surveys is to produce data and web services compliant with the wider international schema, where there are more options to provide data, with specific attributes that are important to obtain the geohazard map as in the case of this pilot project; therefore we have decided to apply GeoSciML 3.2 schema to the dataset that represents Geological Map at the scale of 1:100,000. Within the pilot will be realised two main geohazard examples with a semi-automatized procedure based on a specific tool component integrated in the client: a landslide susceptibility map and a potential flooding map. In this work we want to present the first results obtained with use case geo-processing procedure in the first test phase, where we have developed a dataset compliant with GE INSPIRE to perform the landslide and flooding susceptibility maps.

Soil mapping and processes modelling for sustainable land management: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Paulo; Brevik, Eric; Muñoz-Rojas, Miriam; Miller, Bradley; Smetanova, Anna; Depellegrin, Daniel; Misiune, Ieva; Novara, Agata; Cerda, Artemi

2017-04-01

Soil maps and models are fundamental for a correct and sustainable land management (Pereira et al., 2017). They are an important in the assessment of the territory and implementation of sustainable measures in urban areas, agriculture, forests, ecosystem services, among others. Soil maps represent an important basis for the evaluation and restoration of degraded areas, an important issue for our society, as consequence of climate change and the increasing pressure of humans on the ecosystems (Brevik et al. 2016; Depellegrin et al., 2016). The understanding of soil spatial variability and the phenomena that influence this dynamic is crucial to the implementation of sustainable practices that prevent degradation, and decrease the economic costs of soil restoration. In this context, soil maps and models are important to identify areas affected by degradation and optimize the resources available to restore them. Overall, soil data alone or integrated with data from other sciences, is an important part of sustainable land management. This information is extremely important land managers and decision maker's implements sustainable land management policies. The objective of this work is to present a review about the advantages of soil mapping and process modeling for sustainable land management. References Brevik, E., Calzolari, C., Miller, B., Pereira, P., Kabala, C., Baumgarten, A., Jordán, A. (2016) Historical perspectives and future needs in soil mapping, classification and pedological modelling, Geoderma, 264, Part B, 256-274. Depellegrin, D.A., Pereira, P., Misiune, I., Egarter-Vigl, L. (2016) Mapping Ecosystem Services in Lithuania. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 23, 441-455. Pereira, P., Brevik, E., Munoz-Rojas, M., Miller, B., Smetanova, A., Depellegrin, D., Misiune, I., Novara, A., Cerda, A. (2017) Soil mapping and process modelling for sustainable land management. In: Pereira, P., Brevik, E., Munoz-Rojas, M., Miller, B. (Eds.) Soil mapping and process modelling for sustainable land use management (Elsevier Publishing House) ISBN: 9780128052006

Comparing maps of mean monthly surface temperature and precipitation for Alaska and adjacent areas of Canada produced by two different methods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Simpson, James J.; Hufford, Gary L.; Daly, Christopher; Berg, Jared S.; Fleming, Michael D.

2005-01-01

Maps of mean monthly surface temperature and precipitation for Alaska and adjacent areas of Canada, produced by Oregon State University's Spatial Climate Analysis Service (SCAS) and the Alaska Geospatial Data Clearinghouse (AGDC), were analyzed. Because both sets of maps are generally available and in use by the community, there is a need to document differences between the processes and input data sets used by the two groups to produce their respective set of maps and to identify similarities and differences between the two sets of maps and possible reasons for the differences. These differences do not affect the observed large-scale patterns of seasonal and annual variability. Alaska is divided into interior and coastal zones, with consistent but different variability, separated by a transition region. The transition region has high interannual variability but low long-term mean variability. Both data sets support the four major ecosystems and ecosystem transition zone identified in our earlier work. Differences between the two sets of maps do occur, however, on the regional scale; they reflect differences in physiographic domains and in the treatment of these domains by the two groups (AGDC, SCAS). These differences also provide guidance for an improved observational network for Alaska. On the basis of validation with independent in situ data, we conclude that the data set produced by SCAS provides the best spatial coverage of Alaskan long-term mean monthly surface temperature and precipitation currently available. ?? The Arctic Institute of North America.

From theoretical to actual ecosystem services: mapping beneficiaries and spatial flows in ecosystem service assessments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Villa, Ferdinando; Batker, David; Harrison-Cox, Jennifer; Voigt, Brian; Johnson, Gary W.

2014-01-01

Ecosystem services mapping and modeling has focused more on supply than demand, until recently. Whereas the potential provision of economic benefits from ecosystems to people is often quantified through ecological production functions, the use of and demand for ecosystem services has received less attention, as have the spatial flows of services from ecosystems to people. However, new modeling approaches that map and quantify service-specific sources (ecosystem capacity to provide a service), sinks (biophysical or anthropogenic features that deplete or alter service flows), users (user locations and level of demand), and spatial flows can provide a more complete understanding of ecosystem services. Through a case study in Puget Sound, Washington State, USA, we quantify and differentiate between the theoretical or in situ provision of services, i.e., ecosystems’ capacity to supply services, and their actual provision when accounting for the location of beneficiaries and the spatial connections that mediate service flows between people and ecosystems. Our analysis includes five ecosystem services: carbon sequestration and storage, riverine flood regulation, sediment regulation for reservoirs, open space proximity, and scenic viewsheds. Each ecosystem service is characterized by different beneficiary groups and means of service flow. Using the ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) methodology we map service supply, demand, and flow, extending on simpler approaches used by past studies to map service provision and use. With the exception of the carbon sequestration service, regions that actually provided services to people, i.e., connected to beneficiaries via flow paths, amounted to 16-66% of those theoretically capable of supplying services, i.e., all ecosystems across the landscape. These results offer a more complete understanding of the spatial dynamics of ecosystem services and their effects, and may provide a sounder basis for economic valuation and policy applications than studies that consider only theoretical service provision and/or use.

Mapping ecosystem services for land use planning, the case of Central Kalimantan.

PubMed

Sumarga, Elham; Hein, Lars

2014-07-01

Indonesia is subject to rapid land use change. One of the main causes for the conversion of land is the rapid expansion of the oil palm sector. Land use change involves a progressive loss of forest cover, with major impacts on biodiversity and global CO2 emissions. Ecosystem services have been proposed as a concept that would facilitate the identification of sustainable land management options, however, the scale of land conversion and its spatial diversity pose particular challenges in Indonesia. The objective of this paper is to analyze how ecosystem services can be mapped at the provincial scale, focusing on Central Kalimantan, and to examine how ecosystem services maps can be used for a land use planning. Central Kalimantan is subject to rapid deforestation including the loss of peatland forests and the provincial still lacks a comprehensive land use plan. We examine how seven key ecosystem services can be mapped and modeled at the provincial scale, using a variety of models, and how large scale ecosystem services maps can support the identification of options for sustainable expansion of palm oil production.

Integrating sentiment analysis and term associations with geo-temporal visualizations on customer feedback streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Ming; Rohrdantz, Christian; Janetzko, Halldór; Keim, Daniel; Dayal, Umeshwar; Haug, Lars-Erik; Hsu, Mei-Chun

2012-01-01

Twitter currently receives over 190 million tweets (small text-based Web posts) and manufacturing companies receive over 10 thousand web product surveys a day, in which people share their thoughts regarding a wide range of products and their features. A large number of tweets and customer surveys include opinions about products and services. However, with Twitter being a relatively new phenomenon, these tweets are underutilized as a source for determining customer sentiments. To explore high-volume customer feedback streams, we integrate three time series-based visual analysis techniques: (1) feature-based sentiment analysis that extracts, measures, and maps customer feedback; (2) a novel idea of term associations that identify attributes, verbs, and adjectives frequently occurring together; and (3) new pixel cell-based sentiment calendars, geo-temporal map visualizations and self-organizing maps to identify co-occurring and influential opinions. We have combined these techniques into a well-fitted solution for an effective analysis of large customer feedback streams such as for movie reviews (e.g., Kung-Fu Panda) or web surveys (buyers).

A Different Web-Based Geocoding Service Using Fuzzy Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pahlavani, P.; Abbaspour, R. A.; Zare Zadiny, A.

2015-12-01

Geocoding - the process of finding position based on descriptive data such as address or postal code - is considered as one of the most commonly used spatial analyses. Many online map providers such as Google Maps, Bing Maps and Yahoo Maps present geocoding as one of their basic capabilities. Despite the diversity of geocoding services, users usually face some limitations when they use available online geocoding services. In existing geocoding services, proximity and nearness concept is not modelled appropriately as well as these services search address only by address matching based on descriptive data. In addition there are also some limitations in display searching results. Resolving these limitations can enhance efficiency of the existing geocoding services. This paper proposes the idea of integrating fuzzy technique with geocoding process to resolve these limitations. In order to implement the proposed method, a web-based system is designed. In proposed method, nearness to places is defined by fuzzy membership functions and multiple fuzzy distance maps are created. Then these fuzzy distance maps are integrated using fuzzy overlay technique for obtain the results. Proposed methods provides different capabilities for users such as ability to search multi-part addresses, searching places based on their location, non-point representation of results as well as displaying search results based on their priority.

Reflecting on the efficacy of cognitive mapping for decision-making in intellectual disability care: a case study.

PubMed

Duryan, Meri; Nikolik, Dragan; van Merode, Godefridus; Curfs, Leopold M G

2015-01-01

The central aspect of this study is a set of reflections on the efficacy of soft operational research techniques in understanding the dynamics of a complex system such as intellectual disability (ID) care providers. Organizations providing services to ID patients are complex and have many interacting stakeholders with often different and competing interests. Understanding the causes for failures in complex systems is crucial for appreciating the multiple perspectives of the key stakeholders of the system. Knowing the factors that adversely affect delivery of a patient-centred care by ID provider organizations offers the potential for identifying more effective resource-allocation solutions. The authors suggest cognitive mapping as a starting point for system dynamics modelling of optimal resource-allocation projects in ID care. The application of the method is illustrated via a case study in one of the ID care providers in the Netherlands. The paper discusses some of the practical implications of applying problem-structuring methods that support gathering feedback from vulnerable service users and front-line workers. The authors concluded that cognitive mapping technique can assist the management of healthcare organizations in strategic decision-making. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Combining aesthetic with ecological values for landscape sustainability.

PubMed

Yang, Dewei; Luo, Tao; Lin, Tao; Qiu, Quanyi; Luo, Yunjian

2014-01-01

Humans receive multiple benefits from various landscapes that foster ecological services and aesthetic attractiveness. In this study, a hybrid framework was proposed to evaluate ecological and aesthetic values of five landscape types in Houguanhu Region of central China. Data from the public aesthetic survey and professional ecological assessment were converted into a two-dimensional coordinate system and distribution maps of landscape values. Results showed that natural landscapes (i.e. water body and forest) contributed positively more to both aesthetic and ecological values than semi-natural and human-dominated landscapes (i.e. farmland and non-ecological land). The distribution maps of landscape values indicated that the aesthetic, ecological and integrated landscape values were significantly associated with landscape attributes and human activity intensity. To combine aesthetic preferences with ecological services, the methods (i.e. field survey, landscape value coefficients, normalized method, a two-dimensional coordinate system, and landscape value distribution maps) were employed in landscape assessment. Our results could facilitate to identify the underlying structure-function-value chain, and also improve the understanding of multiple functions in landscape planning. The situation context could also be emphasized to bring ecological and aesthetic goals into better alignment.

Combining Aesthetic with Ecological Values for Landscape Sustainability

PubMed Central

Yang, Dewei; Luo, Tao; Lin, Tao; Qiu, Quanyi; Luo, Yunjian

2014-01-01

Humans receive multiple benefits from various landscapes that foster ecological services and aesthetic attractiveness. In this study, a hybrid framework was proposed to evaluate ecological and aesthetic values of five landscape types in Houguanhu Region of central China. Data from the public aesthetic survey and professional ecological assessment were converted into a two-dimensional coordinate system and distribution maps of landscape values. Results showed that natural landscapes (i.e. water body and forest) contributed positively more to both aesthetic and ecological values than semi-natural and human-dominated landscapes (i.e. farmland and non-ecological land). The distribution maps of landscape values indicated that the aesthetic, ecological and integrated landscape values were significantly associated with landscape attributes and human activity intensity. To combine aesthetic preferences with ecological services, the methods (i.e. field survey, landscape value coefficients, normalized method, a two-dimensional coordinate system, and landscape value distribution maps) were employed in landscape assessment. Our results could facilitate to identify the underlying structure-function-value chain, and also improve the understanding of multiple functions in landscape planning. The situation context could also be emphasized to bring ecological and aesthetic goals into better alignment. PMID:25050886

Managing Vocabulary Mapping Services

PubMed Central

Che, Chengjian; Monson, Kent; Poon, Kasey B.; Shakib, Shaun C.; Lau, Lee Min

2005-01-01

The efficient management and maintenance of large-scale and high-quality vocabulary mapping is an operational challenge. The 3M Health Information Systems (HIS) Healthcare Data Dictionary (HDD) group developed an information management system to provide controlled mapping services, resulting in improved efficiency and quality maintenance. PMID:16779203

47 CFR 73.4108 - FM transmitter site map submissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false FM transmitter site map submissions. 73.4108 Section 73.4108 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES Rules Applicable to All Broadcast Stations § 73.4108 FM transmitter site map...

Distributed spatial information integration based on web service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Hengjian; Zhang, Yun; Shao, Zhenfeng

2008-10-01

Spatial information systems and spatial information in different geographic locations usually belong to different organizations. They are distributed and often heterogeneous and independent from each other. This leads to the fact that many isolated spatial information islands are formed, reducing the efficiency of information utilization. In order to address this issue, we present a method for effective spatial information integration based on web service. The method applies asynchronous invocation of web service and dynamic invocation of web service to implement distributed, parallel execution of web map services. All isolated information islands are connected by the dispatcher of web service and its registration database to form a uniform collaborative system. According to the web service registration database, the dispatcher of web services can dynamically invoke each web map service through an asynchronous delegating mechanism. All of the web map services can be executed at the same time. When each web map service is done, an image will be returned to the dispatcher. After all of the web services are done, all images are transparently overlaid together in the dispatcher. Thus, users can browse and analyze the integrated spatial information. Experiments demonstrate that the utilization rate of spatial information resources is significantly raised thought the proposed method of distributed spatial information integration.

Distributed spatial information integration based on web service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Hengjian; Zhang, Yun; Shao, Zhenfeng

2009-10-01

Spatial information systems and spatial information in different geographic locations usually belong to different organizations. They are distributed and often heterogeneous and independent from each other. This leads to the fact that many isolated spatial information islands are formed, reducing the efficiency of information utilization. In order to address this issue, we present a method for effective spatial information integration based on web service. The method applies asynchronous invocation of web service and dynamic invocation of web service to implement distributed, parallel execution of web map services. All isolated information islands are connected by the dispatcher of web service and its registration database to form a uniform collaborative system. According to the web service registration database, the dispatcher of web services can dynamically invoke each web map service through an asynchronous delegating mechanism. All of the web map services can be executed at the same time. When each web map service is done, an image will be returned to the dispatcher. After all of the web services are done, all images are transparently overlaid together in the dispatcher. Thus, users can browse and analyze the integrated spatial information. Experiments demonstrate that the utilization rate of spatial information resources is significantly raised thought the proposed method of distributed spatial information integration.

Research on the construction of three level customer service knowledge graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Shi; Shen, Jiajie; Shi, Quan; Cheng, Xianyi

2017-09-01

With the explosion of knowledge and information of the enterprise and the growing demand for intelligent knowledge management and application and improve business performance the knowledge expression and processing of the enterprise has become a hot topic. Aim at the problems of the electric marketing customer service knowledge map (customer service knowledge map) in building theory and method, electric marketing knowledge map of three levels of customer service was discussed, and realizing knowledge reasoning based on Neo4j, achieve good results in practical application.

Potential for using regional and global datasets for national scale ecosystem service modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maxwell, Deborah; Jackson, Bethanna

2016-04-01

Ecosystem service models are increasingly being used by planners and policy makers to inform policy development and decisions about national-level resource management. Such models allow ecosystem services to be mapped and quantified, and subsequent changes to these services to be identified and monitored. In some cases, the impact of small scale changes can be modelled at a national scale, providing more detailed information to decision makers about where to best focus investment and management interventions that could address these issues, while moving toward national goals and/or targets. National scale modelling often uses national (or local) data (for example, soils, landcover and topographical information) as input. However, there are some places where fine resolution and/or high quality national datasets cannot be easily obtained, or do not even exist. In the absence of such detailed information, regional or global datasets could be used as input to such models. There are questions, however, about the usefulness of these coarser resolution datasets and the extent to which inaccuracies in this data may degrade predictions of existing and potential ecosystem service provision and subsequent decision making. Using LUCI (the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator) as an example predictive model, we examine how the reliability of predictions change when national datasets of soil, landcover and topography are substituted with coarser scale regional and global datasets. We specifically look at how LUCI's predictions of where water services, such as flood risk, flood mitigation, erosion and water quality, change when national data inputs are replaced by regional and global datasets. Using the Conwy catchment, Wales, as a case study, the land cover products compared are the UK's Land Cover Map (2007), the European CORINE land cover map and the ESA global land cover map. Soils products include the National Soil Map of England and Wales (NatMap) and the European Soils Database. NEXTmap elevation data, which covers the UK and parts of continental Europe, are compared to global AsterDEM and SRTM30 topographical products. While the regional and global datasets can be used to fill gaps in data requirements, the coarser resolution of these datasets means that there is greater aggregation of information over larger areas. This loss of detail impacts on the reliability of model output, particularly where significant discrepancies between datasets exist. The implications of this loss of detail in terms of spatial planning and decision making is discussed. Finally, in the context of broader development the need for better nationally and globally available data to allow LUCI and other ecosystem models to become more globally applicable is highlighted.

A Road Map for Empowering Undergraduates to Practice Service Leadership through Service-Learning in Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snell, Robin Stanley; Chan, Maureen Yin Lee; Ma, Carol Hok Ka; Chan, Carman Ka Man

2015-01-01

We present a road map for providing course-embedded service-learning team projects as opportunities for undergraduates to practice as service leaders in Asia and beyond. Basic foundations are that projects address authentic problems or needs, partner organization representatives (PORs) indicate availability for ongoing consultation, students…

The EnviroAtlas ‐ Developing a National Approach to Quantify and Map Metrics within an Ecosystem Services Framework. Subfocus: Multi‐scale Biodiversity Conservation Metrics

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services, i.e., "services provided to humans from natural systems," have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, human well-being, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become stra...

Day Service Provision for People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study Mapping 15-Year Trends in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, Padraic; McGilloway, Sinead; Barry, Sarah

2017-01-01

Background: Day services for people with intellectual disabilities are experiencing a global paradigm shift towards innovative person-centred models of care. This study maps changing trends in day service utilization to highlight how policy, emergent patterns and demographic trends influence service delivery. Methods: National intellectual…

How to change GEBCO outreach activities with Information technologies?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, E.; Park, K.

2014-12-01

Since 1995, when National Geographic Information Project began, we have great advance in mapping itself and information service on the earth surface in Korea whether paper maps or online service map. By reviewing geological and mine-related information service in current and comparisons of demands, GEBCO outreach master plan has been prepared. Information service cannot be separated from data production and on dissemination policies. We suggest the potential impact of the changes in information technologies such as mobile service and data fusion, and big data on GEBCO maps based. Less cost and high performance in data service will stimulate more information service; therefore it is necessary to have more customer-oriented manipulation on the data. By inquiring questionnaire, we can draw the potential needs on GEBCO products in various aspects: such as education, accessibility. The gap between experts and non-experts will decrease by digital service from the private and public organizations such as international academic societies since research funds and policies tend to pursue "openness" and "interoperability" among the domains. Some background why and how to prepare outreach activities in GEBCO will be shown.

Quantifying and Mapping Habitat-Based Biodiversity Metrics Within an Ecosystem Services Framework

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, human well-being, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with econom...

Spatial and Temporal Trends of Global Pollination Benefit

PubMed Central

Lautenbach, Sven; Seppelt, Ralf; Liebscher, Juliane; Dormann, Carsten F.

2012-01-01

Pollination is a well-studied and at the same time a threatened ecosystem service. A significant part of global crop production depends on or profits from pollination by animals. Using detailed information on global crop yields of 60 pollination dependent or profiting crops, we provide a map of global pollination benefits on a 5′ by 5′ latitude-longitude grid. The current spatial pattern of pollination benefits is only partly correlated with climate variables and the distribution of cropland. The resulting map of pollination benefits identifies hot spots of pollination benefits at sufficient detail to guide political decisions on where to protect pollination services by investing in structural diversity of land use. Additionally, we investigated the vulnerability of the national economies with respect to potential decline of pollination services as the portion of the (agricultural) economy depending on pollination benefits. While the general dependency of the agricultural economy on pollination seems to be stable from 1993 until 2009, we see increases in producer prices for pollination dependent crops, which we interpret as an early warning signal for a conflict between pollination service and other land uses at the global scale. Our spatially explicit analysis of global pollination benefit points to hot spots for the generation of pollination benefits and can serve as a base for further planning of land use, protection sites and agricultural policies for maintaining pollination services. PMID:22563427

Multi-stakeholder perspectives in defining health-services quality in cataract care.

PubMed

Stolk-Vos, Aline C; van de Klundert, Joris J; Maijers, Niels; Zijlmans, Bart L M; Busschbach, Jan J V

2017-08-01

To develop a method to define a multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality that enables the expression of differences in systematically identified stakeholders' perspectives, and to pilot the approach for cataract care. Mixed-method study between 2014 and 2015. Cataract care in the Netherlands. Stakeholder representatives. We first identified and classified stakeholders using stakeholder theory. Participants established a multi-stakeholder perspective on quality of cataract care using concept mapping, this yielded a cluster map based on multivariate statistical analyses. Consensus-based quality dimensions were subsequently defined in a plenary stakeholder session. Stakeholders and multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality. Our analysis identified seven definitive stakeholders, as follows: the Dutch Ophthalmology Society, ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals and private clinics. Patients, as dependent stakeholders, were considered to lack power by other stakeholders; hence, they were not classified as definitive stakeholders. Overall, 18 stakeholders representing ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals, private clinics, patients, patient federations and the Dutch Healthcare Institute sorted 125 systematically collected indicators into the seven following clusters: patient centeredness and accessibility, interpersonal conduct and expectations, experienced outcome, clinical outcome, process and structure, medical technical acting and safety. Importance scores from stakeholders directly involved in the cataract service delivery process correlated strongly, as did scores from stakeholders not directly involved in this process. Using a case study on cataract care, the proposed methods enable different views among stakeholders concerning quality dimensions to be systematically revealed, and the stakeholders jointly agreed on these dimensions. The methods helped to unify different quality definitions and facilitated operationalisation of quality measurement in a way that was accepted by relevant stakeholders. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Exploring NASA GES DISC Data with Interoperable Services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, Peisheng; Yang, Wenli; Hegde, Mahabal; Wei, Jennifer C.; Kempler, Steven; Pham, Long; Teng, William; Savtchenko, Andrey

2015-01-01

Overview of NASA GES DISC (NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center) data with interoperable services: Open-standard and Interoperable Services Improve data discoverability, accessibility, and usability with metadata, catalogue and portal standards Achieve data, information and knowledge sharing across applications with standardized interfaces and protocols Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Data Services and Specifications Web Coverage Service (WCS) -- data Web Map Service (WMS) -- pictures of data Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) --- pictures of data tiles Styled Layer Descriptors (SLD) --- rendered styles.

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge land cover mapping project users guide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.

1987-01-01

The U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has the responsibility for collecting the resource information to address the research, management, development and planning requirements identified in Section 304. Because of the brief period provided by the Act for data collection, habitat mapping, and habitat assessment, the USFWS in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Field Office, used digital Landsat multispectral scanner data (MSS) and digital terrain data to produce land cover and terrain maps. A computer assisted digital analysis of Landsat MSS data was used because coverage by aerial photographs was incomplete for much of the refuge and because the level of detail, obtained from the analysis of Landsat data, is adequate to meet most USFWS research, management and planning needs. Relative cost and time requirements were also factors in the decision to use the digital analysis approach.

Selawik National Wildlife Refuge land cover mapping project users guide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.

1988-01-01

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has the responsibility for collecting the resource information to address the research, management, development and planning requirements identified in Section 304. Because of the brief period provided by the Act for data collection, habitat mapping, and habitat assessment, the USFWS in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Field Office, used digital Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) data and digital terrain data to produce land cover and terrain maps. A computer assisted digital analysis of Landsat MSS data was used because coverage by aerial photographs was incomplete for the refuge and because the level of detail obtained from Landsat data was adequate to meet most USFWS research, management and planning needs. Relative cost and time requirements were also factors in the decision to use the digital analysis approach.

Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge land cover mapping project users guide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.

1987-01-01

The U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has the responsibility for collecting the resource information to address the research, management, development and planning requirements identified in Section 304. Because of the brief period provided by the Act for data collection, habitat mapping, and habitat assessment, the USFWS in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Field Office, used digital Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) data and digital terrain data to produce land cover and terrain maps. A computer assisted digital analysis of Landsat MSS data was used because coverage by aerial photographs was incomplete for much of the refuge and because the level of detail obtained from Landsat data was adequate to meet most USFWS research, management and planning needs. Relative cost and time requirements were also factors in the decision to use the digital analysis approach.

Minecraft® on Demand - A new IGN service which combines game and 3D cartography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lecordix, François; Fremont, David; Jilani, Moez; Séguin, Emmanuel; Kriat, Sofiane

2018-05-01

The French national mapping agency, Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN), decided to develop a new web service, called Minecraft on Demand (www.ign.fr/Minecraft), designed to provide Minecraft maps from the geographic data that IGN produces. This free web service enables the user to select the center of the map and to get a Minecraft world of 5 km long and 5 km wide, at the scale 1 : 1. The player can easily input this map into Minecraft, the world's most popular video game with 121 million copies sold. Launched in June 2016 in France, the service Minecraft® on Demand obtained a fair success (10,000 maps downloaded), more specifically among young people, since it may enable them to discover IGN data and geography.

Mapping carbon flux uncertainty and selecting optimal locations for future flux towers in the Great Plains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gu, Yingxin; Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Zhang, Li

2012-01-01

Flux tower networks (e. g., AmeriFlux, Agriflux) provide continuous observations of ecosystem exchanges of carbon (e. g., net ecosystem exchange), water vapor (e. g., evapotranspiration), and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The long-term time series of flux tower data are essential for studying and understanding terrestrial carbon cycles, ecosystem services, and climate changes. Currently, there are 13 flux towers located within the Great Plains (GP). The towers are sparsely distributed and do not adequately represent the varieties of vegetation cover types, climate conditions, and geophysical and biophysical conditions in the GP. This study assessed how well the available flux towers represent the environmental conditions or "ecological envelopes" across the GP and identified optimal locations for future flux towers in the GP. Regression-based remote sensing and weather-driven net ecosystem production (NEP) models derived from different extrapolation ranges (10 and 50%) were used to identify areas where ecological conditions were poorly represented by the flux tower sites and years previously used for mapping grassland fluxes. The optimal lands suitable for future flux towers within the GP were mapped. Results from this study provide information to optimize the usefulness of future flux towers in the GP and serve as a proxy for the uncertainty of the NEP map.

Services for children with developmental co-ordination disorder: an evaluation against best practice principles.

PubMed

Pentland, Jacqueline; Maciver, Donald; Owen, Christine; Forsyth, Kirsty; Irvine, Linda; Walsh, Mike; Crowe, Miriam

2016-01-01

The National Health Service in Scotland published a best practice framework to support occupational therapists and physiotherapists to deliver effective services for children with developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD); however, adherence is variable. To highlight areas for development, this study compared the care pathway within a paediatric DCD service against the NHS Scotland framework. A partnership of researchers and clinicians based in the United Kingdom conducted a qualitative study with 37 participants (N = 13 interview participants, N = 24 workshop participants). In-depth interviews and/or workshops were used to map the DCD service against the NHS framework. Identified gaps were aligned with four key stages of the care pathway. Qualitative analysis software was used to analyse the data. Core principles to guide future development were identified for each phase of the pathway. These core principles related to the NHS framework and focused on issues such as involving the family, defining clear pathways and enhancing children's participation. Participants identified potential strategies for service improvement such as developing community-based interventions and information provision. Challenges when providing services for children with DCD include confusing service pathways and poor partnership working. It is, therefore, important that clinicians utilise collaborative working strategies that support children's participation. There are numerous challenges related to the implementation of best practice principles into the provision of therapy services for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). It is important that AHPs seek ways of engaging parents and educational professionals at all stages of the care pathway in order to ensure optimum service provision for the child. Addressing participation is an important aspect and community-based strategies may be particularly beneficial, both as a preventative activity and as an intervention approach.

Integrated Care to Address the Physical Health Needs of People with Severe Mental Illness: A Mapping Review of the Recent Evidence on Barriers, Facilitators and Evaluations

PubMed Central

Dalton, Jane; Harden, Melissa; Street, Andrew; Parker, Gillian; Eastwood, Alison

2018-01-01

People with mental health conditions have a lower life expectancy and poorer physical health outcomes than the general population. Evidence suggests this is due to a combination of clinical risk factors, socioeconomic factors, and health system factors, notably a lack of integration when care is required across service settings. Several recent reports have looked at ways to better integrate physical and mental health care for people with severe mental illness (SMI). We built on these by conducting a mapping review that looked for the most recent evidence and service models in this area. This involved searching the published literature and speaking to people involved in providing or using current services. Few of the identified service models were described adequately and fewer still were evaluated, raising questions about the replicability and generalisability of much of the existing evidence. However, some common themes did emerge. Efforts to improve the physical health care of people with SMI should empower staff and service users and help remove everyday barriers to delivering and accessing integrated care. In particular, there is a need for improved communication among professionals and better information technology to support them, greater clarity about who is responsible and accountable for physical health care, and greater awareness of the effects of stigmatisation on the wider culture and environment in which services are delivered. PMID:29588643

Prototype of Partial Cutting Tool of Geological Map Images Distributed by Geological Web Map Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nonogaki, S.; Nemoto, T.

2014-12-01

Geological maps and topographical maps play an important role in disaster assessment, resource management, and environmental preservation. These map information have been distributed in accordance with Web services standards such as Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) recently. In this study, a partial cutting tool of geological map images distributed by geological WMTS was implemented with Free and Open Source Software. The tool mainly consists of two functions: display function and cutting function. The former function was implemented using OpenLayers. The latter function was implemented using Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL). All other small functions were implemented by PHP and Python. As a result, this tool allows not only displaying WMTS layer on web browser but also generating a geological map image of intended area and zoom level. At this moment, available WTMS layers are limited to the ones distributed by WMTS for the Seamless Digital Geological Map of Japan. The geological map image can be saved as GeoTIFF format and WebGL format. GeoTIFF is one of the georeferenced raster formats that is available in many kinds of Geographical Information System. WebGL is useful for confirming a relationship between geology and geography in 3D. In conclusion, the partial cutting tool developed in this study would contribute to create better conditions for promoting utilization of geological information. Future work is to increase the number of available WMTS layers and the types of output file format.

Arctic Research Mapping Application (ARMAP): 2D Maps and 3D Globes Support Arctic Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, G.; Gaylord, A. G.; Brady, J. J.; Cody, R. P.; Aguilar, J. A.; Dover, M.; Garcia-Lavigne, D.; Manley, W.; Score, R.; Tweedie, C. E.

2007-12-01

The Arctic Research Mapping Application (ARMAP) is a suite of online services to provide support of Arctic science. These services include: a text based online search utility, 2D Internet Map Server (IMS); 3D globes and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Services (WMS). With ARMAP's 2D maps and 3D globes, users can navigate to areas of interest, view a variety of map layers, and explore U.S. Federally funded research projects. Projects can be queried by location, year, funding program, discipline, and keyword. Links take you to specific information and other web sites associated with a particular research project. The Arctic Research Logistics Support Service (ARLSS) database is the foundation of ARMAP including US research funded by the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the United States Geological Survey. Avoiding a duplication of effort has been a primary objective of the ARMAP project which incorporates best practices (e.g. Spatial Data Infrastructure and OGC standard web services and metadata) and off the shelf technologies where appropriate. The ARMAP suite provides tools for users of various levels of technical ability to interact with the data by importing the web services directly into their own GIS applications and virtual globes; performing advanced GIS queries; simply printing maps from a set of predefined images in the map gallery; browsing the layers in an IMS; or by choosing to "fly to" sites using a 3D globe. With special emphasis on the International Polar Year (IPY), ARMAP has targeted science planners, scientists, educators, and the general public. In sum, ARMAP goes beyond a simple map display to enable analysis, synthesis, and coordination of Arctic research. ARMAP may be accessed via the gateway web site at http://www.armap.org.

Using maps and funnel plots to explore variation in place of death from cancer within London, 2002-2007.

PubMed

Madden, P; Coupland, Vh; Møller, H; Davies, Ea

2011-06-01

London has a high proportion of hospital deaths, which health policy seeks to reduce. We explore variation and trends in place of death from cancer within London between 2002 and 2007. Mortality data based on death certificates were used to define deaths from cancer at home, hospice, hospital and nursing home and examine trends over time for London. Proportions of deaths in each place were presented in maps for 31 London primary care trusts (PCTs). Funnel plots were used to identify consistent performance outside the control limits of three standard deviations. There was little overall change in place of death for London, but consistent variation between PCTs. Outer London PCTs had higher proportions of home deaths and inner London PCTs higher proportions of hospice deaths. Funnel plots identified consistent high outlying performance for home, hospice and hospital deaths. No PCT showed a change of 10% or more in home deaths, but five showed decreasing hospital deaths and three increasing hospice deaths. Maps and funnel plots appear useful for identifying areas with differing performance for home, hospital, nursing home and hospice deaths. These methods may help further investigation of how local services may successfully support deaths outside hospital. © The Author(s) 2011

Evaluation of flood hazard maps in print and web mapping services as information tools in flood risk communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagemeier-Klose, M.; Wagner, K.

2009-04-01

Flood risk communication with the general public and the population at risk is getting increasingly important for flood risk management, especially as a precautionary measure. This is also underlined by the EU Flood Directive. The flood related authorities therefore have to develop adjusted information tools which meet the demands of different user groups. This article presents the formative evaluation of flood hazard maps and web mapping services according to the specific requirements and needs of the general public using the dynamic-transactional approach as a theoretical framework. The evaluation was done by a mixture of different methods; an analysis of existing tools, a creative workshop with experts and laymen and an online survey. The currently existing flood hazard maps or web mapping services or web GIS still lack a good balance between simplicity and complexity with adequate readability and usability for the public. Well designed and associative maps (e.g. using blue colours for water depths) which can be compared with past local flood events and which can create empathy in viewers, can help to raise awareness, to heighten the activity and knowledge level or can lead to further information seeking. Concerning web mapping services, a linkage between general flood information like flood extents of different scenarios and corresponding water depths and real time information like gauge levels is an important demand by users. Gauge levels of these scenarios are easier to understand than the scientifically correct return periods or annualities. The recently developed Bavarian web mapping service tries to integrate these requirements.

Mapping forest tree species over large areas with partially cloudy Landsat imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turlej, K.; Radeloff, V.

2017-12-01

Forests provide numerous services to natural systems and humankind, but which services forest provide depends greatly on their tree species composition. That makes it important to track not only changes in forest extent, something that remote sensing excels in, but also to map tree species. The main goal of our work was to map tree species with Landsat imagery, and to identify how to maximize mapping accuracy by including partially cloudy imagery. Our study area covered one Landsat footprint (26/28) in Northern Wisconsin, USA, with temperate and boreal forests. We selected this area because it contains numerous tree species and variable forest composition providing an ideal study area to test the limits of Landsat data. We quantified how species-level classification accuracy was affected by a) the number of acquisitions, b) the seasonal distribution of observations, and c) the amount of cloud contamination. We classified a single year stack of Landsat-7, and -8 images data with a decision tree algorithm to generate a map of dominant tree species at the pixel- and stand-level. We obtained three important results. First, we achieved producer's accuracies in the range 70-80% and user's accuracies in range 80-90% for the most abundant tree species in our study area. Second, classification accuracy improved with more acquisitions, when observations were available from all seasons, and is the best when images with up to 40% cloud cover are included. Finally, classifications for pure stands were 10 to 30 percentage points better than those for mixed stands. We conclude that including partially cloudy Landsat imagery allows to map forest tree species with accuracies that were previously only possible for rare years with many cloud-free observations. Our approach thus provides important information for both forest management and science.

Land cover mapping with emphasis to burnt area delineation using co-orbital ALI and Landsat TM imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petropoulos, George P.; Kontoes, Charalambos C.; Keramitsoglou, Iphigenia

2012-08-01

In this study, the potential of EO-1 Advanced Land Imager (ALI) radiometer for land cover and especially burnt area mapping from a single image analysis is investigated. Co-orbital imagery from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) was also utilised for comparison purposes. Both images were acquired shortly after the suppression of a fire occurred during the summer of 2009 North-East of Athens, the capital of Greece. The Maximum Likelihood (ML), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) classifiers were parameterised and subsequently applied to the acquired satellite datasets. Evaluation of the land use/cover mapping accuracy was based on the error matrix statistics. Also, the McNemar test was used to evaluate the statistical significance of the differences between the approaches tested. Derived burnt area estimates were validated against the operationally deployed Services and Applications For Emergency Response (SAFER) Burnt Scar Mapping service. All classifiers applied to either ALI or TM imagery proved flexible enough to map land cover and also to extract the burnt area from other land surface types. The highest total classification accuracy and burnt area detection capability was returned from the application of SVMs to ALI data. This was due to the SVMs ability to identify an optimal separating hyperplane for best classes' separation that was able to better utilise ALI's advanced technological characteristics in comparison to those of TM sensor. This study is to our knowledge the first of its kind, effectively demonstrating the benefits of the combined application of SVMs to ALI data further implying that ALI technology may prove highly valuable in mapping burnt areas and land use/cover if it is incorporated into the development of Landsat 8 mission, planned to be launched in the coming years.

Surface Temperature Mapping of the University of Northern Iowa Campus Using High Resolution Thermal Infrared Aerial Imageries

PubMed Central

Savelyev, Alexander; Sugumaran, Ramanathan

2008-01-01

The goal of this project was to map the surface temperature of the University of Northern Iowa campus using high-resolution thermal infrared aerial imageries. A thermal camera with a spectral bandwidth of 3.0-5.0 μm was flown at the average altitude of 600 m, achieving ground resolution of 29 cm. Ground control data was used to construct the pixel- to-temperature conversion model, which was later used to produce temperature maps of the entire campus and also for validation of the model. The temperature map then was used to assess the building rooftop conditions and steam line faults in the study area. Assessment of the temperature map revealed a number of building structures that may be subject to insulation improvement due to their high surface temperatures leaks. Several hot spots were also identified on the campus for steam pipelines faults. High-resolution thermal infrared imagery proved highly effective tool for precise heat anomaly detection on the campus, and it can be used by university facility services for effective future maintenance of buildings and grounds. PMID:27873800

Assessment of training needs and preferences for geographic information systems (GIS) mapping in state comprehensive cancer-control programs.

PubMed

Hopfer, Suellen; Chadwick, Amy E; Parrott, Roxanne L; Ghetian, Christie B; Lengerich, Eugene J

2009-10-01

Geographic information systems (GIS) mapping technologies have potential to advance public health promotion by mapping regional differences in attributes (e.g., disease burden, environmental exposures, access to health care services) to suggest priorities for public health interventions. Training in GIS for comprehensive cancer control (CCC) has been overlooked. State CCC programs' GIS training needs were assessed by interviewing 49 state CCC directors. A majority perceived a need for GIS training, slightly more than half of state CCC programs had access to geocoded data, and the majority of programs did not require continuing education credits of their staff. CCC directors perceived judging maps and realizing their limitations as important skills and identified epidemiologists, CCC staff, public health officials, policy makers, and cancer coalition members as training audiences. They preferred in-class training sessions that last a few hours to a day. Lessons learned are shared to develop training programs with translatable GIS skills for CCC.

A National Approach for Mapping and Quantifying Habitat-based Biodiversity Metrics Across Multiple Spatial Scales

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services, i.e., "services provided to humans from natural systems," have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national inte...

Identification of Vape Shops in Two North Carolina Counties: An Approach for States without Retailer Licensing.

PubMed

Lee, Joseph G L; D'Angelo, Heather; Kuteh, Jaleel D; Martin, Ryan J

2016-10-27

Stores that sell electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as their primary product are a new phenomenon and often termed "vape shops". While vape shops are now regulated by state and federal agencies, not all states maintain lists of vape shops in operation. Standard ways of identifying tobacco retailers through off-premise alcohol permits and business listing services may not identify vape shops. We used four online business listing services (i.e., Google Maps, ReferenceUSA, YellowPages.com, Yelp) to identify vape shops in two counties in North Carolina (NC). In one county, we also assessed four vaping web sites. We drove primary and secondary roads to physically validate the identified stores and attempt to identify stores not listed online. To assess the accuracy of the online searches, we calculated sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPVs). This research was conducted in spring and summer 2016 and identified 28 vape shops online. We confirmed 16 vape shops (seven in Pitt County, NC, USA, and nine in Durham County, NC, USA). Online searches ranged in sensitivity, 62.5%-81.3%, and PPVs ranged from 73.3% to 92.3%. Because of the range of sensitivity found among the business listing services, state policymakers should consider uniform licensing requirements for vape and tobacco retailers to more easily track retailers and ensure compliance with regulations.

Identification of Vape Shops in Two North Carolina Counties: An Approach for States without Retailer Licensing

PubMed Central

Lee, Joseph G. L.; D’Angelo, Heather; Kuteh, Jaleel D.; Martin, Ryan J.

2016-01-01

Stores that sell electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as their primary product are a new phenomenon and often termed “vape shops”. While vape shops are now regulated by state and federal agencies, not all states maintain lists of vape shops in operation. Standard ways of identifying tobacco retailers through off-premise alcohol permits and business listing services may not identify vape shops. We used four online business listing services (i.e., Google Maps, ReferenceUSA, YellowPages.com, Yelp) to identify vape shops in two counties in North Carolina (NC). In one county, we also assessed four vaping web sites. We drove primary and secondary roads to physically validate the identified stores and attempt to identify stores not listed online. To assess the accuracy of the online searches, we calculated sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPVs). This research was conducted in spring and summer 2016 and identified 28 vape shops online. We confirmed 16 vape shops (seven in Pitt County, NC, USA, and nine in Durham County, NC, USA). Online searches ranged in sensitivity, 62.5%–81.3%, and PPVs ranged from 73.3% to 92.3%. Because of the range of sensitivity found among the business listing services, state policymakers should consider uniform licensing requirements for vape and tobacco retailers to more easily track retailers and ensure compliance with regulations. PMID:27801793

Modern Data Center Services Supporting Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varner, J. D.; Cartwright, J.; McLean, S. J.; Boucher, J.; Neufeld, D.; LaRocque, J.; Fischman, D.; McQuinn, E.; Fugett, C.

2011-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) World Data Center for Geophysics and Marine Geology provides scientific stewardship, products and services for geophysical data, including bathymetry, gravity, magnetics, seismic reflection, data derived from sediment and rock samples, as well as historical natural hazards data (tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes). Although NGDC has long made many of its datasets available through map and other web services, it has now developed a second generation of services to improve the discovery and access to data. These new services use off-the-shelf commercial and open source software, and take advantage of modern JavaScript and web application frameworks. Services are accessible using both RESTful and SOAP queries as well as Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard protocols such as WMS, WFS, WCS, and KML. These new map services (implemented using ESRI ArcGIS Server) are finer-grained than their predecessors, feature improved cartography, and offer dramatic speed improvements through the use of map caches. Using standards-based interfaces allows customers to incorporate the services without having to coordinate with the provider. Providing fine-grained services increases flexibility for customers building custom applications. The Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping program and Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning program are two examples of national initiatives that require common data inventories from multiple sources and benefit from these modern data services. NGDC is also consuming its own services, providing a set of new browser-based mapping applications which allow the user to quickly visualize and search for data. One example is a new interactive mapping application to search and display information about historical natural hazards. NGDC continues to increase the amount of its data holdings that are accessible and is augmenting the capabilities with modern web application frameworks such as Groovy and Grails. Data discovery is being improved and simplified by leveraging ISO metadata standards along with ESRI Geoportal Server.

NaviCell Web Service for network-based data visualization.

PubMed

Bonnet, Eric; Viara, Eric; Kuperstein, Inna; Calzone, Laurence; Cohen, David P A; Barillot, Emmanuel; Zinovyev, Andrei

2015-07-01

Data visualization is an essential element of biological research, required for obtaining insights and formulating new hypotheses on mechanisms of health and disease. NaviCell Web Service is a tool for network-based visualization of 'omics' data which implements several data visual representation methods and utilities for combining them together. NaviCell Web Service uses Google Maps and semantic zooming to browse large biological network maps, represented in various formats, together with different types of the molecular data mapped on top of them. For achieving this, the tool provides standard heatmaps, barplots and glyphs as well as the novel map staining technique for grasping large-scale trends in numerical values (such as whole transcriptome) projected onto a pathway map. The web service provides a server mode, which allows automating visualization tasks and retrieving data from maps via RESTful (standard HTTP) calls. Bindings to different programming languages are provided (Python and R). We illustrate the purpose of the tool with several case studies using pathway maps created by different research groups, in which data visualization provides new insights into molecular mechanisms involved in systemic diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

NaviCell Web Service for network-based data visualization

PubMed Central

Bonnet, Eric; Viara, Eric; Kuperstein, Inna; Calzone, Laurence; Cohen, David P. A.; Barillot, Emmanuel; Zinovyev, Andrei

2015-01-01

Data visualization is an essential element of biological research, required for obtaining insights and formulating new hypotheses on mechanisms of health and disease. NaviCell Web Service is a tool for network-based visualization of ‘omics’ data which implements several data visual representation methods and utilities for combining them together. NaviCell Web Service uses Google Maps and semantic zooming to browse large biological network maps, represented in various formats, together with different types of the molecular data mapped on top of them. For achieving this, the tool provides standard heatmaps, barplots and glyphs as well as the novel map staining technique for grasping large-scale trends in numerical values (such as whole transcriptome) projected onto a pathway map. The web service provides a server mode, which allows automating visualization tasks and retrieving data from maps via RESTful (standard HTTP) calls. Bindings to different programming languages are provided (Python and R). We illustrate the purpose of the tool with several case studies using pathway maps created by different research groups, in which data visualization provides new insights into molecular mechanisms involved in systemic diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. PMID:25958393

Rural and remote dental services shortages: filling the gaps through geo-spatial analysis evidence-based targeting.

PubMed

Shiika, Yulia; Kruger, Estie; Tennant, Marc

Australia has a significant mal-distribution of its limited dental workforce. Outside the major capital cities, the distribution of accessible dental care is at best patchy. This study applied geo-spatial analysis technology to locate gaps in dental service accessibility for rural and remote dwelling Australians, in order to test the hypothesis that there are a few key location points in Australia where further dental services could make a significant contribution to ameliorating the immediate shortage crisis. A total of 2,086 dental practices were located in country areas, covering a combined catchment area of 1.84 million square kilometers, based on 50 km catchment zones around each clinic. Geo-spatial analysis technology was used to identify gaps in the accessibility of dental services for rural and remote dwelling Australians. An extraction of data was obtained to analyse the integrated geographically-aligned database. Results: Resolution of the lack of dental practices for 74 townships (of greater than 500 residents) across Australia could potentially address access for 104,000 people. An examination of the socio-economic mix found that the majority of the dental practices (84%) are located in areas classified as less disadvantaged. Output from the study provided a cohesive national map that has identified locations that could have health improvement via the targeting of dental services to that location. The study identified potential location sites for dental clinics, to address the current inequity in accessing dental services in rural and remote Australia.

Assessment of marine ecosystem services indicators: Experiences and lessons learned from 14 European case studies.

PubMed

Lillebø, Ana I; Somma, Francesca; Norén, Katja; Gonçalves, Jorge; Alves, M Fátima; Ballarini, Elisabetta; Bentes, Luis; Bielecka, Malgorzata; Chubarenko, Boris V; Heise, Susanne; Khokhlov, Valeriy; Klaoudatos, Dimitris; Lloret, Javier; Margonski, Piotr; Marín, Atucha; Matczak, Magdalena; Oen, Amy Mp; Palmieri, Maria G; Przedrzymirska, Joanna; Różyński, Grzegorz; Sousa, Ana I; Sousa, Lisa P; Tuchkovenko, Yurii; Zaucha, Jacek

2016-10-01

This article shares the experiences, observations, and discussions that occurred during the completing of an ecosystem services (ES) indicator framework to be used at European Union (EU) and Member States' level. The experience base was drawn from 3 European research projects and 14 associated case study sites that include 13 transitional-water bodies (specifically 8 coastal lagoons, 4 riverine estuaries, and 1 fjord) and 1 coastal-water ecosystem. The ES pertinent to each case study site were identified along with indicators of these ES and data sources that could be used for mapping. During the process, several questions and uncertainties arose, followed by discussion, leading to these main lessons learned: 1) ES identification: Some ES that do not seem important at the European scale emerge as relevant at regional or local scales; 2) ES indicators: When direct indicators are not available, proxies for indicators (indirect indicators) might be used, including combined data on monitoring requirements imposed by EU legislation and international agreements; 3) ES mapping: Boundaries and appropriate data spatial resolution must be established because ES can be mapped at different temporal and spatial scales. We also acknowledge that mapping and assessment of ES supports the dialogue between human well-being and ecological status. From an evidence-based marine planning-process point of view, mapping and assessment of marine ES are of paramount importance to sustainable use of marine natural capital and to halt the loss of marine biodiversity. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:726-734. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Towards Infusing Giovanni with a Semantic and Provenance Aware Visualization System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Rio, N.; Pinheiro da Silva, P.; Leptoukh, G. G.; Lynnes, C.

2011-12-01

Giovanni is a Web-based application developed by GES DISC that provides simple and intuitive ways to visualize, analyze, and access vast amounts of Earth science remote sensed data. Currently, the Giovanni visualization module is only aware of the physical links (i.e., hard-coded) between data and services and consequently cannot be easily adapted to new visualization scenarios. VisKo, a semantically enabled visualization framework, can be leveraged by Giovanni as a semantic bridge between data and visualization. VisKo relates data and visualization services at conceptual (i.e., ontological) levels and relies on reasoning systems to leverage the conceptual relationships to automatically infer physical links, facilitating an adaptable environment for new visualization scenarios. This is particularly useful for Giovanni, which has been constantly retrofitted with new visualization software packages to keep up with advancement in visualization capabilities. During our prototype integration of Giovanni with VisKo, a number of future steps were identified that if implemented could cement the integration and promote our prototype to operational status. A number of integration issues arose including the mediation of different languages used by each system to characterize datasets; VisKo relies on semantic data characterization to "match-up" data with visualization processes. It was necessary to identify mappings between Giovanni XML provenance and Proof Markup Language, which is understood by VisKo. Although a translator was implemented based on identified mappings, a more elegant solution is to develop a domain data ontology specific to Giovanni and to "align" this ontology with PML, enabling VisKo to directly ingest the semantic descriptions of Giovanni data. Additionally, the relationship between dataset components (e.g., variables and attributes) and visualization plot components (e.g., geometries, axes, titles) should also be modeled. In Giovanni, meta-data descriptions are used to configure the different properties of the plots such as titles, color-tables, and variable-to-axis bindings. Giovanni services rely on a set of custom attributes and naming conventions that help identify the relationships between dataset components and plot properties. VisKo visualization services however are generic modules that do not rely on any domain specific conventions for identifying relationships between dataset attributes and plot configuration. Rather, VisKo services rely on parameters to configure specific behaviors of the generic services. The relationship between VisKo parameters and plot properties however has yet to formally documented, partly because VisKo regards plots as holistic entities without any internal structure from which to relate parameters. We understand the need for a visualization plot ontology that defines plot components, their retinal properties, such as position and color, and the relationship between the plot properties to controlling service parameter sets. The plot ontology would also be linked to our domain data ontology, providing VisKo with the comprehensive understanding about how data attributes can cue the configuration of plots, and how a specific plot configuration relates to service parameters.

Acknowledgments & Citation | USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Science.gov Websites

USDA Logo Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture Mapping by PRISM , 2012. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Accessed from http

Contact USDA-ARS | USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Science.gov Websites

USDA Logo Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture Mapping by PRISM / Help / Contact USDA-ARS Topics How to Use This Website Contact USDA-ARS Contact USDA Agricultural Mapping, please contact the USDA Agricultural Research Service by sending an e-mail to phzm@ars.usda.gov

Cost-effectiveness of dryland forest restoration evaluated by spatial analysis of ecosystem services

PubMed Central

Birch, Jennifer C.; Newton, Adrian C.; Aquino, Claudia Alvarez; Cantarello, Elena; Echeverría, Cristian; Kitzberger, Thomas; Schiappacasse, Ignacio; Garavito, Natalia Tejedor

2010-01-01

Although ecological restoration is widely used to combat environmental degradation, very few studies have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of this approach. We examine the potential impact of forest restoration on the value of multiple ecosystem services across four dryland areas in Latin America, by estimating the net value of ecosystem service benefits under different reforestation scenarios. The values of selected ecosystem services were mapped under each scenario, supported by the use of a spatially explicit model of forest dynamics. We explored the economic potential of a change in land use from livestock grazing to restored native forest using different discount rates and performed a cost–benefit analysis of three restoration scenarios. Results show that passive restoration is cost-effective for all study areas on the basis of the services analyzed, whereas the benefits from active restoration are generally outweighed by the relatively high costs involved. These findings were found to be relatively insensitive to discount rate but were sensitive to the market value of carbon. Substantial variation in values was recorded between study areas, demonstrating that ecosystem service values are strongly context specific. However, spatial analysis enabled localized areas of net benefits to be identified, indicating the value of this approach for identifying the relative costs and benefits of restoration interventions across a landscape. PMID:21106761

Cost-effectiveness of dryland forest restoration evaluated by spatial analysis of ecosystem services.

PubMed

Birch, Jennifer C; Newton, Adrian C; Aquino, Claudia Alvarez; Cantarello, Elena; Echeverría, Cristian; Kitzberger, Thomas; Schiappacasse, Ignacio; Garavito, Natalia Tejedor

2010-12-14

Although ecological restoration is widely used to combat environmental degradation, very few studies have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of this approach. We examine the potential impact of forest restoration on the value of multiple ecosystem services across four dryland areas in Latin America, by estimating the net value of ecosystem service benefits under different reforestation scenarios. The values of selected ecosystem services were mapped under each scenario, supported by the use of a spatially explicit model of forest dynamics. We explored the economic potential of a change in land use from livestock grazing to restored native forest using different discount rates and performed a cost-benefit analysis of three restoration scenarios. Results show that passive restoration is cost-effective for all study areas on the basis of the services analyzed, whereas the benefits from active restoration are generally outweighed by the relatively high costs involved. These findings were found to be relatively insensitive to discount rate but were sensitive to the market value of carbon. Substantial variation in values was recorded between study areas, demonstrating that ecosystem service values are strongly context specific. However, spatial analysis enabled localized areas of net benefits to be identified, indicating the value of this approach for identifying the relative costs and benefits of restoration interventions across a landscape.

Tribal Boundaries, U.S., 2014, EPA/OAR/OAQPS/AQAD

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This web service contains a layer depicting the union of TigerWEB AIANNHA map service layers 2 (Federal American Indian Reservations) and 3 (Off-Reservation Trust Lands) located at https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/AIANNHA/MapServerFederal (federal AIRs) are areas that have been set aside by the United States for the use of tribes, the exterior boundaries of which are more particularly defined in the final tribal treaties, agreements, executive orders, federal statutes, secretarial orders, or judicial determinations. The Bureau of Indian Affairs maintains a list of all federally recognized tribal governments and makes final determination of the inventory federal AIRs. The Census Bureau recognizes federal reservations (and associated off-reservation trust lands) as territory over which American Indian tribes have primary governmental authority. American Indian reservations can be legally described as colonies, communities, Indian colonies, Indian communities, Indian rancheria, Indian reservations, Indian villages, pueblos, rancherias, ranches, reservations, reserves, settlements, or villages. The Census Bureau contacts representatives of American Indian tribal governments to identify the boundaries for federal reservations through its annual Boundary and Annexation Survey. Federal reservations may cross state and all other area boundaries.State (state AIRs) are reservations established by some state governments for tribes recognized by

Mapping Urban Tree Canopy Coverage and Structure using Data Fusion of High Resolution Satellite Imagery and Aerial Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmes, A.; Rogan, J.; Williams, C. A.; Martin, D. G.; Ratick, S.; Nowak, D.

2015-12-01

Urban tree canopy (UTC) coverage is a critical component of sustainable urban areas. Trees provide a number of important ecosystem services, including air pollution mitigation, water runoff control, and aesthetic and cultural values. Critically, urban trees also act to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect by shading impervious surfaces and via evaporative cooling. The cooling effect of urban trees can be seen locally, with individual trees reducing home HVAC costs, and at a citywide scale, reducing the extent and magnitude of an urban areas UHI. In order to accurately model the ecosystem services of a given urban forest, it is essential to map in detail the condition and composition of these trees at a fine scale, capturing individual tree crowns and their vertical structure. This paper presents methods for delineating UTC and measuring canopy structure at fine spatial resolution (<1m). These metrics are essential for modeling the HVAC benefits from UTC for individual homes, and for assessing the ecosystem services for entire urban areas. Such maps have previously been made using a variety of methods, typically relying on high resolution aerial or satellite imagery. This paper seeks to contribute to this growing body of methods, relying on a data fusion method to combine the information contained in high resolution WorldView-3 satellite imagery and aerial lidar data using an object-based image classification approach. The study area, Worcester, MA, has recently undergone a large-scale tree removal and reforestation program, following a pest eradication effort. Therefore, the urban canopy in this location provides a wide mix of tree age class and functional type, ideal for illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Early results show that the object-based classifier is indeed capable of identifying individual tree crowns, while continued research will focus on extracting crown structural characteristics using lidar-derived metrics. Ultimately, the resulting fine resolution UTC map will be compared with previously created UTC maps of the same area but for earlier dates, producing a canopy change map corresponding to the Worcester area tree removal and replanting effort.

Geotechnical Evaluation of the Brownsville Levee Cracking and Partial Slope Failure

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

Service, Palo Alto Battlefield, Palo Alto, TX, for early historic map data. The discussion that follows presents various forms of historical information...properties for use in the geotechnical analysis. CPT data were used to identify a riverbank and a levee formed of mainly fine-grained, low shear strength...size, mineralogy, consistency, stiffness, presence of mottling, occurrence of concretions, organics, fossils , buried soil horizons, and other

Single-edition quadrangle maps

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1998-01-01

In August 1993, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Mapping Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service signed an Interagency Agreement to begin a single-edition joint mapping program. This agreement established the coordination for producing and maintaining single-edition primary series topographic maps for quadrangles containing National Forest System lands. The joint mapping program saves money by eliminating duplication of effort by the agencies and results in a more frequent revision cycle for quadrangles containing national forests. Maps are revised on the basis of jointly developed standards and contain normal features mapped by the USGS, as well as additional features required for efficient management of National Forest System lands. Single-edition maps look slightly different but meet the content, accuracy, and quality criteria of other USGS products. The Forest Service is responsible for the land management of more than 191 million acres of land throughout the continental United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, including 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. These areas make up the National Forest System lands and comprise more than 10,600 of the 56,000 primary series 7.5-minute quadrangle maps (15-minute in Alaska) covering the United States. The Forest Service has assumed responsibility for maintaining these maps, and the USGS remains responsible for printing and distributing them. Before the agreement, both agencies published similar maps of the same areas. The maps were used for different purposes, but had comparable types of features that were revised at different times. Now, the two products have been combined into one so that the revision cycle is stabilized and only one agency revises the maps, thus increasing the number of current maps available for National Forest System lands. This agreement has improved service to the public by requiring that the agencies share the same maps and that the maps meet a common standard, as well as by significantly reducing duplication of effort.

[Land use and land cover charnge (LUCC) and landscape service: Evaluation, mapping and modeling].

PubMed

Song, Zhang-jian; Cao, Yu; Tan, Yong-zhong; Chen, Xiao-dong; Chen, Xian-peng

2015-05-01

Studies on ecosystem service from landscape scale aspect have received increasing attention from researchers all over the world. Compared with ecosystem scale, it should be more suitable to explore the influence of human activities on land use and land cover change (LUCC), and to interpret the mechanisms and processes of sustainable landscape dynamics on landscape scale. Based on comprehensive and systematic analysis of researches on landscape service, this paper firstly discussed basic concepts and classification of landscape service. Then, methods of evaluation, mapping and modeling of landscape service were analyzed and concluded. Finally, future trends for the research on landscape service were proposed. It was put forward that, exploring further connotation and classification system of landscape service, improving methods and quantitative indicators for evaluation, mapping and modelling of landscape service, carrying out long-term integrated researches on landscape pattern-process-service-scale relationships and enhancing the applications of theories and methods on landscape economics and landscape ecology are very important fields of the research on landscape service in future.

EUDAT B2FIND : A Cross-Discipline Metadata Service and Discovery Portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widmann, Heinrich; Thiemann, Hannes

2016-04-01

The European Data Infrastructure (EUDAT) project aims at a pan-European environment that supports a variety of multiple research communities and individuals to manage the rising tide of scientific data by advanced data management technologies. This led to the establishment of the community-driven Collaborative Data Infrastructure that implements common data services and storage resources to tackle the basic requirements and the specific challenges of international and interdisciplinary research data management. The metadata service B2FIND plays a central role in this context by providing a simple and user-friendly discovery portal to find research data collections stored in EUDAT data centers or in other repositories. For this we store the diverse metadata collected from heterogeneous sources in a comprehensive joint metadata catalogue and make them searchable in an open data portal. The implemented metadata ingestion workflow consists of three steps. First the metadata records - provided either by various research communities or via other EUDAT services - are harvested. Afterwards the raw metadata records are converted and mapped to unified key-value dictionaries as specified by the B2FIND schema. The semantic mapping of the non-uniform, community specific metadata to homogenous structured datasets is hereby the most subtle and challenging task. To assure and improve the quality of the metadata this mapping process is accompanied by • iterative and intense exchange with the community representatives, • usage of controlled vocabularies and community specific ontologies and • formal and semantic validation. Finally the mapped and checked records are uploaded as datasets to the catalogue, which is based on the open source data portal software CKAN. CKAN provides a rich RESTful JSON API and uses SOLR for dataset indexing that enables users to query and search in the catalogue. The homogenization of the community specific data models and vocabularies enables not only the unique presentation of these datasets as tables of field-value pairs but also the faceted, spatial and temporal search in the B2FIND metadata portal. Furthermore the service provides transparent access to the scientific data objects through the given references and identifiers in the metadata. B2FIND offers support for new communities interested in publishing their data within EUDAT. We present here the functionality and the features of the B2FIND service and give an outlook of further developments as interfaces to external libraries and use of Linked Data.

ESA Sentinel-1 Mission and Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Floury, Nicolas; Attema, Evert; Davidson, Malcolm; Levrini, Guido; Rommen, Björn; Rosich, Betlem; Snoeij, Paul

The global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) space component relies on existing and planned space assets by European States, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as new complementary developments by ESA. The new developments are implemented in terms of five families of satellites called Sentinels. The Sentinel-1 mission is an imaging synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mission at C-band designed to supply all-weather day-and-night imagery to a number of operational Earth observation based services. Three priorities (fasttrack services) for the mission have been identified by user consultation working groups of the European Union: Marine Core Services, Land Monitoring and Emergency Services. These cover applications such as: - monitoring sea ice zones and the arctic environment, - surveillance of marine environment, - monitoring land surface motion risks, - mapping of land surfaces: forest, water and soil, agriculture, - mapping in support of humanitarian aid in crisis situations. Sentinel-1 has been designed to address medium resolution applications. It includes a main mode of operation that features a wide swath (250 km) and a medium resolution (5 m x 20 m). The two-satellite constellation offers six days exact repeat and the conflict-free operations based on the main operational mode allow exploiting every single data take. This paper describes the Sentinel-1 mission, provides an overview of the mission requirements, and presents some of the key user driven information products, the crucial requirements for operational sustainable services being continuity of data supply, frequent revisit, geographical coverage and timeliness. As data products from the Agency‘s successful ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat missions form the basis for many of the pilot GMES services, Sentinel-1 data products need to maintain and in some ways to improve data quality levels of the Agency‘s previous SAR missions. Based on mission analysis work in preparation of Sentinel-1, this paper presents the results of investigations on the impact of some of the new mission and system requirements (such as spatial and radiometric resolution, calibration accuracy, revisit, . . . ) on the accuracy of key information products (wind speed measurement, ship detection, flood mapping, rice crop monitoring, soil moisture measurement, forest mapping, land surface movement measurement, . . . ).

Mapping large-area landscape suitability for honey bees to assess the influence of land-use change on sustainability of national pollination services.

PubMed

Gallant, Alisa L; Euliss, Ned H; Browning, Zac

2014-01-01

Pollination is a critical ecosystem service affected by various drivers of land-use change, such as policies and programs aimed at land resources, market values for crop commodities, local land-management decisions, and shifts in climate. The United States is the world's most active market for pollination services by honey bees, and the Northern Great Plains provide the majority of bee colonies used to meet the Nation's annual pollination needs. Legislation requiring increased production of biofuel crops, increasing commodity prices for crops of little nutritional value for bees in the Northern Great Plains, and reductions in government programs aimed at promoting land conservation are converging to alter the regional landscape in ways that challenge beekeepers to provide adequate numbers of hives for national pollination services. We developed a spatially explicit model that identifies sites with the potential to support large apiaries based on local-scale land-cover requirements for honey bees. We produced maps of potential apiary locations for North Dakota, a leading producer of honey, based on land-cover maps representing (1) an annual time series compiled from existing operational products and (2) a realistic scenario of land change. We found that existing land-cover products lack sufficient local accuracy to monitor actual changes in landscape suitability for honey bees, but our model proved informative for evaluating effects on suitability under scenarios of land change. The scenario we implemented was aligned with current drivers of land-use change in the Northern Great Plains and highlighted the importance of conservation lands in landscapes intensively and extensively managed for crops.

Mapping large-area landscape suitability for honey bees to assess the influence of land-use change on sustainability of national pollination services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gallant, Alisa L.; Euliss, Ned H.; Browning, Zac

2014-01-01

Pollination is a critical ecosystem service affected by various drivers of land-use change, such as policies and programs aimed at land resources, market values for crop commodities, local land-management decisions, and shifts in climate. The United States is the world's most active market for pollination services by honey bees, and the Northern Great Plains provide the majority of bee colonies used to meet the Nation's annual pollination needs. Legislation requiring increased production of biofuel crops, increasing commodity prices for crops of little nutritional value for bees in the Northern Great Plains, and reductions in government programs aimed at promoting land conservation are converging to alter the regional landscape in ways that challenge beekeepers to provide adequate numbers of hives for national pollination services. We developed a spatially explicit model that identifies sites with the potential to support large apiaries based on local-scale land-cover requirements for honey bees. We produced maps of potential apiary locations for North Dakota, a leading producer of honey, based on land-cover maps representing (1) an annual time series compiled from existing operational products and (2) a realistic scenario of land change. We found that existing land-cover products lack sufficient local accuracy to monitor actual changes in landscape suitability for honey bees, but our model proved informative for evaluating effects on suitability under scenarios of land change. The scenario we implemented was aligned with current drivers of land-use change in the Northern Great Plains and highlighted the importance of conservation lands in landscapes intensively and extensively managed for crops.

Mapping Large-Area Landscape Suitability for Honey Bees to Assess the Influence of Land-Use Change on Sustainability of National Pollination Services

PubMed Central

Gallant, Alisa L.; Euliss, Ned H.; Browning, Zac

2014-01-01

Pollination is a critical ecosystem service affected by various drivers of land-use change, such as policies and programs aimed at land resources, market values for crop commodities, local land-management decisions, and shifts in climate. The United States is the world's most active market for pollination services by honey bees, and the Northern Great Plains provide the majority of bee colonies used to meet the Nation's annual pollination needs. Legislation requiring increased production of biofuel crops, increasing commodity prices for crops of little nutritional value for bees in the Northern Great Plains, and reductions in government programs aimed at promoting land conservation are converging to alter the regional landscape in ways that challenge beekeepers to provide adequate numbers of hives for national pollination services. We developed a spatially explicit model that identifies sites with the potential to support large apiaries based on local-scale land-cover requirements for honey bees. We produced maps of potential apiary locations for North Dakota, a leading producer of honey, based on land-cover maps representing (1) an annual time series compiled from existing operational products and (2) a realistic scenario of land change. We found that existing land-cover products lack sufficient local accuracy to monitor actual changes in landscape suitability for honey bees, but our model proved informative for evaluating effects on suitability under scenarios of land change. The scenario we implemented was aligned with current drivers of land-use change in the Northern Great Plains and highlighted the importance of conservation lands in landscapes intensively and extensively managed for crops. PMID:24919181

Google Maps: You Are Here

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobsen, Mikael

2008-01-01

Librarians use online mapping services such as Google Maps, MapQuest, Yahoo Maps, and others to check traffic conditions, find local businesses, and provide directions. However, few libraries are using one of Google Maps most outstanding applications, My Maps, for the creation of enhanced and interactive multimedia maps. My Maps is a simple and…

Mapping the Early Intervention System in Ontario, Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Kathryn

2012-01-01

This study documents the wide range of early intervention services across the province of Ontario. The services are mapped across the province showing geographic information as well as the scope of services (clinical, family-based, resource support, etc.), the range of early intervention professionals, sources of funding and the populations served…

Quantifying and Mapping the Supply of and Demand for Carbon Storage and Sequestration Service from Urban Trees.

PubMed

Zhao, Chang; Sander, Heather A

2015-01-01

Studies that assess the distribution of benefits provided by ecosystem services across urban areas are increasingly common. Nevertheless, current knowledge of both the supply and demand sides of ecosystem services remains limited, leaving a gap in our understanding of balance between ecosystem service supply and demand that restricts our ability to assess and manage these services. The present study seeks to fill this gap by developing and applying an integrated approach to quantifying the supply and demand of a key ecosystem service, carbon storage and sequestration, at the local level. This approach follows three basic steps: (1) quantifying and mapping service supply based upon Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) processing and allometric models, (2) quantifying and mapping demand for carbon sequestration using an indicator based on local anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and (3) mapping a supply-to-demand ratio. We illustrate this approach using a portion of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota, USA. Our results indicate that 1735.69 million kg carbon are stored by urban trees in our study area. Annually, 33.43 million kg carbon are sequestered by trees, whereas 3087.60 million kg carbon are emitted by human sources. Thus, carbon sequestration service provided by urban trees in the study location play a minor role in combating climate change, offsetting approximately 1% of local anthropogenic carbon emissions per year, although avoided emissions via storage in trees are substantial. Our supply-to-demand ratio map provides insight into the balance between carbon sequestration supply in urban trees and demand for such sequestration at the local level, pinpointing critical locations where higher levels of supply and demand exist. Such a ratio map could help planners and policy makers to assess and manage the supply of and demand for carbon sequestration.

Dam-breach analysis and flood-inundation mapping for selected dams in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and near Atoka, Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shivers, Molly J.; Smith, S. Jerrod; Grout, Trevor S.; Lewis, Jason M.

2015-01-01

Digital-elevation models, field survey measurements, hydraulic data, and hydrologic data (U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations North Canadian River below Lake Overholser near Oklahoma City, Okla. [07241000], and North Canadian River at Britton Road at Oklahoma City, Okla. [07241520]), were used as inputs for the one-dimensional dynamic (unsteady-flow) models using Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis System (HEC–RAS) software. The modeled flood elevations were exported to a geographic information system to produce flood-inundation maps. Water-surface profiles were developed for a 75-percent probable maximum flood dam-breach scenario and a sunny-day dam-breach scenario, as well as for maximum flood-inundation elevations and flood-wave arrival times at selected bridge crossings. Points of interest such as community-services offices, recreational areas, water-treatment plants, and wastewater-treatment plants were identified on the flood-inundation maps.

Defining community readiness for the implementation of a system of care.

PubMed

Behar, Lenore B; Hydaker, William M

2009-11-01

Developing systems of care for children with emotional disorders requires changes in the organization and delivery of services. Using concept mapping, the authors conducted a study to define factors of a community's readiness to make such changes. Participants were from 25 of 27 federally-funded, advanced sites, plus a panel of experts. The participants completed three tasks: brainstorming, rating, and sorting. This process produced eight factors: Leadership, Network of Local Partners, Shared Goals, Collaboration, Families and Youth as Partners, Accountability, Evaluation, and Plans to Expand Services. Understanding factors that contribute to successful implementation should help communities identify and make needed changes.

The status of soil mapping for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olson, G.L.; Lee, R.D.; Jeppesen, D.J.

This report discusses the production of a revised version of the general soil map of the 2304-km{sup 2} (890-mi{sup 2}) Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) site in southeastern Idaho and the production of a geographic information system (GIS) soil map and supporting database. The revised general soil map replaces an INEL soil map produced in 1978 and incorporates the most current information on INEL soils. The general soil map delineates large soil associations based on National Resources Conservation Services [formerly the Soil Conservation Service (SCS)] principles of soil mapping. The GIS map incorporates detailed information that could not be presentedmore » on the general soil map and is linked to a database that contains the soil map unit descriptions, surficial geology codes, and other pertinent information.« less

Improving fMRI reliability in presurgical mapping for brain tumours.

PubMed

Stevens, M Tynan R; Clarke, David B; Stroink, Gerhard; Beyea, Steven D; D'Arcy, Ryan Cn

2016-03-01

Functional MRI (fMRI) is becoming increasingly integrated into clinical practice for presurgical mapping. Current efforts are focused on validating data quality, with reliability being a major factor. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of a recently developed approach that uses receiver operating characteristic-reliability (ROC-r) to: (1) identify reliable versus unreliable data sets; (2) automatically select processing options to enhance data quality; and (3) automatically select individualised thresholds for activation maps. Presurgical fMRI was conducted in 16 patients undergoing surgical treatment for brain tumours. Within-session test-retest fMRI was conducted, and ROC-reliability of the patient group was compared to a previous healthy control cohort. Individually optimised preprocessing pipelines were determined to improve reliability. Spatial correspondence was assessed by comparing the fMRI results to intraoperative cortical stimulation mapping, in terms of the distance to the nearest active fMRI voxel. The average ROC-r reliability for the patients was 0.58±0.03, as compared to 0.72±0.02 in healthy controls. For the patient group, this increased significantly to 0.65±0.02 by adopting optimised preprocessing pipelines. Co-localisation of the fMRI maps with cortical stimulation was significantly better for more reliable versus less reliable data sets (8.3±0.9 vs 29±3 mm, respectively). We demonstrated ROC-r analysis for identifying reliable fMRI data sets, choosing optimal postprocessing pipelines, and selecting patient-specific thresholds. Data sets with higher reliability also showed closer spatial correspondence to cortical stimulation. ROC-r can thus identify poor fMRI data at time of scanning, allowing for repeat scans when necessary. ROC-r analysis provides optimised and automated fMRI processing for improved presurgical mapping. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Factors that influence the implementation of dietary guidelines regarding food provision in centre based childcare services: A systematic review.

PubMed

Seward, Kirsty; Finch, Meghan; Yoong, Sze Lin; Wyse, Rebecca; Jones, Jannah; Grady, Alice; Wiggers, John; Nathan, Nicole; Conte, Kathleen; Wolfenden, Luke

2017-12-01

Children attending centre based childcare services consume as much as two thirds of their daily dietary requirements while in care. However, such services often fail to provide foods that are consistent with guideline recommendations. Developing strategies to improve childcare service adherence to menu dietary guidelines requires a comprehensive understanding of factors that may impede or promote implementation. The primary aim of this systematic review is to describe factors (barriers and facilitators) that may influence the implementation of menu dietary guidelines regarding food provision in centre-based childcare services and to map these factors to a theoretical framework. Over 7000 citations were identified from all sources. Duplicate abstracts were removed and selection criteria applied. Twelve studies (1994-2015) were included in the review. Dual data extraction was conducted and the reported factors were synthesised using the theoretical domains framework (TDF). Barriers and facilitators identified in qualitative studies were classified into 8 and 10 of the 14 TDF domains. Barriers and facilitators reported in quantitative studies covered 6 and 3 TDF domains respectively. The most common domain of which both barriers and facilitators to the implementation of menu dietary guidelines were identified was 'environmental context and resources'. This is the first study that comprehensively assesses literature to identify factors that influence the implementation of menu dietary guidelines in childcare services utilising a theoretical framework. Findings provide guidance to support researchers and policy makers design strategies to improve menu dietary guideline implementation and, as such have the potential to improve food provision in care. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mapping Civic Engagement: A Case Study of Service-Learning in Appalachia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Jessica; Casebeer, Daniel

2016-01-01

This study uses social cartography to map student perceptions of a co-curricular service-learning project in an impoverished rural community. As a complement to narrative discourse, mapping provides an opportunity to visualize not only the spatial nature of the educational experience but also, in this case, the benefits of civic engagement. The…

78 FR 56650 - Boundary Description and Final Map for Roaring Wild and Scenic River, Mount Hood National Forest...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-13

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Boundary Description and Final Map for Roaring Wild and... availability. SUMMARY: In accordance with section 3(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the USDA Forest Service, Washington Office, is transmitting the final boundary description and map of the Roaring Wild and...

Agricultural Census 2012: Publishing Mashable GIS Big Data Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, R.

2014-12-01

The 2012 Agricultural Census was released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 2nd 2014; published on a quinquennial basis covering all facets of American production agriculture. The Agricultural Census is a comprehensive source of uniform published agricultural data for every state and county in the US. This is the first Agricultural Census that is disseminated with web mapping services using REST APIs. USDA developed an open GIS mashable web portal that depicts over 250 maps on Crops and Plants, Economics, Farms, Livestock and Animals, and Operators. These mapping services written in JavaScript replace the traditional static maps published as the Ag Atlas. Web users can now visualize, interact, query, and download the Agricultural Census data in a means not previously discoverable. Stakeholders will now be able to leverage this data for activities such as community planning, agribusiness location suitability analytics, availability of loans/funds, service center locations and staffing, and farm programs and policies. Additional sites serving compatible mashable USDA Big Data web services are as follows: The Food Environment Atlas, The Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America, The Farm Program Atlas, SNAP Data System, CropScape, and VegScape. All portals use a similar data organization scheme of "Categories" and "Maps" providing interactive mashable web services for agricultural stakeholders to exploit.

Dynamics of Ecosystem Services during Forest Transitions in Reventazón, Costa Rica.

PubMed

Vallet, Améline; Locatelli, Bruno; Levrel, Harold; Brenes Pérez, Christian; Imbach, Pablo; Estrada Carmona, Natalia; Manlay, Raphaël; Oszwald, Johan

2016-01-01

The forest transition framework describes the temporal changes of forest areas with economic development. A first phase of forest contraction is followed by a second phase of expansion once a turning point is reached. This framework does not differentiate forest types or ecosystem services, and describes forests regardless of their contribution to human well-being. For several decades, deforestation in many tropical regions has degraded ecosystem services, such as watershed regulation, while increasing provisioning services from agriculture, for example, food. Forest transitions and expansion have been observed in some countries, but their consequences for ecosystem services are often unclear. We analyzed the implications of forest cover change on ecosystem services in Costa Rica, where a forest transition has been suggested. A review of literature and secondary data on forest and ecosystem services in Costa Rica indicated that forest transition might have led to an ecosystem services transition. We modeled and mapped the changes of selected ecosystem services in the upper part of the Reventazón watershed and analyzed how supply changed over time in order to identify possible transitions in ecosystem services. The modeled changes of ecosystem services is similar to the second phase of a forest transition but no turning point was identified, probably because of the limited temporal scope of the analysis. Trends of provisioning and regulating services and their tradeoffs were opposite in different spatial subunits of our study area, which highlights the importance of scale in the analysis of ecosystem services and forest transitions. The ecosystem services transition framework proposed in this study is useful for analyzing the temporal changes of ecosystem services and linking socio-economic drivers to ecosystem services demand at different scales.

Dynamics of Ecosystem Services during Forest Transitions in Reventazón, Costa Rica

PubMed Central

Vallet, Améline; Locatelli, Bruno; Levrel, Harold; Brenes Pérez, Christian; Imbach, Pablo; Estrada Carmona, Natalia; Manlay, Raphaël; Oszwald, Johan

2016-01-01

The forest transition framework describes the temporal changes of forest areas with economic development. A first phase of forest contraction is followed by a second phase of expansion once a turning point is reached. This framework does not differentiate forest types or ecosystem services, and describes forests regardless of their contribution to human well-being. For several decades, deforestation in many tropical regions has degraded ecosystem services, such as watershed regulation, while increasing provisioning services from agriculture, for example, food. Forest transitions and expansion have been observed in some countries, but their consequences for ecosystem services are often unclear. We analyzed the implications of forest cover change on ecosystem services in Costa Rica, where a forest transition has been suggested. A review of literature and secondary data on forest and ecosystem services in Costa Rica indicated that forest transition might have led to an ecosystem services transition. We modeled and mapped the changes of selected ecosystem services in the upper part of the Reventazón watershed and analyzed how supply changed over time in order to identify possible transitions in ecosystem services. The modeled changes of ecosystem services is similar to the second phase of a forest transition but no turning point was identified, probably because of the limited temporal scope of the analysis. Trends of provisioning and regulating services and their tradeoffs were opposite in different spatial subunits of our study area, which highlights the importance of scale in the analysis of ecosystem services and forest transitions. The ecosystem services transition framework proposed in this study is useful for analyzing the temporal changes of ecosystem services and linking socio-economic drivers to ecosystem services demand at different scales. PMID:27390869

New Map Symbol System for Disaster Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinova, Silvia T.

2018-05-01

In the last 10 years Bulgaria was frequently affected by natural and man-made disasters that caused considerable losses. According to the Bulgarian Disaster Management Act (2006) disaster management should be planned at local, regional and national level. Disaster protection is based on plans that include maps such as hazard maps, maps for protection, maps for evacuation planning, etc. Decision-making and cooperation between two or more neighboring municipalities or regions in crisis situation are still rendered difficult because the maps included in the plans differ in scale, colors, map symbols and cartographic design. To improve decision-making process in case of emergency and to reduce the number of human loss and property damages disaster management plans at local and regional level should be supported by detailed thematic maps created in accordance with uniform contents, map symbol system and design. The paper proposes a new symbol system for disaster management that includes a four level hierarchical classification of objects and phenomena according to their type and origin. All objects and phenomena of this classification are divided into five categories: disasters; infrastructure; protection services and infrastructure for protection; affected people and affected infrastructure; operational sites and activities. The symbols of these categories are shown with different background colors and shapes so that they are identifiable. All the symbols have simple but associative design. The new symbol system is used in the design of a series of maps for disaster management at local and regional level.

EnviroAtlas - Austin, TX - Demographics by Block Group Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/EnviroAtlas). This EnviroAtlas dataset is a summary of key demographic groups for the EnviroAtlas community. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Applications of aerospace technology to petroleum exploration. Volume 1: Efforts and results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaffe, L. D.

1976-01-01

The feasibility of applying aerospace techniques to help solve significant problems in petroleum exploration is studied. Through contacts with petroleum industry and petroleum service industry, important petroleum exploration problems were identified. For each problem, areas of aerospace technology that might aid in its solution were also identified where possible. Topics selected for investigation include: seismic reflection systems; down-hole acoustic techniques; identification of geological analogies; drilling methods; remote geological sensing; and sea floor imaging and mapping. Specific areas of aerospace technology are applied to 21 concepts formulated from the topics of concern.

EnviroAtlas -Durham, NC- One Meter Resolution Urban Area Land Cover Map (2010) Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ). The EnviroAtlas Durham, NC land cover map was generated from USDA NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) four band (red, green, blue and near infrared) aerial photography from July 2010 at 1 m spatial resolution. Five land cover classes were mapped: impervious surface, soil and barren, grass and herbaceous, trees and forest, and water. An accuracy assessment using a stratified random sampling of 500 samples yielded an overall accuracy of 83 percent using a minimum mapping unit of 9 pixels (3x3 pixel window). The area mapped is defined by the US Census Bureau's 2010 Urban Statistical Area for Durham, and includes the cities of Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, NC. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets ).

Using a programmatic mapping approach to plan for HIV prevention and harm reduction interventions for people who inject drugs in three South African cities.

PubMed

Scheibe, Andrew; Shelly, Shaun; Lambert, Andrew; Schneider, Andrea; Basson, Rudolf; Medeiros, Nelson; Padayachee, Kalvanya; Savva, Helen; Hausler, Harry

2017-06-07

Stigma, criminalisation and a lack of data on drug use contribute to the "invisibility" of people who inject drugs (PWID) and make HIV prevention and treatment service delivery challenging. We aimed to confirm locations where PWID congregate in Cape Town, eThekwini and Tshwane (South Africa) and to estimate PWID population sizes within selected electoral wards in these areas to inform South Africa's first multi-site HIV prevention project for PWID. Field workers (including PWID peers) interviewed community informants to identify suspected injecting locations in selected electoral wards in each city and then visited these locations and interviewed PWID. Interviews were used to gather information about the accessibility of sterile injecting equipment, location coordinates and movement patterns. We used the Delphi method to obtain final population size estimates for the mapped wards based on estimates from wisdom of the crowd methods, the literature and programmatic data. Between January and April 2015, we mapped 45 wards. Tshwane teams interviewed 39 PWID in 12 wards, resulting in an estimated number of accessible PWID ranging from 568 to 1431. In eThekwini, teams interviewed 40 PWID in 15 wards with an estimated number of accessible PWID ranging from 184 to 350. The Cape Town team interviewed 61 PWID in 18 wards with an estimated number of accessible PWID ranging between 398 and 503. Sterile needles were only available at one location. Almost all needles were bought from pharmacies. Between 80 and 86% of PWID frequented more than one location per day. PWID who reported movement visited a median of three locations a day. Programmatic mapping led by PWID peers can be used effectively to identify and reach PWID and build relationships where access to HIV prevention commodities for PWID is limited. PWID reported limited access to sterile injecting equipment, highlighting an important HIV prevention need. Programmatic mapping data show that outreach programmes should be flexible and account for the mobile nature of PWID populations. The PWID population size estimates can be used to develop service delivery targets and as baseline measures.

Hydrologic-Process-Based Soil Texture Classifications for Improved Visualization of Landscape Function

PubMed Central

Groenendyk, Derek G.; Ferré, Ty P.A.; Thorp, Kelly R.; Rice, Amy K.

2015-01-01

Soils lie at the interface between the atmosphere and the subsurface and are a key component that control ecosystem services, food production, and many other processes at the Earth’s surface. There is a long-established convention for identifying and mapping soils by texture. These readily available, georeferenced soil maps and databases are used widely in environmental sciences. Here, we show that these traditional soil classifications can be inappropriate, contributing to bias and uncertainty in applications from slope stability to water resource management. We suggest a new approach to soil classification, with a detailed example from the science of hydrology. Hydrologic simulations based on common meteorological conditions were performed using HYDRUS-1D, spanning textures identified by the United States Department of Agriculture soil texture triangle. We consider these common conditions to be: drainage from saturation, infiltration onto a drained soil, and combined infiltration and drainage events. Using a k-means clustering algorithm, we created soil classifications based on the modeled hydrologic responses of these soils. The hydrologic-process-based classifications were compared to those based on soil texture and a single hydraulic property, Ks. Differences in classifications based on hydrologic response versus soil texture demonstrate that traditional soil texture classification is a poor predictor of hydrologic response. We then developed a QGIS plugin to construct soil maps combining a classification with georeferenced soil data from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The spatial patterns of hydrologic response were more immediately informative, much simpler, and less ambiguous, for use in applications ranging from trafficability to irrigation management to flood control. The ease with which hydrologic-process-based classifications can be made, along with the improved quantitative predictions of soil responses and visualization of landscape function, suggest that hydrologic-process-based classifications should be incorporated into environmental process models and can be used to define application-specific maps of hydrologic function. PMID:26121466

Hydrologic-Process-Based Soil Texture Classifications for Improved Visualization of Landscape Function.

PubMed

Groenendyk, Derek G; Ferré, Ty P A; Thorp, Kelly R; Rice, Amy K

2015-01-01

Soils lie at the interface between the atmosphere and the subsurface and are a key component that control ecosystem services, food production, and many other processes at the Earth's surface. There is a long-established convention for identifying and mapping soils by texture. These readily available, georeferenced soil maps and databases are used widely in environmental sciences. Here, we show that these traditional soil classifications can be inappropriate, contributing to bias and uncertainty in applications from slope stability to water resource management. We suggest a new approach to soil classification, with a detailed example from the science of hydrology. Hydrologic simulations based on common meteorological conditions were performed using HYDRUS-1D, spanning textures identified by the United States Department of Agriculture soil texture triangle. We consider these common conditions to be: drainage from saturation, infiltration onto a drained soil, and combined infiltration and drainage events. Using a k-means clustering algorithm, we created soil classifications based on the modeled hydrologic responses of these soils. The hydrologic-process-based classifications were compared to those based on soil texture and a single hydraulic property, Ks. Differences in classifications based on hydrologic response versus soil texture demonstrate that traditional soil texture classification is a poor predictor of hydrologic response. We then developed a QGIS plugin to construct soil maps combining a classification with georeferenced soil data from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The spatial patterns of hydrologic response were more immediately informative, much simpler, and less ambiguous, for use in applications ranging from trafficability to irrigation management to flood control. The ease with which hydrologic-process-based classifications can be made, along with the improved quantitative predictions of soil responses and visualization of landscape function, suggest that hydrologic-process-based classifications should be incorporated into environmental process models and can be used to define application-specific maps of hydrologic function.

CPC - Monitoring & Data: Pacific Island Climate Data

Science.gov Websites

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Home Site Map News Web resources and services. HOME > Monitoring and Data > Pacific Islands Climate Data & Maps island stations. NOAA/ National Weather Service NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction Climate

Improving the coverage of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services in Nigeria: should traditional birth attendants be engaged?

PubMed

O Olakunde, Babayemi; Wakdok, Sabastine; Olaifa, Yewande; Agbo, Francis; Essen, Uduak; Ojo, Mathews; Oke, Maria; Ibi, Sarah

2018-06-01

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) play an important role in the provision of care to pregnant women in rural parts of Nigeria, but they are barely engaged by the formal healthcare system in expanding the low coverage of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services. Using a systematic approach, we engaged TBAs in Abia and Taraba States to scale-up PMTCT services under the National Agency for Control of AIDS Comprehensive AIDS Program with States. We conducted mapping of the TBAs, built their capacities, obtained their buy-in on mobilization of their clients and other pregnant women for HIV testing service outreaches, and established referral and linkage systems. A total of 720 TBAs were mapped (Abia 407; Taraba 313). Three hundred and ninety-nine TBAs who participated in the capacity-building meeting were linked to 115 primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Abia State, while 245 TBAs were linked to 27 PHCs in Taraba State. From July 2016 to March 2017, the outreaches contributed 20% to the overall total number of pregnant women counseled, tested and received results, and 12% to the total number of HIV-infected women identified. There was a considerable yield of HIV-infected pregnant women among those tested in the TBA outreaches in comparison with the supported antenatal facilities (2% versus 3%, respectively). Engaging TBAs has the potential to improve the coverage of PMTCT services in Nigeria.

Mapping the literature of nurse practitioners.

PubMed

Shams, Marie-Lise Antoun

2006-04-01

This study was designed to identify core journals for the nurse practitioner specialty and to determine the extent of their indexing in bibliographic databases. As part of a larger project for mapping the literature of nursing, this study followed a common methodology based on citation analysis. Four journals designated by nurse practitioners as sources for their practice information were selected. All cited references were analyzed to determine format types and publication years. Bradford's Law of Scattering was applied to identify core journals. Nine bibliographic databases were searched to estimate the index coverage of the core titles. The findings indicate that nurse practitioners rely primarily on journals (72.0%) followed by books (20.4%) for their professional knowledge. The majority of the identified core journals belong to non-nursing disciplines. This is reflected in the indexing coverage results: PubMed/MEDLINE more comprehensively indexes the core titles than CINAHL does. Nurse practitioners, as primary care providers, consult medical as well as nursing sources for their information. The implications of the citation analysis findings are significant for collection development librarians and indexing services.

Co-creating and Evaluating a Web-app Mapping Real-World Health Care Services for Students: The servi-Share Protocol.

PubMed

Montagni, Ilaria; Langlois, Emmanuel; Wittwer, Jérôme; Tzourio, Christophe

2017-02-16

University students aged 18-30 years are a population group reporting low access to health care services, with high rates of avoidance and delay of medical care. This group also reports not having appropriate information about available health care services. However, university students are at risk for several health problems, and regular medical consultations are recommended in this period of life. New digital devices are popular among the young, and Web-apps can be used to facilitate easy access to information regarding health care services. A small number of electronic health (eHealth) tools have been developed with the purpose of displaying real-world health care services, and little is known about how such eHealth tools can improve access to care. This paper describes the processes of co-creating and evaluating the beta version of a Web-app aimed at mapping and describing free or low-cost real-world health care services available in the Bordeaux area of France, which is specifically targeted to university students. The co-creation process involves: (1) exploring the needs of students to know and access real-world health care services; (2) identifying the real-world health care services of interest for students; and (3) deciding on a user interface, and developing the beta version of the Web-app. Finally, the evaluation process involves: (1) testing the beta version of the Web-app with the target audience (university students aged 18-30 years); (2) collecting their feedback via a satisfaction survey; and (3) planning a long-term evaluation. The co-creation process of the beta version of the Web-app was completed in August 2016 and is described in this paper. The evaluation process started on September 7, 2016. The project was completed in December 2016 and implementation of the Web-app is ongoing. Web-apps are an innovative way to increase the health literacy of young people in terms of delivery of and access to health care. The creation of Web-apps benefits from the involvement of stakeholders (eg, students and health care providers) to correctly identify the real-world health care services to be displayed. ©Ilaria Montagni, Emmanuel Langlois, Jérôme Wittwer, Christophe Tzourio. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 16.02.2017.

Co-creating and Evaluating a Web-app Mapping Real-World Health Care Services for Students: The servi-Share Protocol

PubMed Central

Langlois, Emmanuel; Wittwer, Jérôme; Tzourio, Christophe

2017-01-01

Background University students aged 18-30 years are a population group reporting low access to health care services, with high rates of avoidance and delay of medical care. This group also reports not having appropriate information about available health care services. However, university students are at risk for several health problems, and regular medical consultations are recommended in this period of life. New digital devices are popular among the young, and Web-apps can be used to facilitate easy access to information regarding health care services. A small number of electronic health (eHealth) tools have been developed with the purpose of displaying real-world health care services, and little is known about how such eHealth tools can improve access to care. Objective This paper describes the processes of co-creating and evaluating the beta version of a Web-app aimed at mapping and describing free or low-cost real-world health care services available in the Bordeaux area of France, which is specifically targeted to university students. Methods The co-creation process involves: (1) exploring the needs of students to know and access real-world health care services; (2) identifying the real-world health care services of interest for students; and (3) deciding on a user interface, and developing the beta version of the Web-app. Finally, the evaluation process involves: (1) testing the beta version of the Web-app with the target audience (university students aged 18-30 years); (2) collecting their feedback via a satisfaction survey; and (3) planning a long-term evaluation. Results The co-creation process of the beta version of the Web-app was completed in August 2016 and is described in this paper. The evaluation process started on September 7, 2016. The project was completed in December 2016 and implementation of the Web-app is ongoing. Conclusions Web-apps are an innovative way to increase the health literacy of young people in terms of delivery of and access to health care. The creation of Web-apps benefits from the involvement of stakeholders (eg, students and health care providers) to correctly identify the real-world health care services to be displayed. PMID:28209561

Using Photovoice and Asset Mapping to Inform a Community-Based Diabetes Intervention, Boston, Massachusetts, 2015.

PubMed

Florian, Jana; Roy, Nicole M St Omer; Quintiliani, Lisa M; Truong, Ve; Feng, Yi; Bloch, Philippe P; Russinova, Zlatka L; Lasser, Karen E

2016-08-11

Diabetes self-management takes place within a complex social and environmental context.  This study's objective was to examine the perceived and actual presence of community assets that may aid in diabetes control. We conducted one 6-hour photovoice session with 11 adults with poorly controlled diabetes in Boston, Massachusetts.  Participants were recruited from census tracts with high numbers of people with poorly controlled diabetes (diabetes "hot spots").  We coded the discussions and identified relevant themes.  We further explored themes related to the built environment through community asset mapping.  Through walking surveys, we evaluated 5 diabetes hot spots related to physical activity resources, walking environment, and availability of food choices in restaurants and food stores. Community themes from the photovoice session were access to healthy food, restaurants, and prepared foods; food assistance programs; exercise facilities; and church.  Asset mapping identified 114 community assets including 22 food stores, 22 restaurants, and 5 exercise facilities.  Each diabetes hot spot contained at least 1 food store with 5 to 9 varieties of fruits and vegetables.  Only 1 of the exercise facilities had signage regarding hours or services.  Memberships ranged from free to $9.95 per month.  Overall, these findings were inconsistent with participants' reports in the photovoice group. We identified a mismatch between perceptions of community assets and built environment and the objective reality of that environment. Incorporating photovoice and community asset mapping into a community-based diabetes intervention may bring awareness to underused neighborhood resources that can help people control their diabetes.

Mapping mental health service access: achieving equity through quality improvement.

PubMed

Green, Stuart A; Poots, Alan J; Marcano-Belisario, Jose; Samarasundera, Edgar; Green, John; Honeybourne, Emmi; Barnes, Ruth

2013-06-01

Improving access to psychological therapies (IAPTs) services deliver evidence-based care to people with depression and anxiety. A quality improvement (QI) initiative was undertaken by an IAPT service to improve referrals providing an opportunity to evaluate equitable access. QI methodologies were used by the clinical team to improve referrals to the service. The collection of geo-coded data allowed referrals to be mapped to small geographical areas according to deprivation. A total of 6078 patients were referred to the IAPT service during the period of analysis and mapped to 120 unique lower super output areas (LSOAs). The average weekly referral rate rose from 17 during the baseline phase to 43 during the QI implementation phase. Spatial analysis demonstrated all 15 of the high deprivation/low referral LSOAs were converted to high deprivation/high or medium referral LSOAs following the QI initiative. This work highlights the importance of QI in developing clinical services aligned to the needs of the population through the analysis of routine data matched to health needs. Mapping can be utilized to communicate complex information to inform the planning and organization of clinical service delivery and evaluate the progress and sustainability of QI initiatives.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping.

PubMed

Sousa, Lisa P; Sousa, Ana I; Alves, Fátima L; Lillebø, Ana I

2016-03-11

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping

PubMed Central

Sousa, Lisa P.; Sousa, Ana I.; Alves, Fátima L.; Lillebø, Ana I.

2016-01-01

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping. PMID:26964892

Satellites vs. fiber optics based networks and services - Road map to strategic planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marandi, James H. R.

An overview of a generic telecommunications network and its components is presented, and the current developments in satellite and fiber optics technologies are discussed with an eye on the trends in industry. A baseline model is proposed, and a cost comparison of fiber- vs satellite-based networks is made. A step-by-step 'road map' to the successful strategic planning of telecommunications services and facilities is presented. This road map provides for optimization of the current and future networks and services through effective utilization of both satellites and fiber optics. The road map is then applied to different segments of the telecommunications industry and market place, to show its effectiveness for the strategic planning of executives of three types: (1) those heading telecommunications manufacturing concerns, (2) those leading communication service companies, and (3) managers of telecommunication/MIS departments of major corporations. Future networking issues, such as developments in integrated-services digital network standards and technologies, are addressed.

Supporting good practice in the provision of services to people with comorbid mental health and alcohol and other drug problems in Australia: describing key elements of good service models.

PubMed

Merkes, Monika; Lewis, Virginia; Canaway, Rachel

2010-12-03

The co-occurrence of mental illness and substance use problems (referred to as "comorbidity" in this paper) is common, and is often reported by service providers as the expectation rather than the exception. Despite this, many different treatment service models are being used in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and mental health (MH) sectors to treat this complex client group. While there is abundant literature in the area of comorbidity treatment, no agreed overarching framework to describe the range of service delivery models is apparent internationally or at the national level. The aims of the current research were to identify and describe elements of good practice in current service models of treatment of comorbidity in Australia. The focus of the research was on models of service delivery. The research did not aim to measure the client outcomes achieved by individual treatment services, but sought to identify elements of good practice in services. Australian treatment services were identified to take part in the study through a process of expert consultation. The intent was to look for similarities in the delivery models being implemented across a diverse set of services that were perceived to be providing good quality treatment for people with comorbidity problems. A survey was designed based on a concept map of service delivery devised from a literature review. Seventeen Australian treatment services participated in the survey, which explored the context in which services operate, inputs such as organisational philosophy and service structure, policies and procedures that guide the way in which treatment is delivered by the service, practices that reflect the way treatment is provided to clients, and client impacts. The treatment of people with comorbidity of mental health and substance use disorders presents complex problems that require strong but flexible service models. While the treatment services included in this study reflected the diversity of settings and approaches described in the literature, the research found that they shared a range of common characteristics. These referred to: service linkages; workforce; policies, procedures and practices; and treatment.

Mapping forest structure, species gradients and growth in an urban area using lidar and hyperspectral imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Huan

Urban forests play an important role in the urban ecosystem by providing a range of ecosystem services. Characterization of forest structure, species variation and growth in urban forests is critical for understanding the status, function and process of urban ecosystems, and helping maximize the benefits of urban ecosystems through management. The development of methods and applications to quantify urban forests using remote sensing data has lagged the study of natural forests due to the heterogeneity and complexity of urban ecosystems. In this dissertation, I quantify and map forest structure, species gradients and forest growth in an urban area using discrete-return lidar, airborne imaging spectroscopy and thermal infrared data. Specific objectives are: (1) to demonstrate the utility of leaf-off lidar originally collected for topographic mapping to characterize and map forest structure and associated uncertainties, including aboveground biomass, basal area, diameter, height and crown size; (2) to map species gradients using forest structural variables estimated from lidar and foliar functional traits, vegetation indices derived from AVIRIS hyperspectral imagery in conjunction with field-measured species data; and (3) to identify factors related to relative growth rates in aboveground biomass in the urban forests, and assess forest growth patterns across areas with varying degree of human interactions. The findings from this dissertation are: (1) leaf-off lidar originally acquired for topographic mapping provides a robust, potentially low-cost approach to quantify spatial patterns of forest structure and carbon stock in urban areas; (2) foliar functional traits and vegetation indices from hyperspectral data capture gradients of species distributions in the heterogeneous urban landscape; (3) species gradients, stand structure, foliar functional traits and temperature are strongly related to forest growth in the urban forests; and (4) high uncertainties in our ability to map forest structure, species gradient and growth rate occur in residential neighborhoods and along forest edges. Maps generated from this dissertation provide estimates of broad-scale spatial variations in forest structure, species distributions and growth to the city forest managers. The associated maps of uncertainty help managers understand the limitations of the maps and identify locations where the maps are more reliable and where more data are needed.

Priorities and strategies for improving disabled women's access to maternity services when they are affected by domestic abuse: a multi-method study using concept maps.

PubMed

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline; Breckenridge, Jenna P; Devaney, John; Duncan, Fiona; Kroll, Thilo; Lazenbatt, Anne; Taylor, Julie

2015-12-28

Domestic abuse is a significant public health issue. It occurs more frequently among disabled women than those without a disability and evidence suggests that a great deal of domestic abuse begins or worsens during pregnancy. All women and their infants are entitled to equal access to high quality maternity care. However, research has shown that disabled women who experience domestic abuse face numerous barriers to accessing care. The aim of the study was to identify the priority areas for improving access to maternity services for this group of women; develop strategies for improved access and utilisation; and explore the feasibility of implementing the identified strategies. This multi-method study was the third and final part of a larger study conducted in the UK between 2012 and 2014. The study used a modified concept mapping approach and was theoretically underpinned by Andersen's model of healthcare use. Seven focus group interviews were conducted with a range of maternity care professionals (n = 45), incorporating quantitative and qualitative components. Participants ranked perceived barriers to women's access and utilisation of maternity services in order of priority using a 5-point Likert scale. Quantitative data exploration used descriptive and non-parametric analyses. In the qualitative component of each focus group, participants discussed the barriers and identified potential improvement strategies (and feasibility of implementing these). Qualitative data were analysed inductively using a framework analysis approach. The three most highly ranked barriers to women's access and utilisation of maternity services identified in the quantitative component were: 1) staff being unaware and not asking about domestic abuse and disability; 2) the impact of domestic abuse on women; 3) women's fear of disclosure. The top two priority strategies were: providing information about domestic abuse to all women and promoting non-judgemental staff attitude. These were also considered very feasible. The qualitative analysis identified a range of psychosocial and environmental barriers experienced by this group of women in accessing maternity care. Congruent with the quantitative results, the main themes were lack of awareness and fear of disclosure. Key strategies were identified as demystifying disclosure and creating physical spaces to facilitate disclosure. The study supports findings of previous research regarding the barriers that women face in accessing and utilising maternity services, particularly regarding the issue of disclosure. But the study provides new evidence on the perceived importance and feasibility of strategies to address such barriers. This is an important step in ensuring practice-based acceptability and ease with which improvement strategies might be implemented in maternity care settings.

Abandoned Uranium Mines (AUM) Site Screening Map Service, 2016, US EPA Region 9

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

As described in detail in the Five-Year Report, US EPA completed on-the-ground screening of 521 abandoned uranium mine areas. US EPA and the Navajo EPA are using the Comprehensive Database and Atlas to determine which mines should be cleaned up first. US EPA continues to research and identify Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) under Superfund to contribute to the costs of cleanup efforts.This US EPA Region 9 web service contains the following map layers:Abandoned Uranium Mines, Priority Mines, Tronox Mines, Navajo Environmental Response Trust Mines, Mines with Enforcement Actions, Superfund AUM Regions, Navajo Nation Administrative Boundaries and Chapter Houses.Mine points have a maximum scale of 1:220,000, while Mine polygons have a minimum scale of 1:220,000. Chapter houses have a minimum scale of 1:200,000. BLM Land Status has a minimum scale of 1:150,000.Full FGDC metadata records for each layer can be found by clicking the layer name at the web service endpoint and viewing the layer description. Data used to create this web service are available for download at https://edg.epa.gov/metadata/catalog/data/data.page.Security Classification: Public. Access Constraints: None. Use Constraints: None. Please check sources, scale, accuracy, currentness and other available information. Please confirm that you are using the most recent copy of both data and metadata. Acknowledgement of the EPA would be appreciated.

Geospatial Modelling Approach for Interlinking of Rivers: A Case Study of Vamsadhara and Nagavali River Systems in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swathi Lakshmi, A.; Saran, S.; Srivastav, S. K.; Krishna Murthy, Y. V. N.

2014-11-01

India is prone to several natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides and earthquakes on account of its geoclimatic conditions. But the most frequent and prominent disasters are floods and droughts. So to reduce the impact of floods and droughts in India, interlinking of rivers is one of the best solutions to transfer the surplus flood waters to deficit/drought prone areas. Geospatial modelling provides a holistic approach to generate probable interlinking routes of rivers based on existing geoinformatics tools and technologies. In the present study, SRTM DEM and AWiFS datasets coupled with land-use/land -cover, geomorphology, soil and interpolated rainfall surface maps have been used to identify the potential routes in geospatial domain for interlinking of Vamsadhara and Nagavali River Systems in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. The first order derivatives are derived from DEM and road, railway and drainage networks have been delineated using the satellite data. The inundation map has been prepared using AWiFS derived Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The Drought prone areas were delineated on the satellite image as per the records declared by Revenue Department, Srikakulam. Majority Rule Based (MRB) aggregation technique is performed to optimize the resolution of obtained data in order to retain the spatial variability of the classes. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) based Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is implemented to obtain the prioritization of parameters like geomorphology, soil, DEM, slope, and land use/land-cover. A likelihood grid has been generated and all the thematic layers are overlaid to identify the potential grids for routing optimization. To give a better routing map, impedance map has been generated and several other constraints are considered. The implementation of canal construction needs extra cost in some areas. The developed routing map is published into OGC WMS services using open source GeoServer and proposed routing service can be visualized over Bhuvan portal (http://www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/).Thus the obtained routing map of proposed canals focuses on transferring the surplus waters to drought prone areas to solve the problem of water scarcity, to properly utilize the flood waters for irrigational purposes and also help in recharging of groundwater. Similar methodology can be adopted in other interlinking of river systems.

Land use/land cover change and implications for ecosystems services in the Likangala River Catchment, Malawi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pullanikkatil, Deepa; Palamuleni, Lobina G.; Ruhiiga, Tabukeli M.

2016-06-01

Likangala River catchment in Zomba District of Southern Malawi is important for water resources, agriculture and provides many ecosystem services. Provisioning ecosystem services accrued by the populations within the catchment include water, fish, medicinal plants and timber among others. In spite of its importance, the River catchment is under threat from anthropogenic activities and land use change. This paper studies land uses and land cover change in the catchment and how the changes have impacted on the ecosystem services. Landsat 5 and 8 images (1984, 1994, 2005 and 2013) were used to map land cover change and subsequent inventorying of provisioning ecosystem services. Participatory Geographic Information Systems and Focus group discussions were conducted to identify provisioning ecosystems services that communities benefit from the catchment and indicate these on the map. Post classification comparisons indicate that since 1984, there has been a decline in woodlands from 135.3 km2 in 1984 to 15.5 km2 in 2013 while urban areas increased from 9.8 km2 to 23.8 km2 in 2013. Communities indicated that provisioning ecosystems services such as forest products, wild animals and fruits and medicinal plants have been declining over the years. In addition, evidence of catchment degradation through waste disposal, illegal sand mining, deforestation and farming on marginal lands were observed. Population growth, urbanization and demand for agricultural lands have contributed to this land use and land cover change. The study suggests addressing catchment degradation through integrated method where an ecosystems approach is used. Thus, both the proximate and underlying driving factors of land-use and land cover change need to be addressed in order to sustainably reduce ecosystem degradation.

US Geoscience Information Network, Web Services for Geoscience Information Discovery and Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richard, S.; Allison, L.; Clark, R.; Coleman, C.; Chen, G.

2012-04-01

The US Geoscience information network has developed metadata profiles for interoperable catalog services based on ISO19139 and the OGC CSW 2.0.2. Currently data services are being deployed for the US Dept. of Energy-funded National Geothermal Data System. These services utilize OGC Web Map Services, Web Feature Services, and THREDDS-served NetCDF for gridded datasets. Services and underlying datasets (along with a wide variety of other information and non information resources are registered in the catalog system. Metadata for registration is produced by various workflows, including harvest from OGC capabilities documents, Drupal-based web applications, transformation from tabular compilations. Catalog search is implemented using the ESRI Geoportal open-source server. We are pursuing various client applications to demonstrated discovery and utilization of the data services. Currently operational applications allow catalog search and data acquisition from map services in an ESRI ArcMap extension, a catalog browse and search application built on openlayers and Django. We are developing use cases and requirements for other applications to utilize geothermal data services for resource exploration and evaluation.

Mapping tsunami impacts on land cover and related ecosystem service supply in Phang Nga, Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaiser, G.; Burkhard, B.; Römer, H.; Sangkaew, S.; Graterol, R.; Haitook, T.; Sterr, H.; Sakuna-Schwartz, D.

2013-12-01

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused damages to coastal ecosystems and thus affected the livelihoods of the coastal communities who depend on services provided by these ecosystems. The paper presents a case study on evaluating and mapping the spatial and temporal impacts of the tsunami on land use and land cover (LULC) and related ecosystem service supply in the Phang Nga province, Thailand. The method includes local stakeholder interviews, field investigations, remote-sensing techniques, and GIS. Results provide an ecosystem services matrix with capacity scores for 18 LULC classes and 17 ecosystem functions and services as well as pre-/post-tsunami and recovery maps indicating changes in the ecosystem service supply capacities in the study area. Local stakeholder interviews revealed that mangroves, casuarina forest, mixed beach forest, coral reefs, tidal inlets, as well as wetlands (peat swamp forest) have the highest capacity to supply ecosystem services, while e.g. plantations have a lower capacity. The remote-sensing based damage and recovery analysis showed a loss of the ecosystem service supply capacities in almost all LULC classes for most of the services due to the tsunami. A fast recovery of LULC and related ecosystem service supply capacities within one year could be observed for e.g. beaches, while mangroves or casuarina forest needed several years to recover. Applying multi-temporal mapping the spatial variations of recovery could be visualised. While some patches of coastal forest were fully recovered after 3 yr, other patches were still affected and thus had a reduced capacity to supply ecosystem services. The ecosystem services maps can be used to quantify ecological values and their spatial distribution in the framework of a tsunami risk assessment. Beyond that they are considered to be a useful tool for spatial analysis in coastal risk management in Phang Nga.

The Contribution of Constructivist Instruction Accompanied by Concept Mapping in Enhancing Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Chemistry in the Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Sevgi; Aydemir, Nurdane; Boz, Yezdan; Cetin-Dindar, Ayla; Bektas, Oktay

2009-01-01

The present study aimed to evaluate whether a chemistry laboratory course called "Laboratory Experiments in Science Education" based on constructivist instruction accompanied with concept mapping enhanced pre-service chemistry teachers' conceptual understanding. Data were collected from five pre-service chemistry teachers at a university…

About | DOE Data Explorer

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skip to main content DDE Toggle Navigation Home About DDE FAQs DOE Data ID Service Data ID Service Data ID Service Workshops Contact Us dataexplorer Search For Terms: + Advanced Search × Advanced /Simulations Figures/Plots Genome/Genetics Data Interactive Data Map(s) Multimedia Numeric Data Specialized Mix

A quality function deployment framework for the service quality of health information websites.

PubMed

Chang, Hyejung; Kim, Dohoon

2010-03-01

This research was conducted to identify both the users' service requirements on health information websites (HIWs) and the key functional elements for running HIWs. With the quality function deployment framework, the derived service attributes (SAs) are mapped into the suppliers' functional characteristics (FCs) to derive the most critical FCs for the users' satisfaction. Using the survey data from 228 respondents, the SAs, FCs and their relationships were analyzed using various multivariate statistical methods such as principal component factor analysis, discriminant analysis, correlation analysis, etc. Simple and compound FC priorities were derived by matrix calculation. Nine factors of SAs and five key features of FCs were identified, and these served as the basis for the house of quality model. Based on the compound FC priorities, the functional elements pertaining to security and privacy, and usage support should receive top priority in the course of enhancing HIWs. The quality function deployment framework can improve the FCs of the HIWs in an effective, structured manner, and it can also be utilized for critical success factors together with their strategic implications for enhancing the service quality of HIWs. Therefore, website managers could efficiently improve website operations by considering this study's results.

Enhancing The National Map Through Tactical Planning and Performance Monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2008-01-01

Tactical planning and performance monitoring are initial steps toward improving 'the way The National Map works' and supporting the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Strategy. This Tactical Performance Planning Summary for The National Map combines information from The National Map 2.0 Tactical Plan and The National Map Performance Milestone Matrix. The National Map 2.0 Tactical Plan is primarily a working document to guide The National Map program's execution, production, and metrics monitoring for fiscal years (FY) 2008 and 2009. The Tactical Plan addresses data, products, and services, as well as supporting and enabling activities. The National Map's 2-year goal for FY 2008 and FY 2009 is to provide a range of geospatial products and services that further the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and underpin USGS science. To do this, the National Geospatial Program will develop a renewed understanding during FY 2008 of key customer needs and requirements, develop the infrastructure to support The National Map business model, modernize its business processes, and reengineer its workforce. Priorities for The National Map will be adjusted if necessary to respond to changes to the project that may impact resources, constrain timeframes, or change customer needs. The supporting and enabling activities that make it possible to produce the products and services of The National Map will include partnership activities, improved compatibility of systems, outreach, and integration of data themes.

U.S. Geological Survey spatial data access

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faundeen, John L.; Kanengieter, Ronald L.; Buswell, Michael D.

2002-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has done a progress review on improving access to its spatial data holdings over the Web. The USGS EROS Data Center has created three major Web-based interfaces to deliver spatial data to the general public; they are Earth Explorer, the Seamless Data Distribution System (SDDS), and the USGS Web Mapping Portal. Lessons were learned in developing these systems, and various resources were needed for their implementation. The USGS serves as a fact-finding agency in the U.S. Government that collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific information about natural resource conditions and issues. To carry out its mission, the USGS has created and managed spatial data since its inception. Originally relying on paper maps, the USGS now uses advanced technology to produce digital representations of the Earth’s features. The spatial products of the USGS include both source and derivative data. Derivative datasets include Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ), Digital Elevation Models, Digital Line Graphs, land-cover Digital Raster Graphics, and the seamless National Elevation Dataset. These products, created with automated processes, use aerial photographs, satellite images, or other cartographic information such as scanned paper maps as source data. With Earth Explorer, users can search multiple inventories through metadata queries and can browse satellite and DOQ imagery. They can place orders and make payment through secure credit card transactions. Some USGS spatial data can be accessed with SDDS. The SDDS uses an ArcIMS map service interface to identify the user’s areas of interest and determine the output format; it allows the user to either download the actual spatial data directly for small areas or place orders for larger areas to be delivered on media. The USGS Web Mapping Portal provides views of national and international datasets through an ArcIMS map service interface. In addition, the map portal posts news about new map services available from the USGS, many simultaneously published on the Environmental Systems Research Institute Geography Network. These three information systems use new software tools and expanded hardware to meet the requirements of the users. The systems are designed to handle the required workload and are relatively easy to enhance and maintain. The software tools give users a high level of functionality and help the system conform to industry standards. The hardware and software architecture is designed to handle the large amounts of spatial data and Internet traffic required by the information systems. Last, customer support was needed to answer questions, monitor e-mail, and report customer problems.

Relief Presentation on US National Park Service Maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson, Tom

2018-05-01

This paper examines the evolution of relief presentations on maps developed by Harpers Ferry Center, the media service center of the US National Park Service (NPS). Harpers Ferry Center produces the maps used by park visitors. I will discuss five park maps, each with a distinctive relief style and mode of production. They appear in rough chronological order of their development. Recent relief presentations are generally more detailed, colorful, and realistic than those from earlier years. Changing technology is largely responsible for the different relief styles found on park maps. Some relief treatments today were not possible, or imaginable, in 1977 when the NPS established the brochure program in its modern phase. Landscape heterogeneity is another factor behind the development of different relief styles. With over 400 park sites ranging from the glacial mountains of Alaska to the rolling piedmont of Virginia, a one-style-fits-all approach cannot adequately depict all landscapes. NPS maps serve some 300 million park visitors each year. Our ongoing effort to make understandable maps for this diverse audience has further spurred experiments in relief presentation.

Using bedrock geology for making ecological base maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heldal, Tom; Solli, Arne; Torgersen, Espen

2017-04-01

For preparing for a sustainable future land use planning, a more holistic approach to nature management is important. This will imply more multidisciplinary research and cooperation across professional borders. In particular, the integration of knowledge about the geosphere and biosphere is needed. As the biosphere produces ecosystem services to us, the geosphere provides "geo-system" services or "Underground" services. In Norway, we have tried to investigate the connection between ecosystems and bedrock geology. The aim was to create various ecological base maps that can be used for improving mapping and investigations of biodiversity. By using geochemical analyses and linking the results to bedrock maps, we managed to get a rather realistic picture of the mineral content of soils formed by the chemical weathering of rocks. This made it possible to make the first national map of Ca-content in the bedrock. In addition, we can construct maps of anomal soil composition (such as high P, Mg and K). The presentation will outline the methodology for such ecological base maps, and discuss problems, challenges and further research.

Meter-scale Urban Land Cover Mapping for EPA EnviroAtlas Using Machine Learning and OBIA Remote Sensing Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilant, A. N.; Baynes, J.; Dannenberg, M.; Riegel, J.; Rudder, C.; Endres, K.

2013-12-01

US EPA EnviroAtlas is an online collection of tools and resources that provides geospatial data, maps, research, and analysis on the relationships between nature, people, health, and the economy (http://www.epa.gov/research/enviroatlas/index.htm). Using EnviroAtlas, you can see and explore information related to the benefits (e.g., ecosystem services) that humans receive from nature, including clean air, clean and plentiful water, natural hazard mitigation, biodiversity conservation, food, fuel, and materials, recreational opportunities, and cultural and aesthetic value. EPA developed several urban land cover maps at very high spatial resolution (one-meter pixel size) for a portion of EnviroAtlas devoted to urban studies. This urban mapping effort supported analysis of relations among land cover, human health and demographics at the US Census Block Group level. Supervised classification of 2010 USDA NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) digital aerial photos produced eight-class land cover maps for several cities, including Durham, NC, Portland, ME, Tampa, FL, New Bedford, MA, Pittsburgh, PA, Portland, OR, and Milwaukee, WI. Semi-automated feature extraction methods were used to classify the NAIP imagery: genetic algorithms/machine learning, random forest, and object-based image analysis (OBIA). In this presentation we describe the image processing and fuzzy accuracy assessment methods used, and report on some sustainability and ecosystem service metrics computed using this land cover as input (e.g., carbon sequestration from USFS iTREE model; health and demographics in relation to road buffer forest width). We also discuss the land cover classification schema (a modified Anderson Level 1 after the National Land Cover Data (NLCD)), and offer some observations on lessons learned. Meter-scale urban land cover in Portland, OR overlaid on NAIP aerial photo. Streets, buildings and individual trees are identifiable.

Testing an innovative framework for flood forecasting, monitoring and mapping in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dottori, Francesco; Kalas, Milan; Lorini, Valerio; Wania, Annett; Pappenberger, Florian; Salamon, Peter; Ramos, Maria Helena; Cloke, Hannah; Castillo, Carlos

2017-04-01

Between May and June 2016, France was hit by severe floods, particularly in the Loire and Seine river basins. In this work, we use this case study to test an innovative framework for flood forecasting, mapping and monitoring. More in detail, the system integrates in real-time two components of the Copernicus Emergency mapping services, namely the European Flood Awareness System and the satellite-based Rapid Mapping, with new procedures for rapid risk assessment and social media and news monitoring. We explore in detail the performance of each component of the system, demonstrating the improvements in respect to stand-alone flood forecasting and monitoring systems. We show how the performances of the forecasting component can be refined using the real-time feedback from social media monitoring to identify which areas were flooded, to evaluate the flood intensity, and therefore to correct impact estimations. Moreover, we show how the integration with impact forecast and social media monitoring can improve the timeliness and efficiency of satellite based emergency mapping, and reduce the chances of missing areas where flooding is already happening. These results illustrate how the new integrated approach leads to a better and earlier decision making and a timely evaluation of impacts.

Methods to Improve the Selection and Tailoring of Implementation Strategies

PubMed Central

Powell, Byron J.; Beidas, Rinad S.; Lewis, Cara C.; Aarons, Gregory A.; McMillen, J. Curtis; Proctor, Enola K.; Khinduka, Shanti K.; Mandell, David S.

2015-01-01

Implementing behavioral health interventions is a complicated process. It has been suggested that implementation strategies should be selected and tailored to address the contextual needs of a given change effort; however, there is limited guidance as to how to do this. This article proposes four methods (concept mapping, group model building, conjoint analysis, and intervention mapping) that could be used to match implementation strategies to identified barriers and facilitators for a particular evidence-based practice or process change being implemented in a given setting. Each method is reviewed, examples of their use are provided, and their strengths and weaknesses are discussed. The discussion includes suggestions for future research pertaining to implementation strategies and highlights these methods' relevance to behavioral health services and research. PMID:26289563

Pharmacist-led discharge medication counselling: A scoping review.

PubMed

Bonetti, Aline F; Reis, Wálleri C; Lombardi, Natália Fracaro; Mendes, Antonio M; Netto, Harli Pasquini; Rotta, Inajara; Fernandez-Llimos, Fernando; Pontarolo, Roberto

2018-06-01

Discharge medication counselling has produced improved quality of care and health outcomes, especially by reducing medication errors and readmission rates, and improving medication adherence. However, no studies have assembled an evidence-based discharge counselling process for clinical pharmacists. Thus, the present study aims to map the components of the pharmacist-led discharge medication counselling process. We performed a scoping review by searching electronic databases (Pubmed, Scopus, and DOAJ) and conducting a manual search to identify studies published up to July 2017. Studies that addressed pharmacist-led discharge medication counselling, regardless of the population, clinical conditions, and outcomes evaluated, were included. A total of 1563 studies were retrieved, with 75 matching the inclusion criteria. Thirty-two different components were identified, and the most prevalent were the indication of the medications and adverse drug reactions, which were reported in more than 50% of the studies. The components were reported similarly by studies from the USA and the rest of the world, and over the years. However, 2 differences were identified: the use of a dosage schedule, which was more frequent in studies published in 2011 or before and in studies outside the USA; and the teach-back technique, which was used more frequently in the USA. Poor quality reporting was also observed, especially regarding the duration of the counselling, the number of patients, and the medical condition. Mapping the components of the pharmacist-led discharge counselling studies through a scoping review allowed us to reveal how this service is performed around the world. Wide variability in this process and poor reporting were identified. Future studies are needed to define the core outcome set of this clinical pharmacy service to allow the generation of robust evidence and reproducibility in clinical practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hot-spot analysis applied to the identification of potential high and low regulating, providing and cultural ecosystem services in Vilnius Region (Lithuania)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Paulo; Daniel, Depellegrin; Egarter-Vigl, Lukas; Cerda, Artemi; Estebaranz, Ferran; Misiune, Ieva

2017-04-01

Ecosystem services (ES) potential assessment is crucial for a correct territorial planning at different scales of analysis (Depellegrin et al., 2016). In urban and peri-urban areas, sprawl, grazing and unsustainable agriculture practices contributed to land degradation and de decrease of the quality and quantity of the services provided by these areas (Eldridge and Delgado-Baquerizo, 2017; Favretto et al., 2017). In order to understand the spatial pattern of these impacts, mapping ES potential is key to understand the areas that need to be restored and protected for an unsustainable use (Brevik et al., 2016; Egarter-Vigl et al., 2017; Pereira et al., 2017). Hot-spot analysis is a good method to identify clusters of areas with high and low capacity for ES capacity. This analysis is very useful to detect homogeneous areas, where ES have high or low quality. The objective of this work is to apply a hot-spot analysis to detect areas with high/low capacity for Regulating, Provision, Cultural and Total ES in Vilnius region. ES potential was carried out based on the matrix developed by Burkhard et al. (2009), which ranks ES capacity from 0= no capacity to 5=very high relevant capacity to a different land use type. The results showed that regulating, providing and cultural and total ES have a significant dispersed (low-clustered) pattern: Regulating (Z-score=-19.28, p<0.001), Providing (Z-score=-29.28, p<0.001) Cultural (Z-score=-8.13, p<0.001) and Total (Z-score=-22.46, p<0.001). This shows that ES capacity in Vilnius area is extremely fragmented and there is a lack of connectivity between the areas with high capacity of ES. There is lack of green corridors and connectivity between green areas is attributed to the urban sprawl observed in Vilnius area (Pereira et al., 2014). References Brevik, E., Calzolari, C., Miller, B., Pereira, P., Kabala, C., Baumgarten, A., Jordán, A. (2016) Historical perspectives and future needs in soil mapping, classification and pedological modelling, Geoderma, 264, Part B, 256-274. Burkhard B, Kroll F, Müller F, Windhorst W. 2009. Landscapes' capacities to provide ecosystem services- a concept for land-cover based assessments. Landscape Online. 15, 1-22. Depellegrin, D.A., Pereira, P., Misiune, I., Egarter-Vigl, L. Mapping Ecosystem Services potential in Lithuania. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 23, 441-455. Egarter-Vigl, L., Depellegrin, D., Pereira, P., De Groot, D., Tappeiner, U. (2017) Mapping the ecosystem service delivery chain: Capacity, flow, and demand pertaining to aesthetic experiences in mountain landscapes, Science of the Total Environment, 574, 442-436. Eldridge, D.J., Delgado-Baquerizo, M. (2017) Continental-scale impacts of livestock grazing on ecosystem supporting and regulating services. Land Degradation and Development. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2668 Favretto, N., Lueding, E., Stringer, L., Dougill, A.J. (2017) Valuing ecosystem services in semi-arid rangelands through stochastic simulation. Land Degradation and Development. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2590 Pereira, P., Brevik, E., Munoz-Rojas, M., Miller, B., Smetanova, A., Depellegrin, D., Misiune, I., Novara, A., Cerda, A. (2017) Soil mapping and process modelling for sustainable land management. In: Pereira, P., Brevik, E., Munoz-Rojas, M., Miller, B. (Eds.) Soil mapping and process modelling for sustainable land use management (Elsevier Publishing House) ISBN: 9780128052006 Pereira, P., Monkevicius, A., Siarova, A. (2014) Public perception of the Environmental, Social and Economic impacts of Urban Sprawl in Vilnius, Societal Studies, 6, 256 - 290.

Fine-mapping the MHC locus in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) reveals genetic heterogeneity corresponding to distinct adult inflammatory arthritic diseases.

PubMed

Hinks, A; Bowes, J; Cobb, J; Ainsworth, H C; Marion, M C; Comeau, M E; Sudman, M; Han, B; Becker, M L; Bohnsack, J F; de Bakker, P I W; Haas, J P; Hazen, M; Lovell, D J; Nigrovic, P A; Nordal, E; Punnaro, M; Rosenberg, A M; Rygg, M; Smith, S L; Wise, C A; Videm, V; Wedderburn, L R; Yarwood, A; Yeung, R S M; Prahalad, S; Langefeld, C D; Raychaudhuri, S; Thompson, S D; Thomson, W

2017-04-01

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of diseases, comprising seven categories. Genetic data could potentially be used to help redefine JIA categories and improve the current classification system. The human leucocyte antigen (HLA) region is strongly associated with JIA. Fine-mapping of the region was performed to look for similarities and differences in HLA associations between the JIA categories and define correspondences with adult inflammatory arthritides. Dense genotype data from the HLA region, from the Immunochip array for 5043 JIA cases and 14 390 controls, were used to impute single-nucleotide polymorphisms, HLA classical alleles and amino acids. Bivariate analysis was performed to investigate genetic correlation between the JIA categories. Conditional analysis was used to identify additional effects within the region. Comparison of the findings with those in adult inflammatory arthritic diseases was performed. We identified category-specific associations and have demonstrated for the first time that rheumatoid factor (RF)-negative polyarticular JIA and oligoarticular JIA are genetically similar in their HLA associations. We also observe that each JIA category potentially has an adult counterpart. The RF-positive polyarthritis association at HLA-DRB1 amino acid at position 13 mirrors the association in adult seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Interestingly, the combined oligoarthritis and RF-negative polyarthritis dataset shares the same association with adult seronegative RA. The findings suggest the value of using genetic data in helping to classify the categories of this heterogeneous disease. Mapping JIA categories to adult counterparts could enable shared knowledge of disease pathogenesis and aetiology and facilitate transition from paediatric to adult services. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Survived so what? Identifying priorities for research with children and families post-paediatric intensive care unit.

PubMed

Manning, Joseph C; Hemingway, Pippa; Redsell, Sarah A

2018-03-01

The involvement of patients and the public in the development, implementation and evaluation of health care services and research is recognized to have tangible benefits in relation to effectiveness and credibility. However, despite >96% of children and young people surviving critical illness or injury, there is a paucity of published reports demonstrating their contribution to informing the priorities for aftercare services and outcomes research. We aimed to identify the service and research priorities for Paediatric Intensive Care Unit survivors with children and young people, their families and other stakeholders. We conducted a face-to-face, multiple-stakeholder consultation event, held in the Midlands (UK), to provide opportunities for experiences, views and priorities to be elicited. Data were gathered using write/draw and tell and focus group approaches. An inductive content analytical approach was used to categorize and conceptualize feedback. A total of 26 individuals attended the consultation exercise, including children and young people who were critical care survivors; their siblings; parents and carers; health professionals; academics; commissioners; and service managers. Consultation findings indicated that future services, interventions and research must be holistic and family-centred. Children and young people advisors reported priorities that focused on longer-term outcomes, whereas adult advisors identified priorities that mapped against the pathways of care. Specific priorities included developing and testing interventions that address unmet communication and information needs. Furthermore, initiatives to optimize the lives and longer-term functional and psycho-social outcomes of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit survivors were identified. This consultation exercise provides further evidence of the value of meaningful patient and public involvement in identifying the priorities for research and services for Paediatric Intensive Care Unit survivors and illuminates differences in proposed priorities between children, young people and adult advisors. © 2017 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

EnviroAtlas -Milwaukee, WI- One Meter Resolution Urban Land Cover Data (2010) Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). The EnviroAtlas Milwaukee, WI land cover data and map were generated from USDA NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) four band (red, green, blue and near infrared) aerial photography from Late Summer 2010 at 1 m spatial resolution. Nine land cover classes were mapped: water, impervious surfaces (dark and light), soil and barren land, trees and forest, grass and herbaceous non-woody vegetation, agriculture, and wetlands (woody and emergent). An accuracy assessment using a completely random sampling of 600 samples yielded an overall accuracy of 85.39% percent using a minimum mapping unit of 9 pixels (3x3 pixel window). The area mapped is defined by the US Census Bureau's 2010 Urban Statistical Area for Milwaukee. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-

EnviroAtlas -- Woodbine, IA -- One Meter Resolution Urban Land Cover Data (2011) Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). The EnviroAtlas Woodbine, IA land cover (LC) data and map were generated from USDA NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) four band (red, green, blue and near infrared) aerial photography from Late Summer 2011 at 1 m spatial resolution. Six land cover classes were mapped: water, impervious surfaces (dark and light), soil and barren land, trees and forest, grass and herbaceous non-woody vegetation, and agriculture. An accuracy assessment using a completely random sampling of 600 samples yielded an overall accuracy of 87.03% percent using a minimum mapping unit of 9 pixels (3x3 pixel window). The area mapped is defined by the US Census Bureau's 2010 Urban Statistical Area for Woodbine. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas -Portland, ME- One Meter Resolution Urban Land Cover (2010) Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). The Portland, ME land cover map was generated from USDA NAIP (National Agricultural Imagery Program) four band (red, green, blue and near infrared) aerial photography from Late Summer 2010 at 1 m spatial resolution. Nine land cover classes were mapped: water, impervious surfaces (dark and light), soil and barren land, trees and forest, grass and herbaceous non-woody vegetation, agriculture, and wetlands (woody and emergent). An accuracy assessment using a stratified random sampling of 600 samples yielded an overall accuracy of 87.5 percent using a minimum mapping unit of 9 pixels (3x3 pixel window). The area mapped is defined by the US Census Bureau's 2010 Urban Statistical Area for Portland.This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Passive Infrared (PIR)-Based Indoor Position Tracking for Smart Homes Using Accessibility Maps and A-Star Algorithm.

PubMed

Yang, Dan; Xu, Bin; Rao, Kaiyou; Sheng, Weihua

2018-01-24

Indoor occupants' positions are significant for smart home service systems, which usually consist of robot service(s), appliance control and other intelligent applications. In this paper, an innovative localization method is proposed for tracking humans' position in indoor environments based on passive infrared (PIR) sensors using an accessibility map and an A-star algorithm, aiming at providing intelligent services. First the accessibility map reflecting the visiting habits of the occupants is established through the integral training with indoor environments and other prior knowledge. Then the PIR sensors, which placement depends on the training results in the accessibility map, get the rough location information. For more precise positioning, the A-start algorithm is used to refine the localization, fused with the accessibility map and the PIR sensor data. Experiments were conducted in a mock apartment testbed. The ground truth data was obtained from an Opti-track system. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is able to track persons in a smart home environment and provide a solution for home robot localization.

Passive Infrared (PIR)-Based Indoor Position Tracking for Smart Homes Using Accessibility Maps and A-Star Algorithm

PubMed Central

Yang, Dan; Xu, Bin; Rao, Kaiyou; Sheng, Weihua

2018-01-01

Indoor occupants’ positions are significant for smart home service systems, which usually consist of robot service(s), appliance control and other intelligent applications. In this paper, an innovative localization method is proposed for tracking humans’ position in indoor environments based on passive infrared (PIR) sensors using an accessibility map and an A-star algorithm, aiming at providing intelligent services. First the accessibility map reflecting the visiting habits of the occupants is established through the integral training with indoor environments and other prior knowledge. Then the PIR sensors, which placement depends on the training results in the accessibility map, get the rough location information. For more precise positioning, the A-start algorithm is used to refine the localization, fused with the accessibility map and the PIR sensor data. Experiments were conducted in a mock apartment testbed. The ground truth data was obtained from an Opti-track system. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is able to track persons in a smart home environment and provide a solution for home robot localization. PMID:29364188

30 CFR 725.24 - Records.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., maps, and other evidence and accounting procedures and practices, sufficient to reflect properly— (1... contractors for professional services, shall maintain books, documents, papers, maps, and records which are... contractors, including professional services contracts, shall be subject at all reasonable times to inspection...

GIS Services, Visualization Products, and Interoperability at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldwin, R.; Ansari, S.; Reid, G.; Lott, N.; Del Greco, S.

2007-12-01

The main goal in developing and deploying Geographic Information System (GIS) services at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is to provide users with simple access to data archives while integrating new and informative climate products. Several systems at NCDC provide a variety of climatic data in GIS formats and/or map viewers. The Online GIS Map Services provide users with data discovery options which flow into detailed product selection maps, which may be queried using standard "region finder" tools or gazetteer (geographical dictionary search) functions. Each tabbed selection offers steps to help users progress through the systems. A series of additional base map layers or data types have been added to provide companion information. New map services include: Severe Weather Data Inventory, Local Climatological Data, Divisional Data, Global Summary of the Day, and Normals/Extremes products. THREDDS Data Server technology is utilized to provide access to gridded multidimensional datasets such as Model, Satellite and Radar. This access allows users to download data as a gridded NetCDF file, which is readable by ArcGIS. In addition, users may subset the data for a specific geographic region, time period, height range or variable prior to download. The NCDC Weather Radar Toolkit (WRT) is a client tool which accesses Weather Surveillance Radar 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) data locally or remotely from the NCDC archive, NOAA FTP server or any URL or THREDDS Data Server. The WRT Viewer provides tools for custom data overlays, Web Map Service backgrounds, animations and basic filtering. The export of images and movies is provided in multiple formats. The WRT Data Exporter allows for data export in both vector polygon (Shapefile, Well-Known Text) and raster (GeoTIFF, ESRI Grid, VTK, NetCDF, GrADS) formats. As more users become accustom to GIS, questions of better, cheaper, faster access soon follow. Expanding use and availability can best be accomplished through standards which promote interoperability. Our GIS related products provide Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant Web Map Services (WMS), Web Feature Services (WFS), Web Coverage Services (WCS) and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata as a complement to the map viewers. KML/KMZ data files (soon to be compliant OGC specifications) also provide access.

Cloud GIS Based Watershed Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bediroğlu, G.; Colak, H. E.

2017-11-01

In this study, we generated a Cloud GIS based watershed management system with using Cloud Computing architecture. Cloud GIS is used as SAAS (Software as a Service) and DAAS (Data as a Service). We applied GIS analysis on cloud in terms of testing SAAS and deployed GIS datasets on cloud in terms of DAAS. We used Hybrid cloud computing model in manner of using ready web based mapping services hosted on cloud (World Topology, Satellite Imageries). We uploaded to system after creating geodatabases including Hydrology (Rivers, Lakes), Soil Maps, Climate Maps, Rain Maps, Geology and Land Use. Watershed of study area has been determined on cloud using ready-hosted topology maps. After uploading all the datasets to systems, we have applied various GIS analysis and queries. Results shown that Cloud GIS technology brings velocity and efficiency for watershed management studies. Besides this, system can be easily implemented for similar land analysis and management studies.

EnviroAtlas -Pittsburgh, PA- One Meter Resolution Urban Land Cover Data (2010) Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas).The EnviroAtlas Pittsburgh, PA land cover map was generated from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) four band (red, green, blue, and near infrared) aerial photography at 1 m spatial resolution. Imagery was collected on multiple dates in June 2010. Five land cover classes were mapped: water, impervious surfaces, soil and barren land, trees and forest, and grass and herbaceous non-woody vegetation. An accuracy assessment of 500 completely random and 81 stratified random points yielded an overall accuracy of 86.57 percent. The area mapped is defined by the US Census Bureau's 2010 Urban Statistical Area for Pittsburgh, PA. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Quantifying and Mapping the Supply of and Demand for Carbon Storage and Sequestration Service from Urban Trees

PubMed Central

Zhao, Chang; Sander, Heather A.

2015-01-01

Studies that assess the distribution of benefits provided by ecosystem services across urban areas are increasingly common. Nevertheless, current knowledge of both the supply and demand sides of ecosystem services remains limited, leaving a gap in our understanding of balance between ecosystem service supply and demand that restricts our ability to assess and manage these services. The present study seeks to fill this gap by developing and applying an integrated approach to quantifying the supply and demand of a key ecosystem service, carbon storage and sequestration, at the local level. This approach follows three basic steps: (1) quantifying and mapping service supply based upon Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) processing and allometric models, (2) quantifying and mapping demand for carbon sequestration using an indicator based on local anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and (3) mapping a supply-to-demand ratio. We illustrate this approach using a portion of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota, USA. Our results indicate that 1735.69 million kg carbon are stored by urban trees in our study area. Annually, 33.43 million kg carbon are sequestered by trees, whereas 3087.60 million kg carbon are emitted by human sources. Thus, carbon sequestration service provided by urban trees in the study location play a minor role in combating climate change, offsetting approximately 1% of local anthropogenic carbon emissions per year, although avoided emissions via storage in trees are substantial. Our supply-to-demand ratio map provides insight into the balance between carbon sequestration supply in urban trees and demand for such sequestration at the local level, pinpointing critical locations where higher levels of supply and demand exist. Such a ratio map could help planners and policy makers to assess and manage the supply of and demand for carbon sequestration. PMID:26317530

E-DECIDER Decision Support Gateway For Earthquake Disaster Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glasscoe, M. T.; Stough, T. M.; Parker, J. W.; Burl, M. C.; Donnellan, A.; Blom, R. G.; Pierce, M. E.; Wang, J.; Ma, Y.; Rundle, J. B.; Yoder, M. R.

2013-12-01

Earthquake Data Enhanced Cyber-Infrastructure for Disaster Evaluation and Response (E-DECIDER) is a NASA-funded project developing capabilities for decision-making utilizing remote sensing data and modeling software in order to provide decision support for earthquake disaster management and response. E-DECIDER incorporates earthquake forecasting methodology and geophysical modeling tools developed through NASA's QuakeSim project in order to produce standards-compliant map data products to aid in decision-making following an earthquake. Remote sensing and geodetic data, in conjunction with modeling and forecasting tools, help provide both long-term planning information for disaster management decision makers as well as short-term information following earthquake events (i.e. identifying areas where the greatest deformation and damage has occurred and emergency services may need to be focused). E-DECIDER utilizes a service-based GIS model for its cyber-infrastructure in order to produce standards-compliant products for different user types with multiple service protocols (such as KML, WMS, WFS, and WCS). The goal is to make complex GIS processing and domain-specific analysis tools more accessible to general users through software services as well as provide system sustainability through infrastructure services. The system comprises several components, which include: a GeoServer for thematic mapping and data distribution, a geospatial database for storage and spatial analysis, web service APIs, including simple-to-use REST APIs for complex GIS functionalities, and geoprocessing tools including python scripts to produce standards-compliant data products. These are then served to the E-DECIDER decision support gateway (http://e-decider.org), the E-DECIDER mobile interface, and to the Department of Homeland Security decision support middleware UICDS (Unified Incident Command and Decision Support). The E-DECIDER decision support gateway features a web interface that delivers map data products including deformation modeling results (slope change and strain magnitude) and aftershock forecasts, with remote sensing change detection results under development. These products are event triggered (from the USGS earthquake feed) and will be posted to event feeds on the E-DECIDER webpage and accessible via the mobile interface and UICDS. E-DECIDER also features a KML service that provides infrastructure information from the FEMA HAZUS database through UICDS and the mobile interface. The back-end GIS service architecture and front-end gateway components form a decision support system that is designed for ease-of-use and extensibility for end-users.

The National Ecosystem Services Classification System: A Framework for Identifying and Reducing Relevant Uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhodes, C. R.; Sinha, P.; Amanda, N.

2013-12-01

In recent years the gap between what scientists know and what policymakers should appreciate in environmental decision making has received more attention, as the costs of the disconnect have become more apparent to both groups. Particularly for water-related policies, the EPA's Office of Water has struggled with benefit estimates held low by the inability to quantify ecological and economic effects that theory, modeling, and anecdotal or isolated case evidence suggest may prove to be larger. Better coordination with ecologists and hydrologists is being explored as a solution. The ecosystem services (ES) concept now nearly two decades old links ecosystem functions and processes to the human value system. But there remains no clear mapping of which ecosystem goods and services affect which individual or economic values. The National Ecosystem Services Classification System (NESCS, 'nexus') project brings together ecologists, hydrologists, and social scientists to do this mapping for aquatic and other ecosystem service-generating systems. The objective is to greatly reduce the uncertainty in water-related policy making by mapping and ultimately quantifying the various functions and products of aquatic systems, as well as how changes to aquatic systems impact the human economy and individual levels of non-monetary appreciation for those functions and products. Primary challenges to fostering interaction between scientists, social scientists, and policymakers are lack of a common vocabulary, and the need for a cohesive comprehensive framework that organizes concepts across disciplines and accommodates scientific data from a range of sources. NESCS builds the vocabulary and the framework so both may inform a scalable transdisciplinary policy-making application. This talk presents for discussion the process and progress in developing both this vocabulary and a classifying framework capable of bridging the gap between a newer but existing ecosystem services classification system, and a standardized industrial classification system. Our goal is to model then predict the effects of a policy choice on the environment, from impacts on ecological components and processes all the way through to endpoints in the human value chain.

Developing Pre-Service Teachers' Subject Matter Knowledge of Electromagnetism by Integrating Concept Maps and Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Govender, Nadaraj

2015-01-01

This case study explored the development of two pre-service teachers' subject matter knowledge (SMK) of electromagnetism while integrating the use of concept maps (CM) and collaborative learning (CL) strategies. The study aimed at capturing how these pre-service teachers' SMK in electromagnetism was enhanced after having been taught SMK in a…

A Service-Learning Project for Geography: Designing a Painted Playground Map of the United States for Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petzold, Donald; Heppen, John

2005-01-01

Many student geography organizations or clubs associated with colleges and universities undertake community service projects each year to meet local needs and to gain recognition within the community. A uniquely geographical project of playground map painting provides a great community service and goes one step further by incorporating elements of…

Research notes : rainfall maps for the 21st century.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-12-01

The report and included maps represent an update of the information contained in the precipitation-frequency atlas, published by the National Weather Service in 1973 (NOAA Atlas 2). Data collection for the National Weather Service (NWS) study ended i...

Towards a climate service for the Tunisian tourism industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henia, Latifa; Hlaoui, Zouhaier

2013-04-01

Until today's Tunisia, there is little communication between generators of meteorological or climatological data and stakeholders in the tourism sector. However: - A recent survey shows that professionals in the tourism sector are aware of the importance of integrating relevant climate information in their tourism management and development strategies. - Tunisia has expertise in the field of meteorology and climatology which meets the demand of the tourism sector in relevant climate information. The program CLIM RUN has created a framework allowing the introduction of a climate service in the Tunisian tourism sector. It identified the needs of the sector in climate information as well as examined together with specialized services and trained researchers the possibility of responding to these needs. The "GREVACHOT" research unit based at the University of Tunis and partner of the CLIM RUN program has developed one of the products for which great demand was formulated by tourism stakeholders: this is climate-tourism comfort indices (ICT) at regional and local scales. We here present: - The Tunisian experience in identifying climate information needs of the tourism sector, - The approach method to the development, study, mapping of ICT and results.

Self-care behaviour for minor symptoms: can Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use help us to understand it?

PubMed

Porteous, Terry; Wyke, Sally; Hannaford, Philip; Bond, Christine

2015-02-01

To explore whether Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use can aid understanding of self-care behaviour and inform development of interventions to promote self-care for minor illness. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 Scottish participants about their experience and management of minor symptoms normally associated with analgesic use. Synthesised data from the interviews were mapped onto the Behavioral Model. All factors identified as influencing decisions about how to manage the symptoms discussed, mapped onto at least one domain of Andersen's model. Individual characteristics including beliefs, need factors and available resources were associated with health behaviour, including self-care. Outcomes such as perceived health status and consumer satisfaction from previous experience of managing symptoms also appeared to feed back into health behaviour. The Behavioral Model seems relevant to self-care as well as formal health services. Additional work is needed to explore applicability of the Behavioral Model to different types of symptoms, different modalities of self-care and in countries with different health care systems. Future quantitative studies should establish the relative importance of factors influencing the actions people take to manage minor symptoms to inform future interventions aimed at optimising self-care behaviour. © 2014 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Baby Brain Map

MedlinePlus

... a Member Home Resources & Services Professional Resource Baby Brain Map Mar 17, 2016 The Brain Map was adapted in 2006 by ZERO TO ... supports Adobe Flash Player. To view the Baby Brain Map, please visit this page on a browser ...

Spatial Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Functions and Services using Human Relating Factors for SDG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, C.; Lee, W. K.; Jeon, S. W.; Kim, T.; Lim, C. H.

2015-12-01

Application of ecosystem service concept in environmental related decision making could be numerical and objective standard for policy maker between preserving and developing perspective of environment. However, pursuing maximum benefit from natural capital through ecosystem services caused failure by losing ecosystem functions through its trade-offs. Therefore, difference between ecosystem functions and services were demonstrated and would apply human relating perspectives. Assessment results of ecosystem functions and services can be divided 3 parts. Tree growth per year set as the ecosystem function factor and indicated through so called pure function map. After that, relating functions can be driven such as water conservation, air pollutant purification, climate change regulation, and timber production. Overall process and amount are numerically quantified. These functional results can be transferred to ecosystem services by multiplying economic unit value, so function reflecting service maps can be generated. On the other hand, above services, to implement more reliable human demand, human reflecting service maps are also be developed. As the validation, quantified ecosystem functions are compared with former results through pixel based analysis. Three maps are compared, and through comparing difference between ecosystem function and services and inversed trends in function based and human based service are analysed. In this study, we could find differences in PF, FRS, and HRS in relation to based ecosystem conditions. This study suggests that the differences in PF, FRS, and HRS should be understood in the decision making process for sustainable management of ecosystem services. Although the analysis is based on in sort existing process separation, it is important to consider the possibility of different usage of ecosystem function assessment results and ecosystem service assessment results in SDG policy making. Furthermore, process based functional approach can suggest environmental information which is reflected the other kinds of perspective.

Scaling the Peaks Research Protocol: understanding the barriers and drivers to providing and using dementia-friendly community services in rural areas-a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Marshall, Fiona; Basiri, Anahid; Riley, Mark; Dening, Tom; Gladman, John; Griffiths, Amanda; Lewis, Sarah

2018-04-13

Scaling the Peaks is a cross-disciplinary research study that draws on medical ethnography, human geography and Geospatial Information Science (GIS) to address the issues surrounding the design and delivery of dementia-friendly services in rural communities. The research question seeks to understand the barriers and drivers to the development of relevant, robust, reliable and accessible services that make a difference among older rural families affected by dementia. This mixed methods study recruits both families affected by dementia who reside within the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, and their service providers. The study explores the expectations and experiences of rural dementia by adopting a three-part approach 1 : longitudinal ethnographic enquiry with up to 32 families affected by dementia (aged 70 years plus) who identify themselves as rural residents 2 ; ethnographic semistructured interviews and systematic observations of a range of statutory, third sector, private and local community initiatives that seek to support older people living with dementia 3 ; and geospatial visual mapping of the qualitative and quantitative data. The ethnographic data will be used to explore the ideas of belonging in a community, perceptions of place and identity to determine the factors that influence everyday decisions about living well with dementia and, for the providers, working in a rural community. The geospatial component of the study seeks to incorporate quantitative and qualitative data, such as types, locations and allocation of services to produce an interactive web-based map for local communities to determine the future design and delivery of services when considering dementia-friendly services. The study is approved by the Leeds and Humberside Health Research Authority 16/YH/0163. The study is also approved by other participating organisations as required by their own governance procedures. The study includes people with dementia and as such adheres to the ethical considerations when including people with dementia. A publicly available interactive visual map of the findings will be produced in relation to current services related to location and, by default, identify gaps in provision. Formal reports and dissemination activities will be undertaken in collaboration with the study advisory group members. The recruitment began in September 2016. The data analysis commenced June 2017, using 59 provider interviews and 27 family participants. Data collection will be completed June 2018. Please note that the term 'families affected by dementia' is the preferred term of usage by the family members of the Scaling the Peaks Study Advisory Group. The group wish to emphasise that they consider this term to be more representative of their lives than the term living with dementia. NIHR IRAS 188103; Pre-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Mapping for maternal and newborn health: the distributions of women of childbearing age, pregnancies and births.

PubMed

Tatem, Andrew J; Campbell, James; Guerra-Arias, Maria; de Bernis, Luc; Moran, Allisyn; Matthews, Zoë

2014-01-04

The health and survival of women and their new-born babies in low income countries has been a key priority in public health since the 1990s. However, basic planning data, such as numbers of pregnancies and births, remain difficult to obtain and information is also lacking on geographic access to key services, such as facilities with skilled health workers. For maternal and newborn health and survival, planning for safer births and healthier newborns could be improved by more accurate estimations of the distributions of women of childbearing age. Moreover, subnational estimates of projected future numbers of pregnancies are needed for more effective strategies on human resources and infrastructure, while there is a need to link information on pregnancies to better information on health facilities in districts and regions so that coverage of services can be assessed. This paper outlines demographic mapping methods based on freely available data for the production of high resolution datasets depicting estimates of numbers of people, women of childbearing age, live births and pregnancies, and distribution of comprehensive EmONC facilities in four large high burden countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Satellite derived maps of settlements and land cover were constructed and used to redistribute areal census counts to produce detailed maps of the distributions of women of childbearing age. Household survey data, UN statistics and other sources on growth rates, age specific fertility rates, live births, stillbirths and abortions were then integrated to convert the population distribution datasets to gridded estimates of births and pregnancies. These estimates, which can be produced for current, past or future years based on standard demographic projections, can provide the basis for strategic intelligence, planning services, and provide denominators for subnational indicators to track progress. The datasets produced are part of national midwifery workforce assessments conducted in collaboration with the respective Ministries of Health and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to identify disparities between population needs, health infrastructure and workforce supply. The datasets are available to the respective Ministries as part of the UNFPA programme to inform midwifery workforce planning and also publicly available through the WorldPop population mapping project.

The North Alabama Lightning Warning Product

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buechler, Dennis E.; Blakeslee, R. J.; Stano, G. T.

2009-01-01

The North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array NALMA has been collecting total lightning data on storms in the Tennessee Valley region since 2001. Forecasters from nearby National Weather Service (NWS) offices have been ingesting this data for display with other AWIPS products. The current lightning product used by the offices is the lightning source density plot. The new product provides a probabalistic, short-term, graphical forecast of the probability of lightning activity occurring at 5 min intervals over the next 30 minutes . One of the uses of the current lightning source density product by the Huntsville National Weather Service Office is to identify areas of potential for cloud-to-ground flashes based on where LMA total lightning is occurring. This product quantifies that observation. The Lightning Warning Product is derived from total lightning observations from the Washington, D.C. (DCLMA) and North Alabama Lightning Mapping Arrays and cloud-to-ground lightning flashes detected by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). Probability predictions are provided for both intracloud and cloud-to-ground flashes. The gridded product can be displayed on AWIPS workstations in a manner similar to that of the lightning source density product.

Auditing surgical service provision at a South African tertiary institution: Implications for the development of district services.

PubMed

Laing, G L; Skinner, D L; Bruce, J L; Aldous, C; Govindasamy, V; Thomson, S R; Clarke, D L

2017-11-01

The optimal management of resources within South African state hospitals has been hampered by a paucity of data due to a lack of robust auditing information systems. This study reviews the use of a Hybrid Electronic Medical Record (HEMR) system to capture and aggregate data pertaining to the inpatient service demands on a South African tertiary surgical service. This dataset was used to analyse the appropriateness of tertiary surgical resource utilisation. The HEMR system was implemented at Greys Hospital, in the city of Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa on 1 January 2013. Inpatient data pertaining to surgical admissions and operative interventions were captured prospectively. Following an 18-month study period, the data were extracted, aggregated and analysed. The district referral hospitals were mapped, and district surgical procedures performed within the tertiary center were identified and quantified. Results: 7314 patients were admitted and managed by the tertiary surgical service during the study period. The median patient age was 33 years (IQR 6.5-42.4 years). 59.7% were male and 40.3% were female. General, trauma and paediatric surgical admissions constituted 54.8%, 28.6% and 16.6% respectively. Emergency admissions constituted 62.4% and elective admissions 37.6%. Referral sources were captured for 6653 (91%) of the cohort. 4338 (65.2%) patients were referred from district hospitals. The district hospital (Northdale) closest to Greys Hospital was responsible for 1675 (25.2%) of surgical referrals. 4174 operative procedures were performed during the study period, 54.7% performed as an emergency, 34.1% electively and 11.2% semi-electively. The median waiting time for emergency operative intervention was 535 minutes (IQR 130-663). A total of 1272 (30.5%) operative procedures performed were assessed as district-level operations. The time intervals of 07:00-07:59 and 17:00-17:59 were identified as the time periods during which the least number of emergency procedures were performed in the operating theatres. The HEMR system enabled the Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Department of Surgery to quantify the burden of surgical disease and map district referral patterns. Thirty percent of operative procedures performed were assessed as district-level operations. Potentially correctable deficits identified within the tertiary center were lengthy delays to emergency surgery and non-optimal theatre utilisation periods.

Characterizing and Mapping of Ecosystem Services (CMESs) Literature Database Version 1.0

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services (ESs) represent an ecosystem’s capacity for satisfying essential human needs, directly or indirectly, above that required to maintain ecosystem integrity (structure, function and processes). The spatial characterization and mapping of ESs is an essential first ...

Using Photovoice and Asset Mapping to Inform a Community-Based Diabetes Intervention, Boston, Massachusetts, 2015

PubMed Central

Roy, Nicole M. St. Omer; Quintiliani, Lisa M.; Truong, Ve; Feng, Yi; Bloch, Philippe P.; Russinova, Zlatka L.; Lasser, Karen E.

2016-01-01

Introduction Diabetes self-management takes place within a complex social and environmental context.  This study’s objective was to examine the perceived and actual presence of community assets that may aid in diabetes control. Methods We conducted one 6-hour photovoice session with 11 adults with poorly controlled diabetes in Boston, Massachusetts.  Participants were recruited from census tracts with high numbers of people with poorly controlled diabetes (diabetes “hot spots”).  We coded the discussions and identified relevant themes.  We further explored themes related to the built environment through community asset mapping.  Through walking surveys, we evaluated 5 diabetes hot spots related to physical activity resources, walking environment, and availability of food choices in restaurants and food stores. Results Community themes from the photovoice session were access to healthy food, restaurants, and prepared foods; food assistance programs; exercise facilities; and church.  Asset mapping identified 114 community assets including 22 food stores, 22 restaurants, and 5 exercise facilities.  Each diabetes hot spot contained at least 1 food store with 5 to 9 varieties of fruits and vegetables.  Only 1 of the exercise facilities had signage regarding hours or services.  Memberships ranged from free to $9.95 per month.  Overall, these findings were inconsistent with participants’ reports in the photovoice group. Conclusion We identified a mismatch between perceptions of community assets and built environment and the objective reality of that environment. Incorporating photovoice and community asset mapping into a community-based diabetes intervention may bring awareness to underused neighborhood resources that can help people control their diabetes. PMID:27513998

Geovisualization in the HydroProg web map service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spallek, Waldemar; Wieczorek, Malgorzata; Szymanowski, Mariusz; Niedzielski, Tomasz; Swierczynska, Malgorzata

2016-04-01

The HydroProg system, built at the University of Wroclaw (Poland) in frame of the research project no. 2011/01/D/ST10/04171 financed by the National Science Centre of Poland, has been designed for computing predictions of river stages in real time on a basis of multimodelling. This experimental system works on the upper Nysa Klodzka basin (SW Poland) above the gauge in the town of Bardo, with the catchment area of 1744 square kilometres. The system operates in association with the Local System for Flood Monitoring of Klodzko County (LSOP), and produces hydrograph prognoses as well as inundation predictions. For presenting the up-to-date predictions and their statistics in the online mode, the dedicated real-time web map service has been designed. Geovisualisation in the HydroProg map service concerns: interactive maps of study area, interactive spaghetti hydrograms of water level forecasts along with observed river stages, animated images of inundation. The LSOP network offers a high spatial and temporal resolution of observations, as the length of the sampling interval is equal to 15 minutes. The main environmental elements related to hydrological modelling are shown on the main map. This includes elevation data (hillshading and hypsometric tints), rivers and reservoirs as well as catchment boundaries. Furthermore, we added main towns, roads as well as political and administrative boundaries for better map understanding. The web map was designed as a multi-scale representation, with levels of detail and zooming according to scales: 1:100 000, 1:250 000 and 1:500 000. Observations of water level in LSOP are shown on interactive hydrographs for each gauge. Additionally, predictions and some of their statistical characteristics (like prediction errors and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency) are shown for selected gauges. Finally, predictions of inundation are presented on animated maps which have been added for four experimental sites. The HydroProg system is a strictly scientific project, but the web map service has been designed for all web users. The main objective of the paper is to present the design process of the web map service, following the cartographic and graphic principles.

Access to hyperacute stroke services across Canadian provinces: a geospatial analysis

PubMed Central

Eswaradass, Prasanna Venkatesan; Swartz, Richard H.; Rosen, Jamey; Hill, Michael D.; Lindsay, M. Patrice

2017-01-01

Background: Canada's vast geography creates challenges for ensuring prompt transport to hospital of patients who have had a stroke. We sought to determine the proportion of people across various Canadian provinces for whom hyperacute stroke services are accessible within evidence-based time targets. Methods: We calculated, for the 8 provinces with available data, drive-time polygons on a map of Canada that delineated the area around stroke centres and emergency medical services (EMS) base centres to which one can drive in 3.5-6 hours. We calculated the proportional area of each forward sortation area (first 3 digits of the postal code) contained within a drive-time polygon. We applied this ratio to the 2011 Canadian census population of the forward sortation area to estimate the population that can reach a stroke centre in a designated time. Results: A total of 47.1%-96.4% of Canadians live within a 4.5-hour drive to a stroke centre via road EMS, and 53.3%-96.8% live within a 6-hour drive. Assuming a total travel time of 5 hours by EMS from base centre to patient and patient to hospital, 84.7%-99.8% of the population has access to a current or proposed endovascular thrombectomy site. Interpretation: Most Canadians live within 6 hours' road access to a stroke centre. Geospatial mapping could be used to inform decisions for additional sites and identify gaps in service accessibility. Coordinated systems of care and ambulance bypass agreements must continue to evolve to ensure maximal access to time-sensitive emergency stroke services. PMID:28615192

Mapping the scope of occupational therapy practice in palliative care: A European Association for Palliative Care cross-sectional survey

PubMed Central

Eva, Gail; Morgan, Deidre

2018-01-01

Background: Occupational therapists play an integral role in the care of people with life-limiting illnesses. However, little is known about the scope of occupational therapy service provision in palliative care across Europe and factors influencing service delivery. Aim: This study aimed to map the scope of occupational therapy palliative care interventions across Europe and to explore occupational therapists’ perceptions of opportunities and challenges when delivering and developing palliative care services. Design: A 49-item online cross-sectional survey comprised of fixed and free text responses was securely hosted via the European Association for Palliative Care website. Survey design, content and recruitment processes were reviewed and formally approved by the European Association for Palliative Care Board of Directors. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyse data. Setting/respondents: Respondents were European occupational therapists whose caseload included palliative care recipients (full-time or part-time). Results: In total, 237 valid responses were analysed. Findings demonstrated a consistency in occupational therapy practice in palliative care between European countries. Clinician time was prioritised towards indirect patient care, with limited involvement in service development, leadership and research. A need for undergraduate and postgraduate education was identified. Organisational expectations and understanding of the scope of the occupational therapy role constrain the delivery of services to support patients and carers. Conclusion: Further development of occupational therapy in palliative care, particularly capacity building in leadership and research activities, is warranted. There is a need for continuing education and awareness raising of the role of occupational therapy in palliative care. PMID:29756556

Mapping the scope of occupational therapy practice in palliative care: A European Association for Palliative Care cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Eva, Gail; Morgan, Deidre

2018-05-01

Occupational therapists play an integral role in the care of people with life-limiting illnesses. However, little is known about the scope of occupational therapy service provision in palliative care across Europe and factors influencing service delivery. This study aimed to map the scope of occupational therapy palliative care interventions across Europe and to explore occupational therapists' perceptions of opportunities and challenges when delivering and developing palliative care services. A 49-item online cross-sectional survey comprised of fixed and free text responses was securely hosted via the European Association for Palliative Care website. Survey design, content and recruitment processes were reviewed and formally approved by the European Association for Palliative Care Board of Directors. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyse data. Setting/respondents: Respondents were European occupational therapists whose caseload included palliative care recipients (full-time or part-time). In total, 237 valid responses were analysed. Findings demonstrated a consistency in occupational therapy practice in palliative care between European countries. Clinician time was prioritised towards indirect patient care, with limited involvement in service development, leadership and research. A need for undergraduate and postgraduate education was identified. Organisational expectations and understanding of the scope of the occupational therapy role constrain the delivery of services to support patients and carers. Further development of occupational therapy in palliative care, particularly capacity building in leadership and research activities, is warranted. There is a need for continuing education and awareness raising of the role of occupational therapy in palliative care.

Investigation of Mapping Skills of Pre-Service Teachers as Regards to Various Parameters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aksoy, Bulent

2013-01-01

The goal of this study is to investigate the mapping skills of pre-service teachers as regards to various parameters. The study was carried out using the survey method. The data collection tool employed in the study was the achievement test developed by Koc (2008). The study was carried out on 199 pre-service teachers studying in social studies,…

A Tool that Can be Effective in the Self-Regulated Learning of Pre-Service Teachers: The Mind Map

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanriseven, Isil

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of task planning with mind maps on the self-regulation strategies and motivational beliefs of pre-service teachers. A quasi-experimental design, with a pre-test and post-test control group, was applied in the research. The research group comprised of 60 pre-service teachers taking "Teaching…

High Temporal Resolution Mapping of Seismic Noise Sources Using Heterogeneous Supercomputers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paitz, P.; Gokhberg, A.; Ermert, L. A.; Fichtner, A.

2017-12-01

The time- and space-dependent distribution of seismic noise sources is becoming a key ingredient of modern real-time monitoring of various geo-systems like earthquake fault zones, volcanoes, geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs. We present results of an ongoing research project conducted in collaboration with the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS). The project aims at building a service providing seismic noise source maps for Central Europe with high temporal resolution. We use source imaging methods based on the cross-correlation of seismic noise records from all seismic stations available in the region of interest. The service is hosted on the CSCS computing infrastructure; all computationally intensive processing is performed on the massively parallel heterogeneous supercomputer "Piz Daint". The solution architecture is based on the Application-as-a-Service concept to provide the interested researchers worldwide with regular access to the noise source maps. The solution architecture includes the following sub-systems: (1) data acquisition responsible for collecting, on a periodic basis, raw seismic records from the European seismic networks, (2) high-performance noise source mapping application responsible for the generation of source maps using cross-correlation of seismic records, (3) back-end infrastructure for the coordination of various tasks and computations, (4) front-end Web interface providing the service to the end-users and (5) data repository. The noise source mapping itself rests on the measurement of logarithmic amplitude ratios in suitably pre-processed noise correlations, and the use of simplified sensitivity kernels. During the implementation we addressed various challenges, in particular, selection of data sources and transfer protocols, automation and monitoring of daily data downloads, ensuring the required data processing performance, design of a general service-oriented architecture for coordination of various sub-systems, and engineering an appropriate data storage solution. The present pilot version of the service implements noise source maps for Switzerland. Extension of the solution to Central Europe is planned for the next project phase.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Areas of Historical Oil and Gas Exploration and Production in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura

2008-01-01

This report contains maps and associated spatial data showing historical oil and gas exploration and production in the United States. Because of the proprietary nature of many oil and gas well databases, the United States was divided into cells one-quarter square mile and the production status of all wells in a given cell was aggregated. Base-map reference data are included, using the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Map, the USGS and American Geological Institute (AGI) Global GIS, and a World Shaded Relief map service from the ESRI Geography Network. A hardcopy map was created to synthesize recorded exploration data from 1859, when the first oil well was drilled in the U.S., to 2005. In addition to the hardcopy map product, the data have been refined and made more accessible through the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. The cell data are included in a GIS database constructed for spatial analysis via the USGS Internet Map Service or by importing the data into GIS software such as ArcGIS. The USGS internet map service provides a number of useful and sophisticated geoprocessing and cartographic functions via an internet browser. Also included is a video clip of U.S. oil and gas exploration and production through time.

Approaches to Mapping Nitrogen Removal: Examples at a Landscape Scale

EPA Science Inventory

Wetlands can provide the ecosystem service of improved water quality via nitrogen removal, providing clean drinking water and reducing the eutrophication of aquatic resources. Within the ESRP, mapping nitrogen removal by wetlands is a service that incorporates the goals of the ni...

77 FR 20355 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Award Amendment Requests and Project Service Maps

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-04

... higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education; (4) public or private non-profit... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Economic Development Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Award Amendment Requests and Project Service Maps AGENCY: Economic Development...

Impact of visual impairment on the lives of young adults in the Netherlands: a concept-mapping approach.

PubMed

Elsman, Ellen Bernadette Maria; van Rens, Gerardus Hermanus Maria Bartholomeus; van Nispen, Ruth Marie Antoinette

2017-12-01

While the impact of visual impairments on specific aspects of young adults' lives is well recognised, a systematic understanding of its impact on all life aspects is lacking. This study aims to provide an overview of life aspects affected by visual impairment in young adults (aged 18-25 years) using a concept-mapping approach. Visually impaired young adults (n = 22) and rehabilitation professionals (n = 16) participated in online concept-mapping workshops (brainstorm procedure), to explore how having a visual impairment influences the lives of young adults. Statements were categorised based on similarity and importance. Using multidimensional scaling, concept maps were produced and interpreted. A total of 59 and 260 statements were generated by young adults and professionals, respectively, resulting in 99 individual statements after checking and deduplication. The combined concept map revealed 11 clusters: work, study, information and regulations, social skills, living independently, computer, social relationships, sport and activities, mobility, leisure time, and hobby. The concept maps provided useful insight into activities influenced by visual impairments in young adults, which can be used by rehabilitation centres to improve their services. This might help in goal setting, rehabilitation referral and successful transition to adult life, ultimately increasing participation and quality of life. Implications for rehabilitation Having a visual impairment affects various life-aspects related to participation, including activities related to work, study, social skills and relationships, activities of daily living, leisure time and mobility. Concept-mapping helped to identify the life aspects affected by low vision, and quantify these aspects in terms of importance according to young adults and low vision rehabilitation professionals. Low vision rehabilitation centres should focus on all life aspects found in this study when identifying the needs of young adults, as this might aid goal setting and rehabilitation referral, ultimately leading to more successful transitions, better participation and quality of life.

Mapping your competitive position.

PubMed

D'Aveni, Richard A

2007-11-01

A price-benefit positioning map helps you see, through your customers' eyes, how your product compares with all its competitors in a market. You can draw such a map quickly and objectively, without having to resort to costly, time-consuming consumer surveys or subjective estimates of the excellence of your product and the shortcomings of all the others. Creating a positioning map involves three steps: First, define your market to include everything your customers might consider to be your product's competitors or substitutes. Second, track the price your customers actually pay (wholesale or retail? bundled or unbundled?) and identify what your customers see as your offering's primary benefit. This is done through regression analysis, determining which of the product's attributes (as described objectively by rating services, government agencies, R&D departments, and the like) explains most of the variance in its price. Third, draw the map by plotting on a graph the position of every product in the market you've selected according to its price and its level of primary benefit, and draw a line that runs through the middle of the points. What you get is a picture of the competitive landscape of your market, where all the products above the line command a price premium owing to some secondary benefit customers value, and all those below the line are positioned to earn market share through lower prices and reduced secondary benefits. Using examples as varied as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Motorola cell phones, and the New York restaurant market, Tuck professor D'Aveni demonstrates some of the many ways the maps can be used: to locate unoccupied or less-crowded spaces in highly competitive markets, for instance, or to identify opportunities created through changes in the relationship between the primary benefit and prices. The maps even allow companies to anticipate--and counter-- rivals' strategies. R eprint RO711G

Effective electron-density map improvement and structure validation on a Linux multi-CPU web cluster: The TB Structural Genomics Consortium Bias Removal Web Service.

PubMed

Reddy, Vinod; Swanson, Stanley M; Segelke, Brent; Kantardjieff, Katherine A; Sacchettini, James C; Rupp, Bernhard

2003-12-01

Anticipating a continuing increase in the number of structures solved by molecular replacement in high-throughput crystallography and drug-discovery programs, a user-friendly web service for automated molecular replacement, map improvement, bias removal and real-space correlation structure validation has been implemented. The service is based on an efficient bias-removal protocol, Shake&wARP, and implemented using EPMR and the CCP4 suite of programs, combined with various shell scripts and Fortran90 routines. The service returns improved maps, converted data files and real-space correlation and B-factor plots. User data are uploaded through a web interface and the CPU-intensive iteration cycles are executed on a low-cost Linux multi-CPU cluster using the Condor job-queuing package. Examples of map improvement at various resolutions are provided and include model completion and reconstruction of absent parts, sequence correction, and ligand validation in drug-target structures.

Cartographic services contract...for everything geographic

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2003-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Cartographic Services Contract (CSC) is used to award work for photogrammetric and mapping services under the umbrella of Architect-Engineer (A&E) contracting. The A&E contract is broad in scope and can accommodate any activity related to standard, nonstandard, graphic, and digital cartographic products. Services provided may include, but are not limited to, photogrammetric mapping and aerotriangulation; orthophotography; thematic mapping (for example, land characterization); analog and digital imagery applications; geographic information systems development; surveying and control acquisition, including ground-based and airborne Global Positioning System; analog and digital image manipulation, analysis, and interpretation; raster and vector map digitizing; data manipulations (for example, transformations, conversions, generalization, integration, and conflation); primary and ancillary data acquisition (for example, aerial photography, satellite imagery, multispectral, multitemporal, and hyperspectral data); image scanning and processing; metadata production, revision, and creation; and production or revision of standard USGS products defined by formal and informal specification and standards, such as those for digital line graphs, digital elevation models, digital orthophoto quadrangles, and digital raster graphics.

Mapping regional livelihood benefits from local ecosystem services assessments in rural Sahel

PubMed Central

Sinare, Hanna; Enfors Kautsky, Elin; Ouedraogo, Issa; Gordon, Line J.

2018-01-01

Most current approaches to landscape scale ecosystem service assessments rely on detailed secondary data. This type of data is seldom available in regions with high levels of poverty and strong local dependence on provisioning ecosystem services for livelihoods. We develop a method to extrapolate results from a previously published village scale ecosystem services assessment to a higher administrative level, relevant for land use decision making. The method combines remote sensing (using a hybrid classification method) and interviews with community members. The resulting landscape scale maps show the spatial distribution of five different livelihood benefits (nutritional diversity, income, insurance/saving, material assets and energy, and crops for consumption) that illustrate the strong multifunctionality of the Sahelian landscapes. The maps highlight the importance of a diverse set of sub-units of the landscape in supporting Sahelian livelihoods. We see a large potential in using the resulting type of livelihood benefit maps for guiding future land use decisions in the Sahel. PMID:29389965

Mapping regional livelihood benefits from local ecosystem services assessments in rural Sahel.

PubMed

Malmborg, Katja; Sinare, Hanna; Enfors Kautsky, Elin; Ouedraogo, Issa; Gordon, Line J

2018-01-01

Most current approaches to landscape scale ecosystem service assessments rely on detailed secondary data. This type of data is seldom available in regions with high levels of poverty and strong local dependence on provisioning ecosystem services for livelihoods. We develop a method to extrapolate results from a previously published village scale ecosystem services assessment to a higher administrative level, relevant for land use decision making. The method combines remote sensing (using a hybrid classification method) and interviews with community members. The resulting landscape scale maps show the spatial distribution of five different livelihood benefits (nutritional diversity, income, insurance/saving, material assets and energy, and crops for consumption) that illustrate the strong multifunctionality of the Sahelian landscapes. The maps highlight the importance of a diverse set of sub-units of the landscape in supporting Sahelian livelihoods. We see a large potential in using the resulting type of livelihood benefit maps for guiding future land use decisions in the Sahel.

Current Approaches to Improving Marine Geophysical Data Discovery and Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jencks, J. H.; Cartwright, J.; Varner, J. D.; Anderson, C.; Robertson, E.; McLean, S. J.

2016-02-01

Exploring, understanding, and managing the global oceans is a challenge when hydrographic maps are available for only 5% of the world's oceans, even less of which have been mapped geologically or to identify benthic habitats. Seafloor mapping is expensive and most government and academic budgets continue to tighten. The first step for any mapping program, before setting out to map uncharted waters, should be to identify if data currently exist in the area of interest. There are many reasons why this seemingly simple suggestion is not commonplace. While certain datasets are accessible online (e.g., NOAA's NCEI, EMODnet, IHO-DCDB), many are not. In some cases, data that are publicly available are difficult to discover and access. No single agency can successfully resolve the complex and pressing demands of ocean and coastal mapping and the associated data stewardship. NOAA partners with other federal agencies to provide an integrated approach to carry out a coordinated and comprehensive ocean and coastal mapping program. In order to maximize the return on their mapping investment, legacy and newly acquired data must be easily discoverable and readily accessible by numerous applications and formats now and well into the future. At NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), resources are focused on ensuring the security and widespread availability of the Nation's scientific marine geophysical data through long-term stewardship. The public value of these data and products is maximized by streamlining data acquisition and processing operations, minimizing redundancies, facilitating discovery, and developing common standards to promote re-use. For its part, NCEI draws on a variety of software technologies and adheres to international standards to meet this challenge. The result is a geospatial framework built on spatially-enabled databases, standards-based web services, and International Standards Organization (ISO) metadata. In order to maximize effectiveness in ocean and coastal mapping, we must be sure that limited funding is not being used to collect data in areas where data already exist. By making data more accessible, NCEI extends the use of, and therefore the value of, these data. Working together, we can ensure that valuable data are made available to the broadest community.

Publishing Platform for Aerial Orthophoto Maps, the Complete Stack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Čepický, J.; Čapek, L.

2016-06-01

When creating set of orthophoto maps from mosaic compositions, using airborne systems, such as popular drones, we need to publish results of the work to users. Several steps need to be performed in order get large scale raster data published. As first step, data have to be shared as service (OGC WMS as view service, OGC WCS as download service). But for some applications, OGC WMTS is handy as well, for faster view of the data. Finally the data have to become a part of web mapping application, so that they can be used and evaluated by non-technical users. In this talk, we would like to present automated line of those steps, where user puts in orthophoto image and as a result, OGC Open Web Services are published as well as web mapping application with the data. The web mapping application can be used as standard presentation platform for such type of big raster data to generic user. The publishing platform - Geosense online map information system - can be also used for combination of data from various resources and for creating of unique map compositions and as input for better interpretations of photographed phenomenons. The whole process is successfully tested with eBee drone with raster data resolution 1.5-4 cm/px on many areas and result is also used for creation of derived datasets, usually suited for property management - the records of roads, pavements, traffic signs, public lighting, sewage system, grave locations, and others.

U.S. Level III and IV Ecoregions (U.S. EPA)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This map service displays Level III and Level IV Ecoregions of the United States and was created from ecoregion data obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development's Western Ecology Division. The original ecoregion data was projected from Albers to Web Mercator for this map service. To download shapefiles of ecoregion data (in Albers), please go to: ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT LEVEL IV POLYGON LEGEND DISPLAY IN ARCMAP: Due to the limitations of Graphical Device Interface (GDI) resources per application on Windows, ArcMap does not display the legend in the Table of Contents for the ArcGIS Server service layer if the legend has more than 100 items. As of December 2011, there are 968 unique legend items in the Level IV Ecoregion Polygon legend. Follow this link (http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/33741) for instructions about how to increase the maximum number of ArcGIS Server service layer legend items allowed for display in ArcMap. Note the instructions at this link provide a slightly incorrect path to Maximum Legend Count. The correct path is HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > ESRI > ArcMap > Server > MapServerLayer > Maximum Legend Count. When editing the Maximum Legend Count, update the field, Value data to 1000. To download a PDF version of the Level IV ecoregion map and legend, go to ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/us/Eco_Level_IV

EnviroAtlas - Austin, TX - Tree Cover Configuration and Connectivity, Water Background Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/EnviroAtlas). The EnviroAtlas Austin, TX tree cover configuration and connectivity map categorizes forest land cover into structural elements (e.g. core, edge, connector, etc.). In this community, Forest is defined as Trees & Forest (Trees & Forest - 40 = 1; All Else = 0). Water was considered background (value 129) during the analysis to create this dataset, however it has been converted into value 10 to distinguish it from land area background. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Ecosystem services and the protection, restoration, and management of ecosystems exposed to chemical stressors.

PubMed

Maltby, Lorraine

2013-04-01

Ecosystem services-the benefits people obtain from ecosystem structures and processes-are essential for human survival and well-being. Chemicals are also an essential component of modern life; however, they may cause adverse ecological effects and reduce ecosystem service provision. Environmental policy makers are increasingly adopting the ecosystem services concept, but applying this approach to the protection, restoration, and management of ecosystems requires the development of new understanding, tools, and frameworks. There is an urgent need to understand and predict the effect of single and multiple stressors on ecosystem service delivery across different spatial scales (local to global), to develop indicators that can be used to quantify and map services and identify synergies and trade-offs between them, to establish protection goals and restoration targets defined in terms of the types and levels of service delivery required, and to develop approaches for the assessment and management of chemical risk to ecosystem services that consider the whole life cycle of products and processes. These are major research challenges for the environmental science community in general and for ecotoxicologists and risk assessors in particular. Copyright © 2013 SETAC.

[Visualizing Research Lines in Public Health: An analysis Based on Bibliometric Maps Applied to the Revista Española de Salud Pública (2006-2015)].

PubMed

Gálvez, Carmen

2016-12-01

Identifying research lines is essential to understand the knowledge structure of a scientific domain. The aim of this study was to identify the main research topics of within the domain of public health, in the Revista Española de Saslud Pública during 2006-2015. Original articles included in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database, available online through the Web of Science (WoS), were selected. The analysis units used were the keywords, KeyWords Plus (KW+), extracted automatically by SSCI. With KW+ obtained bibliometric, maps were created using a methodology based on the combination of co-word analysis, co-word analysis, clustering techniques and visualization techniques. We analyzed 512 documents, of which 176 KW+ were obtained with a frequency greater than or equal to 3. The results were bidimensional bibliometric maps with thematic groupings of KW+, representing the main research fronts: i) epidemiology, risk control programs disease and, in general, service organization and health policies; ii) infectious diseases, principally HIV; iii) a progressive increase in several lines interrelated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD); iv) a line multidimensional dedicated to different aspects associated to the quality of life related to health (HRQoL); and v) an emerging line linked to binge drinking. For the multidisciplinary and multidimensional nature of public health, the construction of bibliometric maps is an appropriate methodology to understand the knowledge structure of this scientific domain.

CPC - Monitoring & Data: Regional Climate Maps

Science.gov Websites

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Site Map News Information CPC Web Team HOME > Monitoring and Data > Global Climate Data & Maps > Global Regional Climate Maps Regional Climate Maps Banner The Monthly regional analyses products are usually

Large-scale mapping of landslides in the epicentral area Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989, Santa Cruz County

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spittler, T.E.; Sydnor, R.H.; Manson, M.W.

1990-01-01

The Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989 triggered landslides throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains in central California. The California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology (DMG) responded to a request for assistance from the County of Santa Cruz, Office of Emergency Services to evaluate the geologic hazard from major reactivated large landslides. DMG prepared a set of geologic maps showing the landslide features that resulted from the October 17 earthquake. The principal purpose of large-scale mapping of these landslides is: (1) to provide county officials with regional landslide information that can be used for timely recovery ofmore » damaged areas; (2) to identify disturbed ground which is potentially vulnerable to landslide movement during winter rains; (3) to provide county planning officials with timely geologic information that will be used for effective land-use decisions; (4) to document regional landslide features that may not otherwise be available for individual site reconstruction permits and for future development.« less

MN GIS/LIS Consortium Annual Conference and Workshops, Rochester, MN, October 1-3, 2014

EPA Science Inventory

We mapped the distribution of multiple ecosystem services in the Saint Louis River Area of Concern (SLR AOC) under current and reported extreme lake levels. Services were mapped using measured or modeled natural features (i.e., bathymetry, vegetation, fetch, habitat, contaminated...

Developing an Analytical Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making - Proceedings of a Workshop

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hogan, Dianna; Arthaud, Greg; Pattison, Malka; Sayre, Roger G.; Shapiro, Carl

2010-01-01

The analytical framework for understanding ecosystem services in conservation, resource management, and development decisions is multidisciplinary, encompassing a combination of the natural and social sciences. This report summarizes a workshop on 'Developing an Analytical Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making,' which focused on the analytical process and on identifying research priorities for assessing ecosystem services, their production and use, their spatial and temporal characteristics, their relationship with natural systems, and their interdependencies. Attendees discussed research directions and solutions to key challenges in developing the analytical framework. The discussion was divided into two sessions: (1) the measurement framework: quantities and values, and (2) the spatial framework: mapping and spatial relationships. This workshop was the second of three preconference workshops associated with ACES 2008 (A Conference on Ecosystem Services): Using Science for Decision Making in Dynamic Systems. These three workshops were designed to explore the ACES 2008 theme on decision making and how the concept of ecosystem services can be more effectively incorporated into conservation, restoration, resource management, and development decisions. Preconference workshop 1, 'Developing a Vision: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making,' was held on April 15, 2008, in Cambridge, MA. In preconference workshop 1, participants addressed what would have to happen to make ecosystem services be used more routinely and effectively in conservation, restoration, resource management, and development decisions, and they identified some key challenges in developing the analytical framework. Preconference workshop 3, 'Developing an Institutional Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making,' was held on October 30, 2008, in Albuquerque, NM; participants examined the relationship between the institutional framework and the use of ecosystem services in decision making.

How digital storytelling is used in mental health: A scoping review.

PubMed

De Vecchi, Nadia; Kenny, Amanda; Dickson-Swift, Virginia; Kidd, Susan

2016-06-01

The creative arts can be used to support stakeholders of mental health services to communicate and share their lived experience. Digital storytelling is one method that has been used to capture people's lived experience. In this scoping review, we were interested in mapping how digital storytelling has been used in mental health, and to identify gaps in the literature. Nine databases were searched to identify peer reviewed literature published between January 2000 and August 2015; 15 articles were included in the review. The articles were categorized across four broad areas: educational interventions, learning skills, learning about other people's lived experience, and learning about personal lived experience. We identify that while digital storytelling has potential as a participatory process to promote mutual understanding of and empathy towards lived experiences in mental health, there is a dearth of research in this area. More research is needed on the use of digital storytelling in mental health to determine its effectiveness in progressing a recovery orientation in service provision that is built on solidarity and a social justice agenda. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

GIO-EMS and International Collaboration in Satellite based Emergency Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kucera, Jan; Lemoine, Guido; Broglia, Marco

2013-04-01

During the last decade, satellite based emergency mapping has developed into a mature operational stage. The European Union's GMES Initial Operations - Emergency Management Service (GIO-EMS), is operational since April 2012. It's set up differs from other mechanisms (for example from the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters"), as it extends fast satellite tasking and delivery with the value adding map production as a single service, which is available, free of charge, to the authorized users of the service. Maps and vector datasets with standard characteristics and formats ranging from post-disaster damage assessment to recovery and disaster prevention are covered by this initiative. Main users of the service are European civil protection authorities and international organizations active in humanitarian aid. All non-sensitive outputs of the service are accessible to the public. The European Commission's in-house science service Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the technical and administrative supervisor of the GIO-EMS. The EC's DG ECHO Monitoring and Information Centre acts as the service's focal point and DG ENTR is responsible for overall service governance. GIO-EMS also aims to contribute to the synergy with similar existing mechanisms at national and international level. The usage of satellite data for emergency mapping has increased during the last years and this trend is expected to continue because of easier accessibility to suitable satellite and other relevant data in the near future. Furthermore, the data and analyses coming from volunteer emergency mapping communities are expected to further enrich the content of such cartographic products. In the case of major disasters the parallel activity of more providers is likely to generate non-optimal use of resources, e.g. unnecessary duplication; whereas coordination may lead to reduced time needed to cover the disaster area. Furthermore the abundant number of geospatial products of different characteristics and quality can become confusing for users. The urgent need for a better coordination has led to establishment of the International Working Group on Satellite Based Emergency Mapping (IWG-SEM). Members of the IWG-SEM, which include JRC, USGS, DLR-ZKI, SERVIR, Sentinel Asia, UNOSAT, UN-SPIDER, GEO, ITHACA and SERTIT have recognized the need to establish the best practice between operational satellite-based emergency mapping programs. The group intends to: • work with the appropriate organizations on definition of professional standards for emergency mapping, guidelines for product generation and reviewing relevant technical standards and protocols • facilitate communication and collaboration during the major emergencies • stimulate coordination of expertise and capacities. The existence of the group and the cooperation among members already brought benefits during recent disasters in Africa and Europe in 2012 in terms of faster and effective satellite data provision and better product generation.

Do Science and Technology Teachers and Pre-Service Primary Teachers Have Different Thoughts about Concept Maps in Science and Technology Lessons?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karakuyu, Yunus

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the thoughts of primary science and technology teachers, primary class teachers, pre-service primary class teachers and pre-service primary science and technology teachers' about concept maps. This scale applied the use of basic and random method on the chosen 125 4th and 5th grade primary class teachers…

Land utilization and ecological aspects in the Sylhet-Mymensingh Haor Region of Bangladesh: An analysis of LANDSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chowdhury, M. I.; Elahi, K. M.

1977-01-01

The use of remote sensing data from LANDSAT (ERTS) imageries in identifying, evaluating and mapping land use patterns of the Haor area in Bangladesh was investigated. Selected cloud free imageries of the area for the period 1972-75 were studied. Imageries in bands 4, 5 and 7 were mostly used. The method of analysis involved utilization of both human and computer services of information from ground, aerial photographs taken during this period and space imageries.

Visual cues to geographical orientation during low-level flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Battiste, Vernol; Delzell, Suzanne

1991-01-01

A field study of an operational Emergency Medical Service (EMS) unit was conducted to investigate the relationships among geographical orientation, pilot decision making, and workload in EMS flights. The map data collected during this study were compared to protocols gathered in the laboratory, where pilots viewed a simulated flight over different types of unfamiliar terrain and verbally identified the features utilized to maintain geographical orientation. The EMS pilot's questionnaire data were compared with data from non-EMS helicopter pilots with comparable flight experience.

Safeguarding Ecosystem Services: A Methodological Framework to Buffer the Joint Effect of Habitat Configuration and Climate Change.

PubMed

Giannini, Tereza C; Tambosi, Leandro R; Acosta, André L; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Saraiva, Antonio M; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L; Metzger, Jean Paul

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services provided by mobile agents are increasingly threatened by the loss and modification of natural habitats and by climate change, risking the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and human welfare. Research oriented towards a better understanding of the joint effects of land use and climate change over the provision of specific ecosystem services is therefore essential to safeguard such services. Here we propose a methodological framework, which integrates species distribution forecasts and graph theory to identify key conservation areas, which if protected or restored could improve habitat connectivity and safeguard ecosystem services. We applied the proposed framework to the provision of pollination services by a tropical stingless bee (Melipona quadrifasciata), a key pollinator of native flora from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and important agricultural crops. Based on the current distribution of this bee and that of the plant species used to feed and nest, we projected the joint distribution of bees and plants in the future, considering a moderate climate change scenario (following IPPC). We then used this information, the bee's flight range, and the current mapping of Atlantic Forest remnants to infer habitat suitability and quantify local and regional habitat connectivity for 2030, 2050 and 2080. Our results revealed north to south and coastal to inland shifts in the pollinator distribution during the next 70 years. Current and future connectivity maps unraveled the most important corridors, which if protected or restored, could facilitate the dispersal and establishment of bees during distribution shifts. Our results also suggest that coffee plantations from eastern São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais States could suffer a pollinator deficit in the future, whereas pollination services seem to be secured in southern Brazil. Landowners and governmental agencies could use this information to implement new land use schemes. Overall, our proposed methodological framework could help design novel conservational and agricultural practices that can be crucial to conserve ecosystem services by buffering the joint effect of habitat configuration and climate change.

The US Geological Survey's National Mapping Division programs, products, and services that can support wetlands mapping

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baxter, F.S.

1990-01-01

The US Geological Survey (USGS) programs can play an important role in support of President Bush's policy of no net loss of wetlands. A principal goal of USGS is to provide cartographic information that contributes to the wise management of the Nation's natural resources. This information consists of maps, cartographic data bases (graphic and digital), remotely sensed imagery, and information services. These products are used by Federal, State, and local governments, the private sector, and individual citizens in making decisions on the existence and use of land and water resources. I discuss the programs, products, and information services of the National Mapping Division, the tools available to determine where wetlands exist, and the capability of periodic measurement of wetlands to help in assessing compliance with the concept of no net loss of wetlands. -from Author

VegScape: U.S. Crop Condition Monitoring Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

mueller, R.; Yang, Z.; Di, L.

2013-12-01

Since 1995, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)/National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has provided qualitative biweekly vegetation condition indices to USDA policymakers and the public on a weekly basis during the growing season. Vegetation indices have proven useful for assessing crop condition and identifying the areal extent of floods, drought, major weather anomalies, and vulnerabilities of early/late season crops. With growing emphasis on more extreme weather events and food security issues rising to the forefront of national interest, a new vegetation condition monitoring system was developed. The new vegetation condition portal named VegScape was initiated at the start of the 2013 growing season. VegScape delivers web mapping service based interactive vegetation indices. Users can use an interactive map to explore, query and disseminate current crop conditions. Vegetation indices like Normal Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), and mean, median, and ratio comparisons to prior years can be constructed for analytical purposes and on-demand crop statistics. The NASA MODIS satellite with 250 meter (15 acres) resolution and thirteen years of data history provides improved spatial and temporal resolutions and delivers improved detailed timely (i.e., daily) crop specific condition and dynamics. VegScape thus provides supplemental information to support NASS' weekly crop reports. VegScape delivers an agricultural cultivated crop mask and the most recent Cropland Data Layer (CDL) product to exploit the agricultural domain and visualize prior years' planted crops. Additionally, the data can be directly exported to Google Earth for web mashups or delivered via web mapping services for uses in other applications. VegScape supports the ethos of data democracy by providing free and open access to digital geospatial data layers using open geospatial standards, thereby supporting transparent and collaborative government initiatives. NASS developed VegScape in cooperation with the Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. VegScape Ratio to Median NDVI

Oregon OCS seafloor mapping: Selected lease blocks relevant to renewable energy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cochrane, Guy R.; Hemery, Lenaïg G.; Henkel, Sarah K.

2017-05-23

In 2014 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) entered into Intra-agency agreement M13PG00037 to map an area of the Oregon Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off of Coos Bay, Oregon, under consideration for development of a floating wind energy farm. The BOEM requires seafloor mapping and site characterization studies in order to evaluate the impact of seafloor and sub-seafloor conditions on the installation, operation, and structural integrity of proposed renewable energy projects, as well as to assess the potential effects of construction and operations on archaeological resources. The mission of the USGS is to provide geologic, topographic, and hydrologic information that contributes to the wise management of the Nation's natural resources and that promotes the health, safety, and well being of the people. This information consists of maps, databases, and descriptions and analyses of the water, energy, and mineral resources, land surface, underlying geologic structure, and dynamic processes of the earth.For the Oregon OCS study, the USGS acquired multibeam echo sounder and seafloor video data surrounding the proposed development site, which is 95 km2 in area and 15 miles offshore from Coos Bay. The development site had been surveyed by Solmar Hydro Inc. in 2013 under a contract with WindFloat Pacific. The USGS subsequently produced a bathymetry digital elevation model and a backscatter intensity grid that were merged with existing data collected by the contractor. The merged grids were published along with visual observations of benthic geo-habitat from the video data in an associated USGS data release (Cochrane and others, 2015).This report includes the results of analysis of the video data conducted by Oregon State University and the geo-habitat interpretation of the multibeam echo sounder (MBES) data conducted by the USGS. MBES data was published in Cochrane and others (2015). Interpretive data associated with this publication is published in Cochrane (2017). All the data is provided as geographic information system (GIS) files that contain both Esri ArcGIS geotiffs or shapefiles. For those who do not own the full suite of Esri GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using Esri ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html (last accessed August 29, 2016). Web services, which consist of standard implementations of ArcGIS representational state transfer (REST) Service and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) GIS web map service (WMS), also are available for all published GIS data. Web services were created using an ArcGIS service definition file, resulting in data layers that are symbolized as shown on the associated report figures. Both the ArcGIS REST Service and OGC WMS Service include all the individual GIS layers. Data layers are bundled together in a map-area web service; however, each layer can be symbolized and accessed individually after the web service is ingested into a desktop application or web map. Web services enable users to download and view data, as well as to easily add data to their own workflows, using any browser-enabled, standalone or mobile device.Though the surficial substrate is dominated by combinations of mud and sand substrate, a diverse assortment of geomorphologic features are related to geologic processes—one anticlinal ridge where bedrock is exposed, a slump and associated scarps, and pockmarks. Pockmarks are seen in the form of fields of small pockmarks, a lineation of large pockmarks with methanogenic carbonates, and areas of large pockmarks that have merged into larger variously shaped depressions. The slump appears to have originated at the pockmark lineation. Video-supervised numerical analysis of the MBES backscatter intensity data and vector ruggedness derived from the MBES bathymetry data was used to produce a substrate model called a seafloor character raster for the study area. The seafloor character raster consists of three substrate classes: soft-flat areas, hard-flat areas, and hard-rugged areas. A Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) geoform and substrate map was also produced using depth, slope, and benthic position index classes to delineate geoform boundaries. Seven geoforms were identified in this process, including ridges, slump scars, slump deposits, basins, and pockmarks.Statistical analysis of the video data for correlations between substrate, depth, and invertebrate assemblages resulted in the identification of seven biomes: three hard-bottom biomes and four softbottom biomes. A similar analysis of vertebrate observations produces a similar set of biomes. The biome between-group dissimilarity was very high or high. Invertebrates alone represent most of the structure of the whole benthic community into different assemblages. A biotope map was generated using the seafloor character raster and the substrate and depth values of the biomes. Hard substrate biotopes were small in size and were located primarily on the ridge and in pockmarks along the pockmark lineation. The soft-bottom bitopes consisted of large contiguous areas delimited by isobaths.

EnviroAtlas -- Austin, TX -- One Meter Resolution Urban Land Cover Data (2010) Web Service

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ). The Austin, TX EnviroAtlas One Meter-scale Urban Land Cover (MULC) Data were generated from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) four band (red, green, blue, and near infrared) aerial photography at 1 m spatial resolution from multiple dates in May, 2010. Six land cover classes were mapped: water, impervious surfaces, soil and barren land, trees, grass-herbaceous non-woody vegetation, and agriculture. An accuracy assessment of 600 completely random and 55 stratified random photo interpreted reference points yielded an overall User's fuzzy accuracy of 87 percent. The area mapped is the US Census Bureau's 2010 Urban Statistical Area for Austin, TX plus a 1 km buffer. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas

The Landscape Framework for the Spatial Characterization and Mapping of Ecosystem Services: What is the State of the Science?

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services (ESS) represent an ecosystems capacity for satisfying essential human needs, directly or indirectly, above that required to maintain ecosystem integrity (structure, function and processes). The spatial characterization and mapping of ESS is an essential first s...

Mapping and Quantifying Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Related to Terrestrial Vertebrates: A National Approach

EPA Science Inventory

Biodiversity is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems and the products and services from which we transform natural assets of the Earth for human survival, security, and well-being. The ability to assess, report, map, and forecast the life support functions of ecosystems is a...

A Lithology Based Map Unit Schema For Onegeology Regional Geologic Map Integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moosdorf, N.; Richard, S. M.

2012-12-01

A system of lithogenetic categories for a global lithological map (GLiM, http://www.ifbm.zmaw.de/index.php?id=6460&L=3) has been compiled based on analysis of lithology/genesis categories for regional geologic maps for the entire globe. The scheme is presented for discussion and comment. Analysis of units on a variety of regional geologic maps indicates that units are defined based on assemblages of rock types, as well as their genetic type. In this compilation of continental geology, outcropping surface materials are dominantly sediment/sedimentary rock; major subdivisions of the sedimentary category include clastic sediment, carbonate sedimentary rocks, clastic sedimentary rocks, mixed carbonate and clastic sedimentary rock, colluvium and residuum. Significant areas of mixed igneous and metamorphic rock are also present. A system of global categories to characterize the lithology of regional geologic units is important for Earth System models of matter fluxes to soils, ecosystems, rivers and oceans, and for regional analysis of Earth surface processes at global scale. Because different applications of the classification scheme will focus on different lithologic constituents in mixed units, an ontology-type representation of the scheme that assigns properties to the units in an analyzable manner will be pursued. The OneGeology project is promoting deployment of geologic map services at million scale for all nations. Although initial efforts are commonly simple scanned map WMS services, the intention is to move towards data-based map services that categorize map units with standard vocabularies to allow use of a common map legend for better visual integration of the maps (e.g. see OneGeology Europe, http://onegeology-europe.brgm.fr/ geoportal/ viewer.jsp). Current categorization of regional units with a single lithology from the CGI SimpleLithology (http://resource.geosciml.org/201202/ Vocab2012html/ SimpleLithology201012.html) vocabulary poorly captures the lithologic character of such units in a meaningful way. A lithogenetic unit category scheme accessible as a GeoSciML-portrayal-based OGC Styled Layer Description resource is key to enabling OneGeology (http://oneGeology.org) geologic map services to achieve a high degree of visual harmonization.

A blueprint-based case study analysis of nutrition services provided in a midterm care facility for the elderly.

PubMed

Paquet, Catherine; St-Arnaud-Mckenzie, Danielle; Ferland, Guylaine; Dubé, Laurette

2003-03-01

Ensuring nutritionally adequate food intake in institutions is a complex and important challenge for dietitians. To tackle this problem, we argue that dietitians need to adopt a systematic, integrative, and patient-centered approach to identify and manage more effectively organizational determinants of the quality of food intake under their control. In this study, we introduce such an approach, the blueprint-based case study, that we applied in the context of a midterm care facility for elderly patients. Data gathered through interviews and field observations were used to develop, from the perspective of key patient encounters, detailed representations of the food, nutrition, and nursing activities necessary to ensure adequate food intake. These service "blueprints" were developed to illustrate all activities that might potentially impact on the nutritional, sensory, functional, and social quality of patients' meals. They were also used as roadmaps to develop a case study analysis in which critical areas were identified and opportunities for improvement put forth, while considering services' resources and priorities. By providing a precise, objective, yet comprehensive mapping of the service operations and management, the blueprint-based case study approach represents a valuable tool to determine the optimal allocation of resources to insure nutritionally adequate food intake to patients.

A Quality Function Deployment Framework for the Service Quality of Health Information Websites

PubMed Central

Kim, Dohoon

2010-01-01

Objectives This research was conducted to identify both the users' service requirements on health information websites (HIWs) and the key functional elements for running HIWs. With the quality function deployment framework, the derived service attributes (SAs) are mapped into the suppliers' functional characteristics (FCs) to derive the most critical FCs for the users' satisfaction. Methods Using the survey data from 228 respondents, the SAs, FCs and their relationships were analyzed using various multivariate statistical methods such as principal component factor analysis, discriminant analysis, correlation analysis, etc. Simple and compound FC priorities were derived by matrix calculation. Results Nine factors of SAs and five key features of FCs were identified, and these served as the basis for the house of quality model. Based on the compound FC priorities, the functional elements pertaining to security and privacy, and usage support should receive top priority in the course of enhancing HIWs. Conclusions The quality function deployment framework can improve the FCs of the HIWs in an effective, structured manner, and it can also be utilized for critical success factors together with their strategic implications for enhancing the service quality of HIWs. Therefore, website managers could efficiently improve website operations by considering this study's results. PMID:21818418

The Role of Communities in Mental Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Review of Components and Competencies.

PubMed

Kohrt, Brandon A; Asher, Laura; Bhardwaj, Anvita; Fazel, Mina; Jordans, Mark J D; Mutamba, Byamah B; Nadkarni, Abhijit; Pedersen, Gloria A; Singla, Daisy R; Patel, Vikram

2018-06-16

Community-based mental health services are emphasized in the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Action Plan , the World Bank’s Disease Control Priorities , and the Action Plan of the World Psychiatric Association. There is increasing evidence for effectiveness of mental health interventions delivered by non-specialists in community platforms in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, the role of community components has yet to be summarized. Our objective was to map community interventions in LMIC, identify competencies for community-based providers, and highlight research gaps. Using a review-of-reviews strategy, we identified 23 reviews for the narrative synthesis. Motivations to employ community components included greater accessibility and acceptability compared to healthcare facilities, greater clinical effectiveness through ongoing contact and use of trusted local providers, family involvement, and economic benefits. Locations included homes, schools, and refugee camps, as well as technology-aided delivery. Activities included awareness raising, psychoeducation, skills training, rehabilitation, and psychological treatments. There was substantial variation in the degree to which community components were integrated with primary care services. Addressing gaps in current practice will require assuring collaboration with service users, utilizing implementation science methods, creating tools to facilitate community services and evaluate competencies of providers, and developing standardized reporting for community-based programs.

Improving predictions of the effects of extreme events, land use, and climate change on the hydrology of watersheds in the Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benavidez, Rubianca; Jackson, Bethanna; Maxwell, Deborah; Paringit, Enrico

2016-05-01

Due to its location within the typhoon belt, the Philippines is vulnerable to tropical cyclones that can cause destructive floods. Climate change is likely to exacerbate these risks through increases in tropical cyclone frequency and intensity. To protect populations and infrastructure, disaster risk management in the Philippines focuses on real-time flood forecasting and structural measures such as dikes and retaining walls. Real-time flood forecasting in the Philippines mostly utilises two models from the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC): the Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) for watershed modelling, and the River Analysis System (RAS) for inundation modelling. This research focuses on using non-structural measures for flood mitigation, such as changing land use management or watershed rehabilitation. This is being done by parameterising and applying the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) model to the Cagayan de Oro watershed (1400 km2) in southern Philippines. The LUCI model is capable of identifying areas providing ecosystem services such as flood mitigation and agricultural productivity, and analysing trade-offs between services. It can also assess whether management interventions could enhance or degrade ecosystem services at fine spatial scales. The LUCI model was used to identify areas within the watershed that are providing flood mitigating services and areas that would benefit from management interventions. For the preliminary comparison, LUCI and HEC-HMS were run under the same scenario: baseline land use and the extreme rainfall event of Typhoon Bopha. The hydrographs from both models were then input to HEC-RAS to produce inundation maps. The novelty of this research is two-fold: (1) this type of ecosystem service modelling has not been carried out in the Cagayan de Oro watershed; and (2) this is the first application of the LUCI model in the Philippines. Since this research is still ongoing, the results presented in this paper are preliminary. As the land use and soil parameterisation for this watershed are refined and more scenarios are run through the model, more robust comparisons can be made between the hydrographs produced by LUCI and HEC-HMS and how those differences affect the inundation map produced by HEC-RAS.

Monitoring Geothermal Features in Yellowstone National Park with ATLAS Multispectral Imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph; Berglund, Judith

2000-01-01

The National Park Service (NPS) must produce an Environmental Impact Statement for each proposed development in the vicinity of known geothermal resource areas (KGRAs) in Yellowstone National Park. In addition, the NPS monitors indicator KGRAs for environmental quality and is still in the process of mapping many geothermal areas. The NPS currently maps geothermal features with field survey techniques. High resolution aerial multispectral remote sensing in the visible, NIR, SWIR, and thermal spectral regions could enable YNP geothermal features to be mapped more quickly and in greater detail In response, Yellowstone Ecosystems Studies, in partnership with NASA's Commercial Remote Sensing Program, is conducting a study on the use of Airborne Terrestrial Applications Sensor (ATLAS) multispectral data for monitoring geothermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin. ATLAS data were acquired at 2.5 meter resolution on August 17, 2000. These data were processed into land cover classifications and relative temperature maps. For sufficiently large features, the ATLAS data can map geothermal areas in terms of geyser pools and hot springs, plus multiple categories of geothermal runoff that are apparently indicative of temperature gradients and microbial matting communities. In addition, the ATLAS maps clearly identify geyserite areas. The thermal bands contributed to classification success and to the computation of relative temperature. With masking techniques, one can assess the influence of geothermal features on the Firehole River. Preliminary results appear to confirm ATLAS data utility for mapping and monitoring geothermal features. Future work will include classification refinement and additional validation.

Application of mapped plots for single-owner forest surveys

Treesearch

Paul C. Van Deusen; Francis Roesch

2009-01-01

Mapped plots are used for the nation forest inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service. Mapped plots are also useful foro single ownership inventoires. Mapped plots can handle boundary overlap and can aprovide less variable estimates for specified forest conditions. Mapping is a good fit for fixed plot inventories where the fixed area plot is used for both mapping...

How integrated are neurology and palliative care services? Results of a multicentre mapping exercise.

PubMed

van Vliet, Liesbeth M; Gao, Wei; DiFrancesco, Daniel; Crosby, Vincent; Wilcock, Andrew; Byrne, Anthony; Al-Chalabi, Ammar; Chaudhuri, K Ray; Evans, Catherine; Silber, Eli; Young, Carolyn; Malik, Farida; Quibell, Rachel; Higginson, Irene J

2016-05-10

Patients affected by progressive long-term neurological conditions might benefit from specialist palliative care involvement. However, little is known on how neurology and specialist palliative care services interact. This study aimed to map the current level of connections and integration between these services. The mapping exercise was conducted in eight centres with neurology and palliative care services in the United Kingdom. The data were provided by the respective neurology and specialist palliative care teams. Questions focused on: i) catchment and population served; ii) service provision and staffing; iii) integration and relationships. Centres varied in size of catchment areas (39-5,840 square miles) and population served (142,000-3,500,000). Neurology and specialist palliative care were often not co-terminus. Service provisions for neurology and specialist palliative care were also varied. For example, neurology services varied in the number and type of provided clinics and palliative care services in the settings they work in. Integration was most developed in Motor Neuron Disease (MND), e.g., joint meetings were often held, followed by Parkinsonism (made up of Parkinson's Disease (PD), Multiple-System Atrophy (MSA) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), with integration being more developed for MSA and PSP) and least in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), e.g., most sites had no formal links. The number of neurology patients per annum receiving specialist palliative care reflected these differences in integration (range: 9-88 MND, 3-25 Parkinsonism, and 0-5 MS). This mapping exercise showed heterogeneity in service provision and integration between neurology and specialist palliative care services, which varied not only between sites but also between diseases. This highlights the need and opportunities for improved models of integration, which should be rigorously tested for effectiveness.

Advanced Robotics for In-Space Vehicle Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeffrey H.; Estus, Jay; Heneghan, Cate; Bosley, John

1990-01-01

An analysis of spaceborne vehicle processing is described. Generic crew-EVA tasks are presented for a specific vehicle, the orbital maneuvering vehicle (OMV), with general implications to other on-orbit vehicles. The OMV is examined with respect to both servicing and maintenance. Crew-EVA activities are presented by task and mapped to a common set of generic crew-EVA primitives to identify high-demand areas for telerobot services. Similarly, a set of telerobot primitives is presented that can be used to model telerobot actions for alternative telerobot reference configurations. The telerobot primitives are tied to technologies and used for composting telerobot operations for an automated refueling scenario. Telerobotics technology issues and design accomodation guidelines (hooks and scars) for the Space Station Freedom are described.

Linking Terrigenous Sediment Delivery to Declines in Coral ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Worldwide coral reef conditions continue to decline despite the valuable socioeconomic benefits of these ecosystems. There is growing recognition that quantifying reefs in terms reflecting what stakeholders value is vital for comparing inherent tradeoffs among coastal management decisions. Terrestrial sediment runoff ranks high as a stressor to coral reefs and is a key concern in Puerto Rico where reefs are among the most threatened in the Caribbean. This research aimed to identify the degree to which sediment runoff impacts production of coral reef ecosystem services and the potential for watershed management actions to improve these services. Ecosystem service production functions were applied to map and translate metrics of ecological reef condition into ecosystem service production under a gradient of increasing sediment delivery. We found that higher sediment delivery decreased provisioning of most ecosystem services, including ecosystem integrity, bioprospecting discovery, and reef-based recreational opportunities and fisheries production. However, shoreline protection and services with a strong contribution from non-reef habitats (e.g., mangroves, seagrasses) were higher in locations with high sediment delivery, although there was a strong inshore effect suggesting the influence of distance to shore, depth, and inshore habitats. Differences among services may indicate potential tradeoffs and the need to consider habitat connectivity, nursery habitat, acce

An Examination of Not-For-Profit Stakeholder Networks for Relationship Management: A Small-Scale Analysis on Social Media.

PubMed

Wyllie, Jessica; Lucas, Benjamin; Carlson, Jamie; Kitchens, Brent; Kozary, Ben; Zaki, Mohamed

2016-01-01

Using a small-scale descriptive network analysis approach, this study highlights the importance of stakeholder networks for identifying valuable stakeholders and the management of existing stakeholders in the context of mental health not-for-profit services. We extract network data from the social media brand pages of three health service organizations from the U.S., U.K., and Australia, to visually map networks of 579 social media brand pages (represented by nodes), connected by 5,600 edges. This network data is analyzed using a collection of popular graph analysis techniques to assess the differences in the way each of the service organizations manage stakeholder networks. We also compare node meta-information against basic topology measures to emphasize the importance of effectively managing relationships with stakeholders who have large external audiences. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.

An Examination of Not-For-Profit Stakeholder Networks for Relationship Management: A Small-Scale Analysis on Social Media

PubMed Central

Carlson, Jamie; Kitchens, Brent; Kozary, Ben; Zaki, Mohamed

2016-01-01

Using a small-scale descriptive network analysis approach, this study highlights the importance of stakeholder networks for identifying valuable stakeholders and the management of existing stakeholders in the context of mental health not-for-profit services. We extract network data from the social media brand pages of three health service organizations from the U.S., U.K., and Australia, to visually map networks of 579 social media brand pages (represented by nodes), connected by 5,600 edges. This network data is analyzed using a collection of popular graph analysis techniques to assess the differences in the way each of the service organizations manage stakeholder networks. We also compare node meta-information against basic topology measures to emphasize the importance of effectively managing relationships with stakeholders who have large external audiences. Implications and future research directions are also discussed. PMID:27711236

Riparian Wetlands: Mapping

EPA Science Inventory

Riparian wetlands are critical systems that perform functions and provide services disproportionate to their extent in the landscape. Mapping wetlands allows for better planning, management, and modeling, but riparian wetlands present several challenges to effective mapping due t...

Geologic map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park region, Tennessee and North Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Southworth, Scott; Schultz, Art; Denenny, Danielle

2005-01-01

The geology of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) region of Tennessee and North Carolina was studied from 1993 to 2003 as part of a cooperative investigation with the National Park Service (NPS). This work has been compiled as a 1:100,000-scale map derived from mapping done at 1:24,000 and 1:62,500 scale. The geologic data are intended to support cooperative investigations with NPS, the development of a new soil map by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (http://www.discoverlifeinamerica.org/). At the request of NPS, we mapped areas previously not visited, revised the geology where stratigraphic and structural problems existed, and developed a map database for use in interdisciplinary research, land management, and interpretive programs for park visitors.

Geologic map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park region, Tennessee and North Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Southworth, Scott; Schultz, Art; Aleinikoff, John N.; Merschat, Arthur J.

2012-01-01

The geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park region of Tennessee and North Carolina was studied from 1993 to 2003 as part of a cooperative investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey with the National Park Service (NPS). This work resulted in a 1:100,000-scale geologic map derived from mapping that was conducted at scales of 1:24,000 and 1:62,500. The geologic data are intended to support cooperative investigations with the NPS, the development of a new soil map by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory. In response to a request by the NPS, we mapped previously unstudied areas, revised the geology where problems existed, and developed a map database for use in interdisciplinary research, land management, and interpretive programs for park visitors.

Land User and Land Cover Maps of Europe: a Webgis Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brovelli, M. A.; Fahl, F. C.; Minghini, M.; Molinari, M. E.

2016-06-01

This paper presents the methods and implementation processes of a WebGIS platform designed to publish the available land use and land cover maps of Europe at continental scale. The system is built completely on open source infrastructure and open standards. The proposed architecture is based on a server-client model having GeoServer as the map server, Leaflet as the client-side mapping library and the Bootstrap framework at the core of the front-end user interface. The web user interface is designed to have typical features of a desktop GIS (e.g. activate/deactivate layers and order layers by drag and drop actions) and to show specific information on the activated layers (e.g. legend and simplified metadata). Users have the possibility to change the base map from a given list of map providers (e.g. OpenStreetMap and Microsoft Bing) and to control the opacity of each layer to facilitate the comparison with both other land cover layers and the underlying base map. In addition, users can add to the platform any custom layer available through a Web Map Service (WMS) and activate the visualization of photos from popular photo sharing services. This last functionality is provided in order to have a visual assessment of the available land coverages based on other user-generated contents available on the Internet. It is supposed to be a first step towards a calibration/validation service that will be made available in the future.

Using mind mapping techniques for rapid qualitative data analysis in public participation processes.

PubMed

Burgess-Allen, Jilla; Owen-Smith, Vicci

2010-12-01

In a health service environment where timescales for patient participation in service design are short and resources scarce, a balance needs to be achieved between research rigour and the timeliness and utility of the findings of patient participation processes. To develop a pragmatic mind mapping approach to managing the qualitative data from patient participation processes. While this article draws on experience of using mind maps in a variety of participation processes, a single example is used to illustrate the approach. In this example mind maps were created during the course of patient participation focus groups. Two group discussions were also transcribed verbatim to allow comparison of the rapid mind mapping approach with traditional thematic analysis of qualitative data. The illustrative example formed part of a local alcohol service review which included consultation with local alcohol service users, their families and staff groups. The mind mapping approach provided a pleasing graphical format for representing the key themes raised during the focus groups. It helped stimulate and galvanize discussion and keep it on track, enhanced transparency and group ownership of the data analysis process, allowed a rapid dynamic between data collection and feedback, and was considerably faster than traditional methods for the analysis of focus groups, while resulting in similar broad themes. This study suggests that the use of a mind mapping approach to managing qualitative data can provide a pragmatic resolution of the tension between limited resources and quality in patient participation processes. © 2010 The Authors. Health Expectations © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Integration of Geographical Information Systems and Geophysical Applications with Distributed Computing Technologies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, M. E.; Aktas, M. S.; Aydin, G.; Fox, G. C.; Gadgil, H.; Sayar, A.

2005-12-01

We examine the application of Web Service Architectures and Grid-based distributed computing technologies to geophysics and geo-informatics. We are particularly interested in the integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) services with distributed data mining applications. GIS services provide the general purpose framework for building archival data services, real time streaming data services, and map-based visualization services that may be integrated with data mining and other applications through the use of distributed messaging systems and Web Service orchestration tools. Building upon on our previous work in these areas, we present our current research efforts. These include fundamental investigations into increasing XML-based Web service performance, supporting real time data streams, and integrating GIS mapping tools with audio/video collaboration systems for shared display and annotation.

Detecting Water Bodies in LANDSAT8 Oli Image Using Deep Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, W.; He, G.; Long, T.; Ni, Y.

2018-04-01

Water body identifying is critical to climate change, water resources, ecosystem service and hydrological cycle. Multi-layer perceptron(MLP) is the popular and classic method under deep learning framework to detect target and classify image. Therefore, this study adopts this method to identify the water body of Landsat8. To compare the performance of classification, the maximum likelihood and water index are employed for each study area. The classification results are evaluated from accuracy indices and local comparison. Evaluation result shows that multi-layer perceptron(MLP) can achieve better performance than the other two methods. Moreover, the thin water also can be clearly identified by the multi-layer perceptron. The proposed method has the application potential in mapping global scale surface water with multi-source medium-high resolution satellite data.

Evaluating renewable natural resources flow and net primary productivity with a GIS-Emergy approach: A case study of Hokkaido, Japan.

PubMed

Wang, Chengdong; Zhang, Shenyan; Yan, Wanglin; Wang, Renqing; Liu, Jian; Wang, Yutao

2016-11-18

Renewable natural resources, such as solar radiation, rainfall, wind, and geothermal heat, together with ecosystem services, provide the elementary supports for the sustainable development of human society. To improve regional sustainability, we studied the spatial distributions and quantities of renewable natural resources and net primary productivity (NPP) in Hokkaido, which is the second largest island of Japan. With the help of Geographic Information System (GIS) software, distribution maps for each type of renewable natural resource were generated by kriging interpolation based on statistical records. A composite map of the flow of all types of renewable natural resources was also generated by map layer overlapping. Additionally, we utilized emergy analysis to convert each renewable flow with different attributes into a unified unit (i.e., solar equivalent joules [sej]). As a result, the spatial distributions of the flow of renewable natural resources of the Hokkaido region are presented in the form of thematic emergy maps. Thus, the areas with higher renewable emergy can be easily visualized and identified. The dominant renewable flow in certain areas can also be directly distinguished. The results can provide useful information for regional sustainable development, environmental conservation and ecological management.

Evaluating renewable natural resources flow and net primary productivity with a GIS-Emergy approach: A case study of Hokkaido, Japan

PubMed Central

Wang, Chengdong; Zhang, Shenyan; Yan, Wanglin; Wang, Renqing; Liu, Jian; Wang, Yutao

2016-01-01

Renewable natural resources, such as solar radiation, rainfall, wind, and geothermal heat, together with ecosystem services, provide the elementary supports for the sustainable development of human society. To improve regional sustainability, we studied the spatial distributions and quantities of renewable natural resources and net primary productivity (NPP) in Hokkaido, which is the second largest island of Japan. With the help of Geographic Information System (GIS) software, distribution maps for each type of renewable natural resource were generated by kriging interpolation based on statistical records. A composite map of the flow of all types of renewable natural resources was also generated by map layer overlapping. Additionally, we utilized emergy analysis to convert each renewable flow with different attributes into a unified unit (i.e., solar equivalent joules [sej]). As a result, the spatial distributions of the flow of renewable natural resources of the Hokkaido region are presented in the form of thematic emergy maps. Thus, the areas with higher renewable emergy can be easily visualized and identified. The dominant renewable flow in certain areas can also be directly distinguished. The results can provide useful information for regional sustainable development, environmental conservation and ecological management. PMID:27857230

EnviroAtlas - Austin, TX - BenMAP Results by Block Group

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset demonstrates the effect of changes in pollution concentration on local populations in 750 block groups in Austin, Texas. The US EPA's Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP) was used to estimate the incidence of adverse health effects (i.e., mortality and morbidity) and associated monetary value that result from changes in pollution concentrations for Travis and Williamson Counties, TX. Incidence and value estimates for the block groups are calculated using i-Tree models (www.itreetools.org), local weather data, pollution data, and U.S. Census derived population data. This dataset was produced by the US Forest Service to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Classifying the Diversity of Bus Mapping Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, Mohd Shahmy Mohd; Forrest, David

2018-05-01

This study represents the first stage of an investigation into understanding the nature of different approaches to mapping bus routes and bus network, and how they may best be applied in different public transport situations. In many cities, bus services represent an important facet of easing traffic congestion and reducing pollution. However, with the entrenched car culture in many countries, persuading people to change their mode of transport is a major challenge. To promote this modal shift, people need to know what services are available and where (and when) they go. Bus service maps provide an invaluable element of providing suitable public transport information, but are often overlooked by transport planners, and are under-researched by cartographers. The method here consists of the creation of a map evaluation form and performing assessment of published bus networks maps. The analyses were completed by a combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis of various aspects of cartographic design and classification. This paper focuses on the resulting classification, which is illustrated by a series of examples. This classification will facilitate more in depth investigations into the details of cartographic design for such maps and help direct areas for user evaluation.

Mapping International University Partnerships Identified by East African Universities as Strengthening Their Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health Programs.

PubMed

Yarmoshuk, Aaron N; Guantai, Anastasia Nkatha; Mwangu, Mughwira; Cole, Donald C; Zarowsky, Christina

International university partnerships are recommended for increasing the capacity of sub-Saharan African universities. Many publications describe individual partnerships and projects, and tools are available for guiding collaborations, but systematic mappings of the basic, common characteristics of partnerships are scarce. To document and categorize the international interuniversity partnerships deemed significant to building the capacity of medicine, nursing, and public health programs of 4 East African universities. Two universities in Kenya and 2 in Tanzania were purposefully selected. Key informant interviews, conducted with 42 senior representatives of the 4 universities, identified partnerships they considered significant for increasing the capacity of their institutions' medicine, nursing, and public health programs in education, research, or service. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Partners were classified by country of origin and corresponding international groupings, duration, programs, and academic health science components. One hundred twenty-nine university-to-university partnerships from 23 countries were identified. Each university reported between 25 and 36 international university partners. Seventy-four percent of partnerships were with universities in high-income countries, 15% in low- and middle-income countries, and 11% with consortia. Seventy percent included medicine, 37% nursing, and 45% public health; 15% included all 3 programs. Ninety-two percent included an education component, 47% research, and 24% service; 12% included all 3 components. This study confirms the rapid growth of interuniversity cross-border health partnerships this century. It also finds, however, that there is a pool of established international partnerships from numerous countries at each university. Most partnerships that seek to strengthen universities in East Africa should likely ensure they have a significant education component. Universities should make more systematic information about past and existing partnerships available publicly. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A National Approach to Map and Quantify Terrestrial Vertebrate Biodiversity within an Ecosystem Services Framework

EPA Science Inventory

Biodiversity is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems and the products and services from which we transform natural assets of the Earth for human survival, security, and well-being. The ability to assess, report, map, and forecast the life support functions of ecosystems is a...

QTIMaps: A Model to Enable Web Maps in Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Navarrete, Toni; Santos, Patricia; Hernandez-Leo, Davinia; Blat, Josep

2011-01-01

Test-based e-Assessment approaches are mostly focused on the assessment of knowledge and not on that of other skills, which could be supported by multimedia interactive services. This paper presents the QTIMaps model, which combines the IMS QTI standard with web maps services enabling the computational assessment of geographical skills. We…

77 FR 42696 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-20

... construction awards, 30 requests for amendments to non-construction awards, 2 project service maps). Average Hours Per Response: 2 hours for an amendment to a construction award, 1 hour for an amendment to a non-construction award, 6 hours for a project service map. Burden Hours: 1,242. Needs and Uses: A recipient must...

Climate Prediction Center - Outlooks: Current UV Index Forecast Map

Science.gov Websites

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Home Site Map News Service NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction Climate Prediction Center 5830 University Research Court College Park, Maryland 20740 Page Author: Climate Prediction Center Internet Team Disclaimer

Evaluating alternative methods for biophysical and cultural ecosystem services hotspot mapping in natural resource planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Semmens, Darius J.; Ancona, Zachary H.; Sherrouse, Ben C.

2017-01-01

Statistical hotspot methods of intermediate conservatism (i.e., Getis-Ord Gi*, α = 0.10 significance) may be most useful for ecosystem service hot/coldspot mapping to inform landscape scale planning. We also found spatially explicit evidence in support of past findings about public attitudes toward wilderness areas.

Social values for ecosystem services (SolVES): A GIS application for assessing, mapping, and quantifying the social values of ecosystem services-Documentation and user manual, version 1.0

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrouse, Benson C.; Riegle, Jodi L.; Semmens, Darius J.

2010-01-01

In response to the need for incorporating quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem services assessments, the Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center, in collaboration with Colorado State University, has developed a geographic information system application, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES). SolVES can be used to assess, map, and quantify the perceived social values of ecosystem services. SolVES derives a quantitative social values metric, the Value Index, from a combination of spatial and nonspatial responses to public attitude and preference surveys. SolVES also generates landscape metrics, such as average elevation and distance to water, calculated from spatial data layers describing the underlying physical environment. Using kernel density calculations and zonal statistics, SolVES derives and maps the 10-point Value Index and reports landscape metrics associated with each index value for social value types such as aesthetics, biodiversity, and recreation. This can be repeated for various survey subgroups as distinguished by their attitudes and preferences regarding public uses of the forests such as motorized recreation and logging for fuels reduction. The Value Index provides a basis of comparison within and among survey subgroups to consider the effect of social contexts on the valuation of ecosystem services. SolVES includes regression coefficients linking the predicted value (the Value Index) to landscape metrics. These coefficients are used to generate predicted social value maps using value transfer techniques for areas where primary survey data are not available. SolVES was developed, and will continue to be enhanced through future versions, as a public domain tool to enable decision makers and researchers to map the social values of ecosystem services and to facilitate discussions among diverse stakeholders regarding tradeoffs between different ecosystem services in a variety of physical and social contexts.

Scotland's Water Map: Understanding water sector links to support decision making for the Hydro Nation Agenda

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falconer, Ruth E.; Gilmour, Daniel; Duffy, Alison; Isaacs, John; Stojanovic, Vladeta; O'Keeffe, Juliette; Blackwood, David

2015-04-01

The value of Scotland's water and sewerage market is projected to grow to £1.24bn by 2016/17. Developing future opportunities must take place alongside maintaining current service provision; however the demand on water and waste water services is constantly evolving. An integrated approach to water management requires an understanding of complex interactions that exist between key actors in the sector to allow water management strategies to exploit inter-sectorial links. Successful integrated analysis of the water sector in Scotland will support management activities key to responding to the Hydro Nation themes of 1) Governance and international development 2) Environmental protection 3) Economic opportunities 4) Research development. In order to deliver on these objectives an approach is required to capture and communicate the scope and scale of the water sector and its interconnectedness. The methodology required to determine scope, scale and interconnectedness of water sector involved the identification and application of an appropriate range of techniques from the Information and Knowledge Management disciplines combined with the Information Visualisation field. Scope and scale of the water sector was identified by a desk based study and this data was visualized using a geographic map. Sector interconnectedness was determined by interviewing key actors. The interviews identified the stakeholders associated with information flows, and the purpose of the information transfer through Reporting/Managing (R/M), Influence and Information sharing (I) or Control (C) activities. Primary information flows were also scored with respect to importance against the 4 key Hydro Nation agenda themes. Many organisations were identified who interact within Scotland's water sector including the Scottish Government and Ministers, the Regulators (WICS, DWQR, SEPA), Scottish Water (core and non-core functions), plus many other stakeholders ranging from research institutions to private sector businesses. This data was used in a water wheel visualisation where connections between stakeholders are shown as links and the width of the link represents the importance of the information exchage. Both maps will be used by the Scottish Government and its stakeholders to support decision making and illustrate the management and control aspects of the water sector.

Demand Response Advanced Controls Framework and Assessment of Enabling Technology Costs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Potter, Jennifer; Cappers, Peter

The Demand Response Advanced Controls Framework and Assessment of Enabling Technology Costs research describe a variety of DR opportunities and the various bulk power system services they can provide. The bulk power system services are mapped to a generalized taxonomy of DR “service types”, which allows us to discuss DR opportunities and bulk power system services in fewer yet broader categories that share similar technological requirements which mainly drive DR enablement costs. The research presents a framework for the costs to automate DR and provides descriptions of the various elements that drive enablement costs. The report introduces the various DRmore » enabling technologies and end-uses, identifies the various services that each can provide to the grid and provides the cost assessment for each enabling technology. In addition to a report, this research includes a Demand Response Advanced Controls Database and User Manual. They are intended to provide users with the data that underlies this research and instructions for how to use that database more effectively and efficiently.« less

Ecosystem services in Mediterranean river basin: climate change impact on water provisioning and erosion control.

PubMed

Bangash, Rubab F; Passuello, Ana; Sanchez-Canales, María; Terrado, Marta; López, Alfredo; Elorza, F Javier; Ziv, Guy; Acuña, Vicenç; Schuhmacher, Marta

2013-08-01

The Mediterranean basin is considered one of the most vulnerable regions of the world to climate change and such changes impact the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services to human society. The predicted future scenarios for this region present an increased frequency of floods and extended droughts, especially at the Iberian Peninsula. This paper evaluates the impacts of climate change on the water provisioning and erosion control services in the densely populated Mediterranean Llobregat river basin of. The assessment of ecosystem services and their mapping at the basin scale identify the current pressures on the river basin including the source area in the Pyrenees Mountains. Drinking water provisioning is expected to decrease between 3 and 49%, while total hydropower production will decrease between 5 and 43%. Erosion control will be reduced by up to 23%, indicating that costs for dredging the reservoirs as well as for treating drinking water will also increase. Based on these data, the concept for an appropriate quantification and related spatial visualization of ecosystem service is elaborated and discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape scale mapping of forest inventory data by nearest neighbor classification

Treesearch

Andrew Lister

2009-01-01

One of the goals of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program is large-area mapping. FIA scientists have tried many methods in the past, including geostatistical methods, linear modeling, nonlinear modeling, and simple choropleth and dot maps. Mapping methods that require individual model-based maps to be...

The Westfield River Watershed Interactive Atlas: mapping recreation data on the web

Treesearch

Robert S. Bristow; Steven Riberdy

2002-01-01

Imagine searching the web to create a map to your house. You could use one of the many Internet mapping sites like MapBlast™ or MapQuest™ to create such a map. But maybe you wish to get a map of trails for the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service web site could serve that need. Or you may wish to get a map to show you the way from the Orlando...

Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services: analysis of trade-offs and synergies at the different spatial scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomczyk, Aleksandra; Ewertowski, Marek

2014-05-01

The importance of conserving the natural environment has been known for a long time. It can be fulfilled by designation of protected areas as well as proper management of broader landscapes. During past two decades, conservation has shifted from a predominantly species- and habitat-focus to a more holistic "ecosystem approach" with an emphasis on "ecosystem services", which underpin the benefits which society can obtain (directly or indirectly) from ecosystems. This study aims to investigate and compare existing land use prioritization models and to develop new GIS-based frameworks for analysis for different spatial scales. Research were carried out in several conservation areas in UK and Poland. Main focus was on regulating (including regulation of soil erosion and landslide susceptibility) and recreation services. A new GIS-based model was developed which enabled to analysis of this services. Different spatial scales, ranging from whole conservation areas to single catchments were chosen for mapping and quantifying. Based on different scenarios three sets of ecosystem services were calculated. Data contained specific land-cover/land-use resulting from the different strategy of the natural conservation for each of the study sites. Modelling was carried out based on the trends identified on the basis of past changes in land-use/land-cover (based on analysis of time-series satellite images), and the probability of a particular class of land-use/land-cover for the chosen scenario. Comparison between results revealed ecosystem service tradeoffs (when the obtaining of one service results in the reducing of another service) and synergies (when multiple services can be provides simultaneously). Results of the study shows where (and under which condition): (1) conservation areas can accommodate more visitors and in the same time provide regulation of soil erosion and protection against landslide developments, (2) further development of recreation services will lead to inevitable degradation of environment. Based on these results several further activities were proposed: from changing of conservation strategy for some part of the areas to changing of the land cover/land use.

Establishing Transportation Framework Services Using the Open Geospatial Consortium Web Feature Service Specification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, C.; Wong, D. W.; Phillips, T.; Wright, R. A.; Lindsey, S.; Kafatos, M.

2005-12-01

As a teamed partnership of the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research (CEOSR) at George Mason University (GMU), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics at the Department of Transportation (BTS/DOT), and Intergraph, we established Transportation Framework Data Services using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)'s Web Feature Service (WFS) Specification to enable the sharing of transportation data among the federal level with data from BTS/DOT, the state level through VDOT, the industries through Intergraph. CEOSR develops WFS solutions using Intergraph software. Relevant technical documents are also developed and disseminated through the partners. The WFS is integrated with operational geospatial systems at CEOSR and VDOT. CEOSR works with Intergraph on developing WFS solutions and technical documents. GeoMedia WebMap WFS toolkit is used with software and technical support from Intergraph. ESRI ArcIMS WFS connector is used with GMU's campus license of ESRI products. Tested solutions are integrated with framework data service operational systems, including 1) CEOSR's interoperable geospatial information services, FGDC clearinghouse Node, Geospatial One Stop (GOS) portal, and WMS services, 2) VDOT's state transportation data and GIS infrastructure, and 3)BTS/DOT's national transportation data. The project presents: 1) develop and deploy an operational OGC WFS 1.1 interfaces at CEOSR for registering with FGDC/GOS Portal and responding to Web ``POST'' requests for transportation Framework data as listed in Table 1; 2) build the WFS service that can return the data that conform to the drafted ANSI/INCITS L1 Standard (when available) for each identified theme in the format given by OGC Geography Markup Language (GML) Version 3.0 or higher; 3) integrate the OGC WFS with CEOSR's clearinghouse nodes, 4) establish a formal partnership to develop and share WFS-based geospatial interoperability technology among GMU, VDOT, BTS/DOT, and Intergraph; and 5) develop WFS-based solutions and technical documents using the GeoMedia WebMap WFS toolkit. Geospatial Web Feature Service is demonstrated to be more efficient in sharing vector data and supports direct Internet access transportation data. Developed WFS solutions also enhanced the interoperable service provided by CEOSR through the FGDC clearinghouse node and the GOS Portal.

GNSS monitoring of the ionosphere for Space Weather services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krankowski, A.; Sieradzki, R.; Zakharenkova, I. E.; Cherniak, I. V.

2012-04-01

The International GNSS Service (IGS) Ionosphere Working Group routinely provides the users global ionosphere maps (GIMs) of vertical total electron content (vTEC). The IGS GIMs are provided with spatial resolution of 5.0 degrees x 2.5 degrees in longitude and latitude, respectively. The current temporal resolution is 2 hours, however, 1-hour maps are delivered as a pilot project. There are three types IGS GIMs: the final, rapid and predicted. The latencies of the IGS ionospheric final and rapid products are 10 days and 1 day, respectively. The predicted GIMs are generated for 1 and 2 days in advance. There are four IGS Associate Analysis Centres (IAACs) that provide ionosphere maps computed with independent methodologies using GNSS data. These maps are uploaded to the IGS Ionosphere Combination and Validation Center at the GRL/UWM (Geodynamics Research Laboratory of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland) that produces the IGS official ionospheric products, which are published online via ftp and www. On the other hand, the increasing number of permanently tracking GNSS stations near the North Geomagnetic Pole allow for using satellite observations to detect the ionospheric disturbances at high latitudes with even higher spatial resolution. In the space weather service developed at GRL/UWM, the data from the Arctic stations belonging to IGS/EPN/POLENET networks were used to study TEC fluctuations and scintillations. Since the beginning of 2011, a near real-time service presenting the conditions in the ionosphere have been operational at GRL/UWM www site. The rate of TEC index (ROTI) expressed in TECU/min is used as a measure of TEC fluctuations. The service provides 2-hour maps of the TEC variability. In addition, for each day the daily map of the ionospheric fluctuations as a function geomagnetic local time is also created. This presentation shows the architecture, algorithms, performance and future developments of the IGS GIMs and this new space weather service at GRL/UWM.

BingEO: Enable Distributed Earth Observation Data for Environmental Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, H.; Yang, C.; Xu, Y.

2010-12-01

Our planet is facing great environmental challenges including global climate change, environmental vulnerability, extreme poverty, and a shortage of clean cheap energy. To address these problems, scientists are developing various models to analysis, forecast, simulate various geospatial phenomena to support critical decision making. These models not only challenge our computing technology, but also challenge us to feed huge demands of earth observation data. Through various policies and programs, open and free sharing of earth observation data are advocated in earth science. Currently, thousands of data sources are freely available online through open standards such as Web Map Service (WMS), Web Feature Service (WFS) and Web Coverage Service (WCS). Seamless sharing and access to these resources call for a spatial Cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable the use of spatial data for the advancement of related applied sciences including environmental research. Based on Microsoft Bing Search Engine and Bing Map, a seamlessly integrated and visual tool is under development to bridge the gap between researchers/educators and earth observation data providers. With this tool, earth science researchers/educators can easily and visually find the best data sets for their research and education. The tool includes a registry and its related supporting module at server-side and an integrated portal as its client. The proposed portal, Bing Earth Observation (BingEO), is based on Bing Search and Bing Map to: 1) Use Bing Search to discover Web Map Services (WMS) resources available over the internet; 2) Develop and maintain a registry to manage all the available WMS resources and constantly monitor their service quality; 3) Allow users to manually register data services; 4) Provide a Bing Maps-based Web application to visualize the data on a high-quality and easy-to-manipulate map platform and enable users to select the best data layers online. Given the amount of observation data accumulated already and still growing, BingEO will allow these resources to be utilized more widely, intensively, efficiently and economically in earth science applications.

Variation in geographic access to chemotherapy by definitions of providers and service locations: a population-based observational study.

PubMed

Schroeder, Mary C; Chapman, Cole G; Nattinger, Matthew C; Halfdanarson, Thorvardur R; Abu-Hejleh, Taher; Tien, Yu-Yu; Brooks, John M

2016-07-18

An aging population, with its associated rise in cancer incidence and strain on the oncology workforce, will continue to motivate patients, healthcare providers and policy makers to better understand the existing and growing challenges of access to chemotherapy. Administrative data, and SEER-Medicare data in particular, have been used to assess patterns of healthcare utilization because of its rich information regarding patients, their treatments, and their providers. To create measures of geographic access to chemotherapy, patients and oncologists must first be identified. Others have noted that identifying chemotherapy providers from Medicare claims is not always straightforward, as providers may report multiple or incorrect specialties and/or practice in multiple locations. Although previous studies have found that specialty codes alone fail to identify all oncologists, none have assessed whether various methods of identifying chemotherapy providers and their locations affect estimates of geographic access to care. SEER-Medicare data was used to identify patients, physicians, and chemotherapy use in this population-based observational study. We compared two measures of geographic access to chemotherapy, local area density and distance to nearest provider, across two definitions of chemotherapy provider (identified by specialty codes or billing codes) and two definitions of chemotherapy service location (where chemotherapy services were proven to be or possibly available) using descriptive statistics. Access measures were mapped for three representative registries. In our sample, 57.2 % of physicians who submitted chemotherapy claims reported a specialty of hematology/oncology or medical oncology. These physicians were associated with 91.0 % of the chemotherapy claims. When providers were identified through billing codes instead of specialty codes, an additional 50.0 % of beneficiaries (from 23.8 % to 35.7 %) resided in the same ZIP code as a chemotherapy provider. Beneficiaries were also 1.3 times closer to a provider, in terms of driving time. Our access measures did not differ significantly across definitions of service location. Measures of geographic access to care were sensitive to definitions of chemotherapy providers; far more providers were identified through billing codes than specialty codes. They were not sensitive to definitions of service locations, as providers, regardless of how they are identified, generally provided chemotherapy at each of their practice locations.

A comprehensive map of the influenza A virus replication cycle

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Influenza is a common infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Annual epidemics cause severe illnesses, deaths, and economic loss around the world. To better defend against influenza viral infection, it is essential to understand its mechanisms and associated host responses. Many studies have been conducted to elucidate these mechanisms, however, the overall picture remains incompletely understood. A systematic understanding of influenza viral infection in host cells is needed to facilitate the identification of influential host response mechanisms and potential drug targets. Description We constructed a comprehensive map of the influenza A virus (‘IAV’) life cycle (‘FluMap’) by undertaking a literature-based, manual curation approach. Based on information obtained from publicly available pathway databases, updated with literature-based information and input from expert virologists and immunologists, FluMap is currently composed of 960 factors (i.e., proteins, mRNAs etc.) and 456 reactions, and is annotated with ~500 papers and curation comments. In addition to detailing the type of molecular interactions, isolate/strain specific data are also available. The FluMap was built with the pathway editor CellDesigner in standard SBML (Systems Biology Markup Language) format and visualized as an SBGN (Systems Biology Graphical Notation) diagram. It is also available as a web service (online map) based on the iPathways+ system to enable community discussion by influenza researchers. We also demonstrate computational network analyses to identify targets using the FluMap. Conclusion The FluMap is a comprehensive pathway map that can serve as a graphically presented knowledge-base and as a platform to analyze functional interactions between IAV and host factors. Publicly available webtools will allow continuous updating to ensure the most reliable representation of the host-virus interaction network. The FluMap is available at http://www.influenza-x.org/flumap/. PMID:24088197

The discriminatory cost of ICD-10-CM transition between clinical specialties: metrics, case study, and mitigating tools

PubMed Central

Boyd, Andrew D; Li, Jianrong ‘John’; Burton, Mike D; Jonen, Michael; Gardeux, Vincent; Achour, Ikbel; Luo, Roger Q; Zenku, Ilir; Bahroos, Neil; Brown, Stephen B; Vanden Hoek, Terry; Lussier, Yves A

2013-01-01

Objective Applying the science of networks to quantify the discriminatory impact of the ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM transition between clinical specialties. Materials and Methods Datasets were the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM mapping files, general equivalence mappings, and statewide Medicaid emergency department billing. Diagnoses were represented as nodes and their mappings as directional relationships. The complex network was synthesized as an aggregate of simpler motifs and tabulation per clinical specialty. Results We identified five mapping motif categories: identity, class-to-subclass, subclass-to-class, convoluted, and no mapping. Convoluted mappings indicate that multiple ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes share complex, entangled, and non-reciprocal mappings. The proportions of convoluted diagnoses mappings (36% overall) range from 5% (hematology) to 60% (obstetrics and injuries). In a case study of 24 008 patient visits in 217 emergency departments, 27% of the costs are associated with convoluted diagnoses, with ‘abdominal pain’ and ‘gastroenteritis’ accounting for approximately 3.5%. Discussion Previous qualitative studies report that administrators and clinicians are likely to be challenged in understanding and managing their practice because of the ICD-10-CM transition. We substantiate the complexity of this transition with a thorough quantitative summary per clinical specialty, a case study, and the tools to apply this methodology easily to any clinical practice in the form of a web portal and analytic tables. Conclusions Post-transition, successful management of frequent diseases with convoluted mapping network patterns is critical. The http://lussierlab.org/transition-to-ICD10CM web portal provides insight in linking onerous diseases to the ICD-10 transition. PMID:23645552

78 FR 45941 - Changes in Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-30

... (hereinafter referred to as flood hazard determinations) as shown on the indicated Letter of Map Revision (LOMR... Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and in some cases the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports, currently in effect... respective Community Map Repository address listed in the table below and online through the FEMA Map Service...

'Communicate to vaccinate' (COMMVAC). building evidence for improving communication about childhood vaccinations in low- and middle-income countries: protocol for a programme of research.

PubMed

Lewin, Simon; Hill, Sophie; Abdullahi, Leyla H; de Castro Freire, Sara Bensaude; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Glenton, Claire; Hussey, Gregory D; Jones, Catherine M; Kaufman, Jessica; Lin, Vivian; Mahomed, Hassan; Rhoda, Linda; Robinson, Priscilla; Waggie, Zainab; Willis, Natalie; Wiysonge, Charles S

2011-12-02

Effective provider-parent communication can improve childhood vaccination uptake and strengthen immunisation services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Building capacity to improve communication strategies has been neglected. Rigorous research exists but is not readily found or applicable to LMICs, making it difficult for policy makers to use it to inform vaccination policies and practice.The aim of this project is to build research knowledge and capacity to use evidence-based strategies for improving communication about childhood vaccinations with parents and communities in LMICs. This project is a mixed methods study with six sub-studies. In sub-study one, we will develop a systematic map of provider-parent communication interventions for childhood vaccinations by screening and extracting data from relevant literature. This map will inform sub-study two, in which we will develop a taxonomy of interventions to improve provider-parent communication around childhood vaccination. In sub-study three, the taxonomy will be populated with trial citations to create an evidence map, which will also identify how evidence is linked to communication barriers regarding vaccination. In the project's fourth sub-study, we will present the interventions map, taxonomy, and evidence map to international stakeholders to identify high-priority topics for systematic reviews of interventions to improve parent-provider communication for childhood vaccination. We will produce systematic reviews of the effects of high-priority interventions in the fifth sub-study. In the sixth and final sub-study of the project, evidence from the systematic reviews will be translated into accessible formats and messages for dissemination to LMICs. This project combines evidence mapping, conceptual and taxonomy development, priority setting, systematic reviews, and knowledge transfer. It will build and share concepts, terms, evidence, and resources to aid the development of communication strategies for effective vaccination programmes in LMICs.

OneGeology-Europe: architecture, portal and web services to provide a European geological map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tellez-Arenas, Agnès.; Serrano, Jean-Jacques; Tertre, François; Laxton, John

2010-05-01

OneGeology-Europe is a large ambitious project to make geological spatial data further known and accessible. The OneGeology-Europe project develops an integrated system of data to create and make accessible for the first time through the internet the geological map of the whole of Europe. The architecture implemented by the project is web services oriented, based on the OGC standards: the geological map is not a centralized database but is composed by several web services, each of them hosted by a European country involved in the project. Since geological data are elaborated differently from country to country, they are difficult to share. OneGeology-Europe, while providing more detailed and complete information, will foster even beyond the geological community an easier exchange of data within Europe and globally. This implies an important work regarding the harmonization of the data, both model and the content. OneGeology-Europe is characterised by the high technological capacity of the EU Member States, and has the final goal to achieve the harmonisation of European geological survey data according to common standards. As a direct consequence Europe will make a further step in terms of innovation and information dissemination, continuing to play a world leading role in the development of geosciences information. The scope of the common harmonized data model was defined primarily by the requirements of the geological map of Europe, but in addition users were consulted and the requirements of both INSPIRE and ‘high-resolution' geological maps were considered. The data model is based on GeoSciML, developed since 2006 by a group of Geological Surveys. The data providers involved in the project implemented a new component that allows the web services to deliver the geological map expressed into GeoSciML. In order to capture the information describing the geological units of the map of Europe the scope of the data model needs to include lithology; age; genesis and metamorphic character. For high resolution maps physical properties, bedding characteristics and weathering also need to be added. Furthermore, Geological data held by national geological surveys is generally described in national language of the country. The project has to deal with the multilingual issue, an important requirement of the INSPIRE directive. The project provides a list of harmonized vocabularies, a set of web services to deal with them, and a web site for helping the geoscientists while mapping the terms used into the national datasets into these vocabularies. The web services provided by each data provider, with the particular component that allows them to deliver the harmonised data model and to handle the multilingualism, are the first part of the architecture. The project also implements a web portal that provides several functionalities. Thanks to the common data model implemented by each web service delivering a part of the geological map, and using OGC SLD standards, the client offers the following option. A user can request for a sub-selection of the map, for instance searching on a particular attribute such as "age is quaternary", and display only the parts of the map according to the filter. Using the web services on the common vocabularies, the data displayed are translated. The project started September 2008 for two years, with 29 partners from 20 countries (20 partners are Geological Surveys). The budget is 3.25 M€, with a European Commission contribution of 2.6 M€. The paper will describe the technical solutions to implement OneGeology-Europe components: the profile of the common data model to exchange geological data, the web services to view and access geological data; and a geoportal to provide the user with a user-friendly way to discover, view and access geological data.

Generalized geologic map of bedrock lithologies and surficial deposits in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park region, Tennessee and North Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Southworth, Scott; Schultz, Art; Denenny, Danielle

2005-01-01

The geology of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) region of Tennessee and North Carolina was studied from 1993 to 2003 as part of a cooperative investigation with the National Park Service (NPS). This work has been compiled as a 1:100,000-scale map derived from mapping done at 1:24,000 and 1:62,500 scale. The geologic data are intended to support cooperative investigations with NPS, the development of a new soil map by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (http://www.discoverlifeinamerica.org/). At the request of NPS, we mapped areas previously not visited, revised the geology where stratigraphic and structural problems existed, and developed a map database for use in interdisciplinary research, land management, and interpretive programs for park visitors.

GLCF: Services

Science.gov Websites

Services Contact Site Map Go Services GLCF General Services Contact us with the online form. Answer classification Special Group Services Special workspaces for groups accessing datasets Data Ordering Services Click here to proceed to Data Ordering Service Hard Media Orders Metrics Services ESDS Metrics

Field Studies in Science Teacher Preparation Programs: Examples of Research-Oriented Earth and Environmental Science Field Projects for Pre-service and In-service Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Neal, M. L.

2005-12-01

Science teaching reforms of the past 10 to 20 years have focused on a pedagogical shift from verification-style laboratory exercises, toward hands-on and inquiry-based constructivist teaching methods. Such methods, however, require teachers to be proficient in more than just basic content and teaching strategies. To be effective teachers, these professionals must also be skilled in the design and implementation of research-style investigations. At Loyola College in Maryland, topics in the earth and environmental sciences are used as the basis for field research projects that teach our students science content, along with how to design age-appropriate investigative activities and how to implement them in a stimulating, inquiry-based learning environment. Presented here are examples of three projects, demonstrating how these themes are woven throughout our pre- and in-service teacher preparation programs, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. 1. Watershed Studies - In our undergraduate, pre-service, elementary education teacher preparation program, students design and implement a water quality study in a local watershed. In the classroom, students use topographic maps and aerial photographs to delineate the watersheds' boundaries, to identify current land use patterns, and to select appropriate locations on the trunk stream for testing. Water testing at these sites is conducted during field trips, with data analysis and interpretation performed on-site. On-site work allows students to make connections between stream water quality and adjacent land use practices. Students then relate the content and research results to science teaching standards, in order to develop a unit-plan for use in their future classrooms. 2. Land Use Assessment - In our graduate, in-service, elementary and middle school science program, a local stream valley is used as the basis for an analysis of potential land use changes. Students first construct a topographic base map of the area, and then generate current land use/cover type maps. Soil texture, moisture, and depth data, as well as slope angle and infiltration/runoff potential information are collected throughout the map area, in order to assess the impact of proposed residential or agricultural land use changes. Students create maps delineating suitability and erosion potential, based upon their topographic maps and site data. A proposal for an analogous study, near the students' schools, is developed for use with their own students, as culmination of the project. 3. Climate Change - In our graduate, in-service, middle and high school earth science program, students are exposed to field research methods during a summer research project investigating relict shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay. In this project, students collect subsurface geophysical, sedimentological, and biological data through the use of ground penetrating radar, vibracoring, and hand-augering equipment. By combining the stratigraphy revealed in the radar records, with paleoenvironmental interpretations from sediment analyses and age estimates from fossil material encountered, students are able to construct cross sections of the region, delineating littoral deposits stemming from climate-induced, higher-than-present sea-level incursions. Students then prepare field and laboratory exercises for their own classrooms, relating the design and discoveries of the study to their own students. The students also participate in the preparation and presentation of their study in national and international scientific venues.

Development of a Dynamic Web Mapping Service for Vegetation Productivity Using Earth Observation and in situ Sensors in a Sensor Web Based Approach

PubMed Central

Kooistra, Lammert; Bergsma, Aldo; Chuma, Beatus; de Bruin, Sytze

2009-01-01

This paper describes the development of a sensor web based approach which combines earth observation and in situ sensor data to derive typical information offered by a dynamic web mapping service (WMS). A prototype has been developed which provides daily maps of vegetation productivity for the Netherlands with a spatial resolution of 250 m. Daily available MODIS surface reflectance products and meteorological parameters obtained through a Sensor Observation Service (SOS) were used as input for a vegetation productivity model. This paper presents the vegetation productivity model, the sensor data sources and the implementation of the automated processing facility. Finally, an evaluation is made of the opportunities and limitations of sensor web based approaches for the development of web services which combine both satellite and in situ sensor sources. PMID:22574019

Social Network Analysis as a Methodological Approach to Explore Health Systems: A Case Study Exploring Support among Senior Managers/Executives in a Hospital Network.

PubMed

De Brún, Aoife; McAuliffe, Eilish

2018-03-13

Health systems research recognizes the complexity of healthcare, and the interacting and interdependent nature of components of a health system. To better understand such systems, innovative methods are required to depict and analyze their structures. This paper describes social network analysis as a methodology to depict, diagnose, and evaluate health systems and networks therein. Social network analysis is a set of techniques to map, measure, and analyze social relationships between people, teams, and organizations. Through use of a case study exploring support relationships among senior managers in a newly established hospital group, this paper illustrates some of the commonly used network- and node-level metrics in social network analysis, and demonstrates the value of these maps and metrics to understand systems. Network analysis offers a valuable approach to health systems and services researchers as it offers a means to depict activity relevant to network questions of interest, to identify opinion leaders, influencers, clusters in the network, and those individuals serving as bridgers across clusters. The strengths and limitations inherent in the method are discussed, and the applications of social network analysis in health services research are explored.

Addressing overuse of health services in health systems: a critical interpretive synthesis.

PubMed

Ellen, Moriah E; Wilson, Michael G; Vélez, Marcela; Shach, Ruth; Lavis, John N; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Moat, Kaelan A

2018-06-15

Health systems are increasingly focusing on the issue of 'overuse' of health services and how to address it. We developed a framework focused on (1) the rationale and context for health systems prioritising addressing overuse, (2) elements of a comprehensive process and approach to reduce overuse and (3) implementation considerations for addressing overuse. We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis informed by a stakeholder-engagement process. The synthesis identified relevant empirical and non-empirical articles about system-level overuse. Two reviewers independently screened records, assessed for inclusion and conceptually mapped included articles. From these, we selected a purposive sample, created structured summaries of key findings and thematically synthesised the results. Our search identified 3545 references, from which we included 251. Most articles (76%; n = 192) were published within 5 years of conducting the review and addressed processes for addressing overuse (63%; n = 158) or political and health system context (60%; n = 151). Besides negative outcomes at the patient, system and global level, there were various contextual factors to addressing service overuse that seem to be key issue drivers. Processes for addressing overuse can be grouped into three elements comprising a comprehensive approach, including (1) approaches to identify overused health services, (2) stakeholder- or patient-led approaches and (3) government-led initiatives. Key implementation considerations include the need to develop 'buy in' from stakeholders and citizens. Health systems want to ensure the use of high-value services to keep citizens healthy and avoid harm. Our synthesis can be used by policy-makers, stakeholders and researchers to understand how the issue has been prioritised, what approaches have been used to address it and implementation considerations. PROSPERO CRD42014013204 .

Cartographic sign as a core of multimedia map prepared by non-cartographers in free map services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medyńska-Gulij, Beata

2014-06-01

The fundamental importance of cartographic signs in traditional maps is unquestionable, although in the case of multimedia maps their key function is not so obvious. Our aim was to search the problem of cartographic signs as a core of multimedia maps prepared by non-cartographer in on-line Map Services. First, preestablished rules for multimedia map designers were prepared emphasizing the key role of the cartographic signs and habits of Web-users. The comparison of projects completed by a group of designers led us to the general conclusion that a cartographic sign should determine the design of a multimedia map in on-line Map Services. Despite the selection of five different map topics, one may list the general characteristics of the maps with a cartographic sign in the core. Fundamentalne znaczenie znaków kartograficznych na tradycyjnej mapie nie budzi wątpliwości, jednak w przypadku multimedialnej mapy ich kluczowa funkcja nie jest już tak oczywista. W tych badaniach podjęto problem znaczenia znaku kartograficznego jako spoiwa mapy multimedialnej opracowanej przez nie-kartografa w darmowych serwisach mapowych. Zadaniem dla projektujących mapy stało się opracowanie mapy multimedialnej według ustalonych wstępnie zasad, w której kluczową rolę odgrywały znaki kartograficzne oraz przyzwyczajenia użytkowników Internetu. Porównanie wypełnionych arkuszy zadań przez uczestników badań skłania do wyciągnięcia generalnego wniosku, że znak kartograficzny powinien determinować projektowanie multimedialnej mapy w serwisach mapowych on-line. Pomimo opracowania pięciu różnych tematów map, można wymienić ogólne charakterystyki map, w których znak kartograficzny jest spoiwem.

Mapping the Stacks: Sustainability and User Experience of Animated Maps in Library Discovery Interfaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillin, Bill; Gibson, Sally; MacDonald, Jean

2016-01-01

Animated maps of the library stacks were integrated into the catalog interface at Pratt Institute and into the EBSCO Discovery Service interface at Illinois State University. The mapping feature was developed for optimal automation of the update process to enable a range of library personnel to update maps and call-number ranges. The development…

Interoperability And Value Added To Earth Observation Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasperi, J.

2012-04-01

Geospatial web services technology has provided a new means for geospatial data interoperability. Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) services such as Web Map Service (WMS) to request maps on the Internet, Web Feature Service (WFS) to exchange vectors or Catalog Service for the Web (CSW) to search for geospatialized data have been widely adopted in the Geosciences community in general and in the remote sensing community in particular. These services make Earth Observation data available to a wider range of public users than ever before. The mapshup web client offers an innovative and efficient user interface that takes advantage of the power of interoperability. This presentation will demonstrate how mapshup can be effectively used in the context of natural disasters management.

Methamphetamine-associated psychosis: a new health challenge in Iran

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The rapidly growing popularity of methamphetamine use in Iran has posed a new health challenge to the Iranian health sector. Methamphetamine-associated psychosis (MAP) has been frequently reported in Iran in recent years. Although methamphetamine use and MAP are considerable health problems in Iran but there is still a need to conduct epidemiological studies on the prevalence of MAP and its health-related problems. The present paper emphasizes that health policy makers should consider the immediate needs of drug users, their families and the community to be informed about the detrimental health effects associated with MAP. Although MAP could be managed by prescribing benzodiazepines and psychiatric medications but the most effective regime for stabilizing patients with MAP still needs to be studied in Iran. Constant collaborations among psychiatric services and outpatient psychotherapeutic services should be established to successfully manage MAP in Iran. Iranian clinicians especially emergency medicine specialists should be informed about the differences between the two forms of transient and recurrent MAP in order to implement appropriate pharmacological therapies to manage MAP. It is hoped that special training courses are designed and implemented by health policy makers to inform clinicians, health providers and especially emergency medicine specialists to effectively deal with MAP. PMID:23577655

Vegetation types on acid soils of Micronesia

Treesearch

Marjorie C. Falanruw; Thomas G.. Cole; Craig D. Whitesell

1987-01-01

The soils and vegetation of the Caroline high islands, Federated States of Micronesia, are being mapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Soil Conservation Service. By the end of 1987, vegetation maps and reports on Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap, four Truk Islands, and Palau are expected to be available. To compare soil types with vegetation types...

Empirically Guided Coordination of Multiple Evidence-Based Treatments: An Illustration of Relevance Mapping in Children's Mental Health Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chorpita, Bruce F.; Bernstein, Adam; Daleiden, Eric L.

2011-01-01

Objective: Despite substantial progress in the development and identification of psychosocial evidence-based treatments (EBTs) in mental health, there is minimal empirical guidance for selecting an optimal "set" of EBTs maximally applicable and generalizable to a chosen service sample. Relevance mapping is a proposed methodology that…

National Maps - Pacific - NOAA's National Weather Service

Science.gov Websites

select the go button to submit request City, St Go Sign-up for Email Alerts RSS Feeds RSS Feeds Warnings Skip Navigation Links weather.gov NOAA logo-Select to go to the NOAA homepage National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Select to go to the NWS homepage National Weather Service Site Map News

106. Air defense command "master plan", base map," RCA Service ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

106. Air defense command "master plan", base map," RCA Service Company tab no. F-1, sheet 1 of 2, dated 22 October, 1965. - Clear Air Force Station, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Site II, One mile west of mile marker 293.5 on Parks Highway, 5 miles southwest of Anderson, Anderson, Denali Borough, AK

Improving Access to Emergency Contraception Pills through Strengthening Service Delivery and Demand Generation: A Systematic Review of Current Evidence in Low and Middle-Income Countries

PubMed Central

Dawson, Angela; Tran, Nguyen-Toan; Westley, Elizabeth; Mangiaterra, Viviana; Festin, Mario

2014-01-01

Objectives Emergency contraception pills (ECP) are among the 13 essential commodities in the framework for action established by the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children. Despite having been on the market for nearly 20 years, a number of barriers still limit women's access to ECP in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) including limited consumer knowledge and poor availability. This paper reports the results of a review to synthesise the current evidence on service delivery strategies to improve access to ECP. Methods A narrative synthesis methodology was used to examine peer reviewed research literature (2003 to 2013) from diverse methodological traditions to provide critical insights into strategies to improve access from a service delivery perspective. The studies were appraised using established scoring systems and the findings of included papers thematically analysed and patterns mapped across all findings using concept mapping. Findings Ten papers were included in the review. Despite limited research of adequate quality, promising strategies to improve access were identified including: advance provision of ECP; task shifting and sharing; intersectoral collaboration for sexual assault; m-health for information provision; and scale up through national family planning programs. Conclusion There are a number of gaps in the research concerning service delivery and ECP in LMIC. These include a lack of knowledge concerning private/commercial sector contributions to improving access, the needs of vulnerable groups of women, approaches to enhancing intersectoral collaboration, evidence for social marketing models and investment cases for ECP. PMID:25285438

The loss of ecosystem services due to land degradation. Integration of mechanistic and probabilistic models in an Ethiopian case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerretelli, Stefania; Poggio, Laura; Gimona, Alessandro; Peressotti, Alessandro; Black, Helaina

2017-04-01

Land and soil degradation are widespread especially in dry and developing countries such as Ethiopia. Land degradation leads to ecosystems services (ESS) degradation, because it causes the depletion and loss of several soil functions. Ethiopia's farmland faces intense degradation due to deforestation, agricultural land expansion, land overexploitation and overgrazing. In this study we modelled the impact of physical factors on ESS degradation, in particular soil erodibility, carbon storage and nutrient retention, in the Ethiopian Great Rift Valley, northwestern of Hawassa. We used models of the Sediment retention/loss, the Nutrient Retention/loss (from the software suite InVEST) and Carbon Storage. To run the models we coupled soil local data (such as soil organic carbon, soil texture) with remote sensing data as input in the parametrization phase, e.g. to derive a land use map, to calculate the aboveground and belowground carbon, the evapotraspiration coefficient and the capacity of vegetation to retain nutrient. We then used spatialised Bayesian Belief Networks (sBBNs) predicting ecosystem services degradation on the basis of the results of the three mechanistic models. The results show i) the importance of mapping of ESS degradation taking into consideration the spatial heterogeneity and the cross-correlations between impacts ii) the fundamental role of remote sensing data in monitoring and modelling in remote, data-poor areas and iii) the important role of spatial BBNs in providing spatially explicit measures of risk and uncertainty. This approach could help decision makers to identify priority areas for intervention in order to reduce land and ecosystem services degradation.

An Improved Map-Matching Technique Based on the Fréchet Distance Approach for Pedestrian Navigation Services

PubMed Central

Bang, Yoonsik; Kim, Jiyoung; Yu, Kiyun

2016-01-01

Wearable and smartphone technology innovations have propelled the growth of Pedestrian Navigation Services (PNS). PNS need a map-matching process to project a user’s locations onto maps. Many map-matching techniques have been developed for vehicle navigation services. These techniques are inappropriate for PNS because pedestrians move, stop, and turn in different ways compared to vehicles. In addition, the base map data for pedestrians are more complicated than for vehicles. This article proposes a new map-matching method for locating Global Positioning System (GPS) trajectories of pedestrians onto road network datasets. The theory underlying this approach is based on the Fréchet distance, one of the measures of geometric similarity between two curves. The Fréchet distance approach can provide reasonable matching results because two linear trajectories are parameterized with the time variable. Then we improved the method to be adaptive to the positional error of the GPS signal. We used an adaptation coefficient to adjust the search range for every input signal, based on the assumption of auto-correlation between consecutive GPS points. To reduce errors in matching, the reliability index was evaluated in real time for each match. To test the proposed map-matching method, we applied it to GPS trajectories of pedestrians and the road network data. We then assessed the performance by comparing the results with reference datasets. Our proposed method performed better with test data when compared to a conventional map-matching technique for vehicles. PMID:27782091

Conceptualizing Stakeholders' Perceptions of Ecosystem Services: A Participatory Systems Mapping Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, Rita; Videira, Nuno

2015-12-01

A participatory system dynamics modelling approach is advanced to support conceptualization of feedback processes underlying ecosystem services and to foster a shared understanding of leverage intervention points. The process includes systems mapping workshop and follow-up tasks aiming at the collaborative construction of causal loop diagrams. A case study developed in a natural area in Portugal illustrates how a stakeholder group was actively engaged in the development of a conceptual model depicting policies for sustaining the climate regulation ecosystem service.

Implementation of Web 2.0 services in academic, medical and research libraries: a scoping review.

PubMed

Gardois, Paolo; Colombi, Nicoletta; Grillo, Gaetano; Villanacci, Maria C

2012-06-01

Academic, medical and research libraries frequently implement Web 2.0 services for users. Several reports notwithstanding, characteristics and effectiveness of services are unclear. To find out: the Web 2.0 services implemented by medical, academic and research libraries; study designs, measures and types of data used in included articles to evaluate effectiveness; whether the identified body of literature is amenable to a systematic review of results. Scoping review mapping the literature on the topic. Searches were performed in 19 databases. research articles in English, Italian, German, French and Spanish (publication date ≥ 2006) about Web 2.0 services for final users implemented by academic, medical and research libraries. Reviewers' agreement was measured by Cohen's kappa. From a data set of 6461 articles, 255 (4%) were coded and analysed. Conferencing/chat/instant messaging, blogging, podcasts, social networking, wikis and aggregators were frequently examined. Services were mainly targeted at general academic users of English-speaking countries. Data prohibit a reliable estimate of the relative frequency of implemented Web 2.0 services. Case studies were the prevalent design. Most articles evaluated different outcomes using diverse assessment methodologies. A systematic review is recommended to assess the effectiveness of such services. © 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.

Who serves the urban poor? A geospatial and descriptive analysis of health services in slum settlements in Dhaka, Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Adams, Alayne M; Islam, Rubana; Ahmed, Tanvir

2015-01-01

In Bangladesh, the health risks of unplanned urbanization are disproportionately shouldered by the urban poor. At the same time, affordable formal primary care services are scarce, and what exists is almost exclusively provided by non-government organizations (NGOs) working on a project basis. So where do the poor go for health care? A health facility mapping of six urban slum settlements in Dhaka was undertaken to explore the configuration of healthcare services proximate to where the poor reside. Three methods were employed: (1) Social mapping and listing of all Health Service Delivery Points (HSDPs); (2) Creation of a geospatial map including Global Positioning System (GPS) co-ordinates of all HSPDs in the six study areas and (3) Implementation of a facility survey of all HSDPs within six study areas. Descriptive statistics are used to examine the number, type and concentration of service provider types, as well as indicators of their accessibility in terms of location and hours of service. A total of 1041 HSDPs were mapped, of which 80% are privately operated and the rest by NGOs and the public sector. Phamacies and non-formal or traditional doctors make up 75% of the private sector while consultation chambers account for 20%. Most NGO and Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP) static clinics are open 5–6 days/week, but close by 4–5 pm in the afternoon. Evening services are almost exclusively offered by private HSDPs; however, only 37% of private sector health staff possess some kind of formal medical qualification. This spatial analysis of health service supply in poor urban settlements emphasizes the importance of taking the informal private sector into account in efforts to increase effective coverage of quality services. Features of informal private sector service provision that have facilitated market penetration may be relevant in designing formal services that better meet the needs of the urban poor. PMID:25759453

Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes: A Spatially Explicit Approach to Support Sustainable Soil Management

PubMed Central

Crossman, Neville D.; MacEwan, Richard J.; Wallace, D. Dugal; Bennett, Lauren T.

2014-01-01

Soil degradation has been associated with a lack of adequate consideration of soil ecosystem services. We demonstrate a broadly applicable method for mapping changes in the supply of two priority soil ecosystem services to support decisions about sustainable land-use configurations. We used a landscape-scale study area of 302 km2 in northern Victoria, south-eastern Australia, which has been cleared for intensive agriculture. Indicators representing priority soil services (soil carbon sequestration and soil water storage) were quantified and mapped under both a current and a future 25-year land-use scenario (the latter including a greater diversity of land uses and increased perennial crops and irrigation). We combined diverse methods, including soil analysis using mid-infrared spectroscopy, soil biophysical modelling, and geostatistical interpolation. Our analysis suggests that the future land-use scenario would increase the landscape-level supply of both services over 25 years. Soil organic carbon content and water storage to 30 cm depth were predicted to increase by about 11% and 22%, respectively. Our service maps revealed the locations of hotspots, as well as potential trade-offs in service supply under new land-use configurations. The study highlights the need to consider diverse land uses in sustainable management of soil services in changing agricultural landscapes. PMID:24616632

Ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes: a spatially explicit approach to support sustainable soil management.

PubMed

Forouzangohar, Mohsen; Crossman, Neville D; MacEwan, Richard J; Wallace, D Dugal; Bennett, Lauren T

2014-01-01

Soil degradation has been associated with a lack of adequate consideration of soil ecosystem services. We demonstrate a broadly applicable method for mapping changes in the supply of two priority soil ecosystem services to support decisions about sustainable land-use configurations. We used a landscape-scale study area of 302 km(2) in northern Victoria, south-eastern Australia, which has been cleared for intensive agriculture. Indicators representing priority soil services (soil carbon sequestration and soil water storage) were quantified and mapped under both a current and a future 25-year land-use scenario (the latter including a greater diversity of land uses and increased perennial crops and irrigation). We combined diverse methods, including soil analysis using mid-infrared spectroscopy, soil biophysical modelling, and geostatistical interpolation. Our analysis suggests that the future land-use scenario would increase the landscape-level supply of both services over 25 years. Soil organic carbon content and water storage to 30 cm depth were predicted to increase by about 11% and 22%, respectively. Our service maps revealed the locations of hotspots, as well as potential trade-offs in service supply under new land-use configurations. The study highlights the need to consider diverse land uses in sustainable management of soil services in changing agricultural landscapes.

Mapping for maternal and newborn health: the distributions of women of childbearing age, pregnancies and births

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The health and survival of women and their new-born babies in low income countries has been a key priority in public health since the 1990s. However, basic planning data, such as numbers of pregnancies and births, remain difficult to obtain and information is also lacking on geographic access to key services, such as facilities with skilled health workers. For maternal and newborn health and survival, planning for safer births and healthier newborns could be improved by more accurate estimations of the distributions of women of childbearing age. Moreover, subnational estimates of projected future numbers of pregnancies are needed for more effective strategies on human resources and infrastructure, while there is a need to link information on pregnancies to better information on health facilities in districts and regions so that coverage of services can be assessed. Methods This paper outlines demographic mapping methods based on freely available data for the production of high resolution datasets depicting estimates of numbers of people, women of childbearing age, live births and pregnancies, and distribution of comprehensive EmONC facilities in four large high burden countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Satellite derived maps of settlements and land cover were constructed and used to redistribute areal census counts to produce detailed maps of the distributions of women of childbearing age. Household survey data, UN statistics and other sources on growth rates, age specific fertility rates, live births, stillbirths and abortions were then integrated to convert the population distribution datasets to gridded estimates of births and pregnancies. Results and conclusions These estimates, which can be produced for current, past or future years based on standard demographic projections, can provide the basis for strategic intelligence, planning services, and provide denominators for subnational indicators to track progress. The datasets produced are part of national midwifery workforce assessments conducted in collaboration with the respective Ministries of Health and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to identify disparities between population needs, health infrastructure and workforce supply. The datasets are available to the respective Ministries as part of the UNFPA programme to inform midwifery workforce planning and also publicly available through the WorldPop population mapping project. PMID:24387010

Identifying baldcypress-water tupelo regeneration classes in forested wetlands of the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faulkner, Stephen P.; Bhattarai, Prajwol; Allen, Yvonne C.; Barras, John A.; Constant, Glenn C.

2009-01-01

Baldcypress-water tupelo (cypress-tupelo) swamps are critically important coastal forested wetlands found throughout the southeastern U.S. The long-term survival and sustainability of these swamp forests is unknown due to large-scale changes in hydrologic regimes that prevent natural regeneration following logging or mortality. We used NWI wetland maps and remotely sensed hydrologic data to map cypress-tupelo communities, surface water, and the extent and location of proposed regeneration condition classes for cypress-tupelo swamps in the Atchafalaya Basin, LA. Only 6,175 ha (5.8%) of the 106,227 ha of cypress-tupelo forest in the Lower Atchafalaya Basin Floodway was classified as capable of naturally regenerating. Over 23% (24,525 ha) of the forest area was mapped as unable to regenerate either naturally or artificially. The loss and conversion of nearly 25,000 ha of cypress-tupelo forest would have significant and long-lasting impacts on ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat for birds and Louisiana black bears. Given the landscape-scale changes in surface elevations and flooding depths and durations throughout southern Louisiana, similar conditions and impacts are likely applicable to all coastal cypress-tupelo forests in Louisiana. Better data on flooding during the growing season are needed to more accurately identify and refine the location and spatial extent of the regeneration condition classes.

A new catalog of planetary maps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batson, R. M.; Inge, J. L.

1991-01-01

A single, concise reference to all existing planetary maps, including lunar ones, is being prepared that will allow map users to identify and locate maps of their areas of interest. This will be the first such comprehensive listing of planetary maps. Although the USGS shows index maps on the collar of each map sheet, periodically publishes index maps of Mars, and provides informal listings of the USGS map database, no tabulation exists that identifies all planetary maps, including those published by DMA and other organizations. The catalog will consist of a booklet containing small-scale image maps with superimposed quadrangle boundaries and map data tabulations.

Scientific Production about the Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy

PubMed Central

de Oliveira, Regina Célia; de Andrade Moraes, Danielle Chianca; Santos, Cleytiane Stephany Silva; da Silva Monteiro, Gicely Regina Sobral; da Rocha Cabral, Juliana; Beltrão, Roberta Andrade; da Silva, Calos Roberto Lyra

2017-01-01

Objective To identify the elite of authors about the subject adherence to antiretroviral therapy; to identify the journals turned to publishing articles about adherence to antiretroviral therapy; and to identify and analyze the most commonly used words in abstracts of articles about adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Method A bibliometric study conducted through the Scopus base. We used articles published between 1996 and 2014, after application of the eligibility criteria, there were composed the sample with 24 articles. The data were analyzed descriptively. Were used the laws of bibliometric (Lotka, Bradford and Zipf) and the conceptual cloud map of words, through the program Cmap tools. Results Lotka’s Law identified the 5 authors more productive (46% of the total published). Bradford is impaired in this study. Concerning Zipf, 3 zones were determined, 31.47% of the words with in the first zone, 26.46% in the second and 42.06% in the third. In the conceptual map, the words/factors that positively and negatively influence adherence were emphasized, among them the need for more research in the health services. Conclusion There are few publications about the accession to antiretroviral therapy, and the scientific production is in the process of maturation. One can infer that the theme researched is not yet an obsolete topic. It should be noted that the Bibliometric was a relevant statistic tool to generate information about the publications about the antiretroviral therapy. PMID:28979571

Panel C report: Standards needed for the use of ISO Open Systems Interconnection - basic reference model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The use of an International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model and its relevance to interconnecting an Applications Data Service (ADS) pilot program for data sharing is discussed. A top level mapping between the conjectured ADS requirements and identified layers within the OSI Reference Model was performed. It was concluded that the OSI model represents an orderly architecture for the ADS networking planning and that the protocols being developed by the National Bureau of Standards offer the best available implementation approach.

Understanding new media. Trends and issues in electronic distribution of information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Compaine, B.M.

The authors provide an indepth look at the changes facing information businesses, which have expanded from the traditional publishing and broadcasting companies to include financial service businesses, retailers, and telecommunications carriers. Offering a unique conceptual framework - the information business map - this book stresses the political and regulatory forces that are reshaping the information industry's structure, identifies the issues that face strategic planners and policymakers, and suggests policy options and their potential consequences for the future. Each article provides a selected bibliography. 37 figures, 10 tables.

A Spatiotemporal Database to Track Human Scrub Typhus Using the VectorMap Application

PubMed Central

Kelly, Daryl J.; Foley, Desmond H.; Richards, Allen L.

2015-01-01

Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal mite-borne febrile illness, primarily of the Asia-Pacific Rim. With an endemic area greater than 13 million km2 and millions of people at risk, scrub typhus remains an underreported, often misdiagnosed febrile illness. A comprehensive, updatable map of the true distribution of cases has been lacking, and therefore the true risk of disease within the very large endemic area remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to establish a database and map to track human scrub typhus. An online search using PubMed and the United States Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval System was performed to identify articles describing human scrub typhus cases both within and outside the traditionally accepted endemic regions. Using World Health Organization guidelines, stringent criteria were used to establish diagnoses for inclusion in the database. The preliminary screening of 181 scrub typhus publications yielded 145 publications that met the case criterion, 267 case records, and 13 serosurvey records that could be georeferenced, describing 13,739 probable or confirmed human cases in 28 countries. A map service has been established within VectorMap (www.vectormap.org) to explore the role that relative location of vectors, hosts, and the pathogen play in the transmission of mite-borne scrub typhus. The online display of scrub typhus cases in VectorMap illustrates their presence and provides an up-to-date geographic distribution of proven scrub typhus cases. PMID:26678263

A Spatiotemporal Database to Track Human Scrub Typhus Using the VectorMap Application.

PubMed

Kelly, Daryl J; Foley, Desmond H; Richards, Allen L

2015-12-01

Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal mite-borne febrile illness, primarily of the Asia-Pacific Rim. With an endemic area greater than 13 million km2 and millions of people at risk, scrub typhus remains an underreported, often misdiagnosed febrile illness. A comprehensive, updatable map of the true distribution of cases has been lacking, and therefore the true risk of disease within the very large endemic area remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to establish a database and map to track human scrub typhus. An online search using PubMed and the United States Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval System was performed to identify articles describing human scrub typhus cases both within and outside the traditionally accepted endemic regions. Using World Health Organization guidelines, stringent criteria were used to establish diagnoses for inclusion in the database. The preliminary screening of 181 scrub typhus publications yielded 145 publications that met the case criterion, 267 case records, and 13 serosurvey records that could be georeferenced, describing 13,739 probable or confirmed human cases in 28 countries. A map service has been established within VectorMap (www.vectormap.org) to explore the role that relative location of vectors, hosts, and the pathogen play in the transmission of mite-borne scrub typhus. The online display of scrub typhus cases in VectorMap illustrates their presence and provides an up-to-date geographic distribution of proven scrub typhus cases.

Development of remote sensing technology in New Zealand, part 1. Seismotectonic, structural, volcanologic and geomorphic study of New Zealand, part 2. Indigenous forest assessment, part 3. Mapping land use and environmental studies in New Zealand, part 4. New Zealand forest service LANDSAT projects, part 5. Vegetation map and landform map of Aupouri Peninsula, Northland, part 6. Geographical applications of LANDSAT mapping, part 7

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Probine, M. C.; Suggate, R. P.; Mcgreevy, M. G.; Stirling, I. F. (Principal Investigator)

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Inspection of pixels obtained from LANDSAT of New Zealand revealed that not only can ships and their wakes be detected, but that information on the size, state of motion, and direction of movement was inferred by calculating the total number of pixels occupied by the vessel and wake, the orientation of these pixels, and the sum of their radiance values above the background level. Computer enhanced images showing the Waimihia State Forest and much of Kaingaroa State Forest on 22 December 1975 were examined. Most major forest categories were distinguished on LANDSAT imagery. However, the LANDSAT imagery seemed to be most useful for updating and checking existing forest maps, rather than making new maps with many forest categories. Snow studies were performed using two basins: Six Mile Creek and Mt. Robert. The differences in radiance levels indicated that a greater areal snow cover in Six Mile Creek Basin with the effect of lower radiance values from vegetation/snow regions. A comparison of the two visible bands (MSS 4 and 5) demonstrate this difference for the two basins.

GeoSciML and EarthResourceML Update, 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richard, S. M.; Commissionthe Management; Application Inte, I.

2012-12-01

CGI Interoperability Working Group activities during 2012 include deployment of services using the GeoSciML-Portrayal schema, addition of new vocabularies to support properties added in version 3.0, improvements to server software for deploying services, introduction of EarthResourceML v.2 for mineral resources, and collaboration with the IUSS on a markup language for soils information. GeoSciML and EarthResourceML have been used as the basis for the INSPIRE Geology and Mineral Resources specifications respectively. GeoSciML-Portrayal is an OGC GML simple-feature application schema for presentation of geologic map unit, contact, and shear displacement structure (fault and ductile shear zone) descriptions in web map services. Use of standard vocabularies for geologic age and lithology enables map services using shared legends to achieve visual harmonization of maps provided by different services. New vocabularies have been added to the collection of CGI vocabularies provided to support interoperable GeoSciML services, and can be accessed through http://resource.geosciml.org. Concept URIs can be dereferenced to obtain SKOS rdf or html representations using the SISSVoc vocabulary service. New releases of the FOSS GeoServer application greatly improve support for complex XML feature schemas like GeoSciML, and the ArcGIS for INSPIRE extension implements similar complex feature support for ArcGIS Server. These improved server implementations greatly facilitate deploying GeoSciML services. EarthResourceML v2 adds features for information related to mining activities. SoilML provides an interchange format for soil material, soil profile, and terrain information. Work is underway to add GeoSciML to the portfolio of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) specifications.

Spatial planning for a green economy: National-level hydrologic ecosystem services priority areas for Gabon

PubMed Central

Tallis, Heather; Cole, Aaron; Schill, Steven; Martin, Erik; Heiner, Michael; Paiz, Marie-Claire; Aldous, Allison; Apse, Colin; Nickel, Barry

2017-01-01

Rapidly developing countries contain both the bulk of intact natural areas and biodiversity, and the greatest untapped natural resource stocks, placing them at the forefront of “green” economic development opportunities. However, most lack scientific tools to create development plans that account for biodiversity and ecosystem services, diminishing the real potential to be sustainable. Existing methods focus on biodiversity and carbon priority areas across large geographies (e.g., countries, states/provinces), leaving out essential services associated with water supplies, among others. These hydrologic ecosystem services (HES) are especially absent from methods applied at large geographies and in data-limited contexts. Here, we present a novel, spatially explicit, and relatively simple methodology to identify countrywide HES priority areas. We applied our methodology to the Gabonese Republic, a country undergoing a major economic transformation under a governmental commitment to balance conservation and development goals. We present the first national-scale maps of HES priority areas across Gabon for erosion control, nutrient retention, and groundwater recharge. Priority sub-watersheds covered 44% of the country’s extent. Only 3% of the country was identified as a priority area for all HES simultaneously, highlighting the need to conserve different areas for each different hydrologic service. While spatial tradeoffs occur amongst HES, we identified synergies with two other conservation values, given that 66% of HES priority areas intersect regions of above average area-weighted (by sub-watersheds) total forest carbon stocks and 38% intersect with terrestrial national parks. Considering implications for development, we identified HES priority areas overlapping current or proposed major roads, forestry concessions, and active mining concessions, highlighting the need for proactive planning for avoidance areas and compensatory offsets to mitigate potential conflicts. Collectively, our results provide insight into strategies to protect HES as part of Gabon’s development strategy, while providing a replicable methodology for application to new scales, geographies, and policy contexts. PMID:28594870

Hydrologic Unit Map -- 1978, state of South Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1978-01-01

This map and accompanying table show Hydrologic Unites that are basically hydrographic in nature. The Cataloging Unites shown supplant the Cataloging Units previously depicted n the 1974 State Hydrologic Unit Map. The boundaries as shown have been adapted from the 1974 State Hydrologic Unit Map, "The Catalog of Information on Water Data" (1972), "Water Resources Regions and Subregions for the National Assessment of Water and Related Land Resources" by the U.S. Water Resources Council (1970), "River Basin of the United States" by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (1963, 1970), "River Basin Maps Showing Hydrologic Stations" by the Inter-Agency Committee on Water Resources, Subcommittee on Hydrology (1961), and State planning maps. The Political Subdivision has been adopted from "Counties and County Equivalents of the States if the United States" presented in Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 6-2, issued by the National Bureau of Standards (1973) in which each county or county equivalent is identified by a 2-character State code and a 3-character county code. The Regions, Subregions and Accounting Units are aggregates of the Cataloging Unites. The Regions and Sub regions are currently (1978) used by the U.S> Water Resources Council for comprehensive planning, including the National Assessment, and as a standard geographical framework for more detailed water and related land-resources planning. The Accounting Units are those currently (1978) in use by the U.S. Geological Survey for managing the National Water Data Network. This map was revised to include a boundary realinement between Cataloging Units 10140103 and 10160009.

Candidate-penetrative-fracture mapping of the Grand Canyon area, Arizona, from spatial correlation of deep geophysical features and surficial lineaments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gettings, Mark E.; Bultman, Mark W.

2005-01-01

Some aquifers of the southwestern Colorado Plateaus Province are deeply buried and overlain by several impermeable shale layers, and so recharge to the aquifer probably is mainly by seepage down penetrative-fracture systems. The purpose of this 2-year study, sponsored by the U.S. National Park Service, was to map candidate deep penetrative fractures over a 120,000-km2 area, using gravity and aeromagnetic-anomaly data together with surficial-fracture data. The study area was on the Colorado Plateau south of the Grand Canyon and west of Black Mesa; mapping was carried out at a scale of 1:250,000. The resulting database constitutes a spatially registered estimate of deep-fracture locations. Candidate penetrative fractures were located by spatial correlation of horizontal- gradient and analytic-signal maximums of gravity and magnetic anomalies with major surficial lineaments obtained from geologic, topographic, side-looking-airborne-radar, and satellite imagery. The maps define a subset of candidate penetrative fractures because of limitations in the data coverage and the analytical technique. In particular, the data and analytical technique used cannot predict whether the fractures are open or closed. Correlations were carried out by using image-processing software, such that every pixel on the resulting images was coded to uniquely identify which datasets are correlated. The technique correctly identified known and many new deep fracture systems. The resulting penetrative-fracture-distribution maps constitute an objectively obtained, repeatable dataset and a benchmark from which additional studies can begin. The maps also define in detail the tectonic fabrics of the southwestern Colorado Plateaus Province. Overlaying the correlated lineaments on the normalized-density-of-vegetation-index image reveals that many of these lineaments correlate with the boundaries of vegetation zones in drainages and canyons and so may be controlling near-surface water availability in some places. Many derivative products can be produced from the database, such as fracture-density-estimate maps, and maps with the number of correlations color-coded to estimate the possible quality of correlation. The database contained in this report is designed to be used in a geographic information system and image-processing systems, and most data layers are in georeferenced tagged image format (Geotiff) or ARC grids. The report includes 163 map plates and various metadata, supporting, and statistical diagram files.

Sentinel-2 for rapid operational landslide inventory mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stumpf, André; Marc, Odin; Malet, Jean-Philippe; Michea, David

2017-04-01

Landslide inventory mapping after major triggering events such as heavy rainfalls or earthquakes is crucial for disaster response, the assessment of hazards, and the quantification of sediment budgets and empirical scaling laws. Numerous studies have already demonstrated the utility of very-high resolution satellite and aerial images for the elaboration of inventories based on semi-automatic methods or visual image interpretation. Nevertheless, such semi-automatic methods are rarely used in an operational context after major triggering events; this is partly due to access limitations on the required input datasets (i.e. VHR satellite images) and to the absence of dedicated services (i.e. processing chain) available for the landslide community. Several on-going initiatives allow to overcome these limitations. First, from a data perspective, the launch of the Sentinel-2 mission offers opportunities for the design of an operational service that can be deployed for landslide inventory mapping at any time and everywhere on the globe. Second, from an implementation perspective, the Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP) of the European Space Agency (ESA) allows the integration and diffusion of on-line processing algorithms in a high computing performance environment. Third, from a community perspective, the recently launched Landslide Pilot of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), has targeted the take-off of such service as a main objective for the landslide community. Within this context, this study targets the development of a largely automatic, supervised image processing chain for landslide inventory mapping from bi-temporal (before and after a given event) Sentinel-2 optical images. The processing chain combines change detection methods, image segmentation, higher-level image features (e.g. texture, shape) and topographic variables. Based on a few representative examples provided by a human operator, a machine learning model is trained and subsequently used to distinguish newly triggered landslides from other landscape elements. The final map product is provided along with an uncertainty map that allows identifying areas which might require further considerations. The processing chain is tested for two recent and contrasted triggering events in New Zealand and Taiwan. A Mw 7.8 earthquake in New Zealand in November 2016 triggered tens of thousands of landslides in a complex environment, with important textural variations with elevations, due to vegetation change and snow cover. In contrast a large but unexceptional typhoon in July 2016 in Taiwan triggered a moderate amount of relatively small landslides in a lushly vegetated, more homogenous terrain. Based on the obtained results we discuss the potential and limitations of Sentinel-2 bi-temporal images and time-series for operational landslide inventory mapping This work is part of the General Studies Program (GSP) ALCANTARA of ESA.

Sentinel-1 Mission Overview and Implementation Status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidson, M.; Attema, E.; Snoeij, P.; Levrini, G.

2009-04-01

Sentinel-1 is an imaging radar mission at C-band consisting of a constellation of two satellites aimed at providing continuity of all-weather day-and-night supply of imagery for user services. Special emphasis is placed on services identified in ESA's GMES service elements program and on projects funded by the European Union Framework Programmes. Three priorities (fast-track services) for the mission have been identified by user consultation working groups of the European Union: Marine Core Services, Land Monitoring and Emergency Services. These cover applications such as: - Monitoring sea ice zones and the arctic environment - Surveillance of marine environment - Monitoring land surface motion risks - Mapping of land surfaces: forest, water and soil, agriculture - Mapping in support of humanitarian aid in crisis situations. The Sentinel 1 space segment will be designed and built by an industrial consortium with Thales Alenia Space Italia as prime contractor and EADS Astrium GmbH as C-SAR instrument responsible. Data products from current and previous ESA missions including ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat missions form the basis for many of the pilot GMES services. Consequently Sentinel-1 data maintain data quality levels of the Agency‘s previous SAR missions in terms of spatial resolution, sensitivity, accuracy, polarization and wavelength. Nonetheless, the Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation represents a completely new approach to SAR mission design by ESA in direct response to the operational needs for SAR data expressed under the EU-ESA Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme. The Sentinel-1 constellation is expected to provide near daily coverage over Europe and Canada, global coverage all independent of weather with delivery of radar data within 1 hour of acquisition - all vast improvements with respect to the existing SAR systems. The continuity of C-band SAR data combined with the greatly improved data provision is expected not only to support the existing key operational services but will also support the evolving user community both for operational and remote sensing science applications. The Sentinel-1 satellite carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument with four standard operational modes: Strip Map Mode, Interferometric Wide Swath Mode, Extra-wide Swath Mode and Wave Mode. Some of their important characteristics are listed below. MODE ACCESS ANGLE (DEG.) SINGLE LOOK RESOLUTION RANGE X AZIMUTH SWATH WIDTH POLARISATION STRIP MAP 20-45 5 X 5 M > 80 KM HH+HV OR VV+VH INTERFEROMETRIC WIDE SWATH > 25 5 X 20 M > 250 KM HH+HV OR VV+VH EXTRA WIDE SWATH > 20 20 X 40 M > 400 KM HH+HV OR VV+VH WAVE MODE 23 AND 36.5 20 X 5 M > 20 X 20 KM VIGNETTES AT 100 KM INTERVALS HH OR VV FOR ALL MODES RADIOMETRIC ACCURACY (3 Σ) 1 DB NOISE EQUIVALENT SIGMA ZERO -22 DB POINT TARGET AMBIGUITY RATIO -25 DB DISTRIBUTED TARGET AMBIGUITY RATIO -22 DB It is expected that Sentinel-1 be launched in 2011. Once in orbit Sentinel-1 will be operated from two centres on the ground. The Agency‘s facilities in Darmstadt, Germany will command the satellite ensuring its proper functioning along the orbit. The mission exploitation will be managed at the Agency‘s facilities in Frascati, Italy, including the planning of the acquisitions by the SAR instrument according to the mission requirements, the processing of the acquired data and the provision of the resulting products to the users. he presentation will provide an overview of the Sentinel-1 mission, the user requirements driving the mission, the status and characteristics of the technical implementation. The key elements of the mission supporting the evolving needs of the user community both in operational and remote sensing science applications will be highlighted.

Regional Disparities in Online Map User Access Volume and Determining Factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, R.; Yang, N.; Li, R.; Huang, W.; Wu, H.

2017-09-01

The regional disparities of online map user access volume (use `user access volume' in this paper to indicate briefly) is a topic of growing interest with the increment of popularity in public users, which helps to target the construction of geographic information services for different areas. At first place we statistically analysed the online map user access logs and quantified these regional access disparities on different scales. The results show that the volume of user access is decreasing from east to the west in China as a whole, while East China produces the most access volume; these cities are also the crucial economic and transport centres. Then Principal Component Regression (PCR) is applied to explore the regional disparities of user access volume. A determining model for Online Map access volume is proposed afterwards, which indicates that area scale is the primary determining factor for regional disparities, followed by public transport development level and public service development level. Other factors like user quality index and financial index have very limited influence on the user access volume. According to the study of regional disparities in user access volume, map providers can reasonably dispatch and allocate the data resources and service resources in each area and improve the operational efficiency of the Online Map server cluster.

Geologic Map of the Carlton Quadrangle, Yamhill County, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wheeler, Karen L.; Wells, Ray E.; Minervini, Joseph M.; Block, Jessica L.

2009-01-01

The Carlton, Oregon, 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in northwestern Oregon, about 35 miles (57 km) southwest of Portland. It encompasses the towns of Yamhill and Carlton in the northwestern Willamette Valley and extends into the eastern flank of the Oregon Coast Range. The Carlton quadrangle is one of several dozen quadrangles being mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) to provide a framework for earthquake- hazard assessments in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. The focus of USGS mapping is on the structural setting of the northern Willamette Valley and its relation to the Coast Range uplift. Mapping was done in collaboration with soil scientists from the National Resource Conservation Service, and the distribution of geologic units is refined over earlier regional mapping (Schlicker and Deacon, 1967). Geologic mapping was done on 7.5-minute topographic base maps and digitized in ArcGIS to produce ArcGIS geodatabases and PDFs of the map and text. The geologic contacts are based on numerous observations and samples collected in 2002 and 2003, National Resource Conservation Service soils maps, and interpretations of 7.5-minute topography. The map was completed before new, high-resolution laser terrain mapping was flown for parts of the northern Willamette Valley in 2008.

Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Monitor Sinkhole Development and Identify Risk Areas in Dougherty County, Georgia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahalan, M. D.; Berry, K.; Amin, M.; Xu, W.; Hu, T.; Milewski, A.

2015-12-01

Located in southwest Georgia, Dougherty County has a growing populace in an agricultural region that relies heavily on groundwater resources. Partly due to escalated groundwater extraction, this area has experienced an increase in sinkhole development over the last decade. Sinkholes pose a threat to infrastructure development, groundwater pollution, and land use operations. The NASA DEVELOP Georgia Disasters and Water Resources team partnered with the City of Albany and Dougherty County Planning and Development Services (PDS) and the Southwest Georgia Water Resources Task Force (SGWRTF) to assess past sinkhole development and identify areas susceptible to future sinkhole formation. Sinkhole mapping was completed utilizing a time-series of elevation data (1999 - 2011) from NASA's SRTM and ASTER missions, as well as European Remote-Sensing (ERS-1 and 2) satellite-derived elevation data. The sinkhole inventory maps and spatial statistical techniques (i.e., geographically-weighted regression) were employed to quantify the factors most influential in sinkhole development. With those results, the susceptibility of every area within Dougherty County to future sinkhole formation was identified. The results of this applied science project will enable the PDS and SGWRTF to make informed decisions on current and future land use, safe infrastructure development, and sustainable water resource management.

Soil, water, and vegetation conditions in south Texas. [Hildago County, Texas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiegand, C. L.; Gausman, H. W.; Leamer, R. W.; Richardson, A. J. (Principal Investigator)

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. To distinguish dead from live vegetation, spectrophotometrically measured infinite reflectance of dead and live corn (Zea mays L.) leaves were compared over the 0.5 to 2.5 micron waveband. Dead leaf reflectance was reached over the entire 0.5 to 2.5 micron waveband by stacking only two to three leaves. Live leaf reflectance was attained by stacking two leaves for the 0.5 to 0.75 micron waveband (chlorophyll absorption region), eight leaves for the 0.75 to 1.35 micron waveband (near infrared region), and three leaves for the 1.35 to 2.5 micron waveband (water absorption region). LANDSAT-1 MSS digital data for 11 December 1973 overpass were used to estimate the sugar cane acreage in Hidalgo County. The computer aided estimate was 22,100 acres compared with the Texas Crop and Livestock Reporting Service estimate of 20,500 acres for the 1973-'74 crop year. Although there were errors of omission from harvested fields that were identified as bare soil and some citrus and native vegetation that were mistakenly identified as sugar cane, the mapped location of sugar cane fields in the county compared favorably with their location on the thematic map generated by the computer.

A spatial analysis of urban transit accidents assisted by Emergency Mobile Care Services: an analysis of space and time.

PubMed

Mendonça, Marcela Franklin Salvador de; Silva, Amanda Priscila de Santana Cabral; Castro, Claudia Cristina Lima de

2017-01-01

Urban transit accident are a global public health problem. The objective of this study was to describe the profile of the victims and the occurrences of urban transit accidents attended to by emergency mobile care services (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência- SAMU) in Recife, and their distribution based on spatial analysis. An ecological study, developed through secondary data from emergency mobile care services in Recife, referring to the total number of occurrences of urban transit accidents attended to from January 1 to June 30, 2015. The spatial analysis was performed using the Moran index. Basic support units performed most of the emergency services (89.2%). Among the victims, there was a predominance of males (76.8%) and an age group of 20 - 29 years old (31.5%). Collisions were responsible for 59.9% of the transit accidents, and motorcycles for 61.6% of the accidents among all means of transportation. Friday was the day that showed the highest risk for treatment, and there was a concentration of events between 6:00 am - 8:59am and 6:00pm - 8:59pm. The MoranMap identified critical areas where calls came from traffic accidents during the period analyzed. The records of the mobile service from the spatial analysis are an important source of information for health surveillance. The spatial analysis of urban transit accidents identified regions with a positive spatial correlation, providing subsidies to the logistical planning of emergency mobile care services. This study is groundbreaking in that it offers such information about the region.

A four phase development model for integrated care services in the Netherlands

PubMed Central

Minkman, Mirella MN; Ahaus, Kees TB; Huijsman, Robbert

2009-01-01

Background Multidisciplinary and interorganizational arrangements for the delivery of coherent integrated care are being developed in a large number of countries. Although there are many integrated care programs worldwide, the process of developing these programs and interorganizational collaboration is described in the literature only to a limited extent. The purpose of this study is to explore how local integrated care services are developed in the Netherlands, and to conceptualize and operationalize a development model of integrated care. Methods The research is based on an expert panel study followed by a two-part questionnaire, designed to identify the development process of integrated care. Essential elements of integrated care, which were developed in a previous Delphi and Concept Mapping Study, were analyzed in relation to development process of integrated care. Results Integrated care development can be characterized by four developmental phases: the initiative and design phase; the experimental and execution phase; the expansion and monitoring phase; and the consolidation and transformation phase. Different elements of integrated care have been identified in the various developmental phases. Conclusion The findings provide a descriptive model of the development process that integrated care services can undergo in the Netherlands. The findings have important implications for integrated care services, which can use the model as an instrument to reflect on their current practices. The model can be used to help to identify improvement areas in practice. The model provides a framework for developing evaluation designs for integrated care arrangements. Further research is recommended to test the developed model in practice and to add international experiences. PMID:19261176

Atmospheric deposition maps for the Rocky Mountains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nanus, L.; Campbell, D.H.; Ingersoll, G.P.; Clow, D.W.; Mast, M.A.

2003-01-01

Variability in atmospheric deposition across the Rocky Mountains is influenced by elevation, slope, aspect, and precipitation amount and by regional and local sources of air pollution. To improve estimates of deposition in mountainous regions, maps of average annual atmospheric deposition loadings of nitrate, sulfate, and acidity were developed for the Rocky Mountains by using spatial statistics. A parameter-elevation regressions on independent slopes model (PRISM) was incorporated to account for variations in precipitation amount over mountainous regions. Chemical data were obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network and from annual snowpack surveys conducted by the US Geological Survey and National Park Service, in cooperation with other Federal, State and local agencies. Surface concentration maps were created by ordinary kriging in a geographic information system, using a local trend and mathematical model to estimate the spatial variance. Atmospheric-deposition maps were constructed at 1-km resolution by multiplying surface concentrations from the kriged grid and estimates of precipitation amount from the PRISM model. Maps indicate an increasing spatial trend in concentration and deposition of the modeled constituents, particularly nitrate and sulfate, from north to south throughout the Rocky Mountains and identify hot-spots of atmospheric deposition that result from combined local and regional sources of air pollution. Highest nitrate (2.5-3.0kg/ha N) and sulfate (10.0-12.0kg/ha SO4) deposition is found in northern Colorado.

Comparison of Programs Used for FIA Inventory Information Dissemination and Spatial Representation

Treesearch

Roger C. Lowe; Chris J. Cieszewski

2005-01-01

Six online applications developed for the interactive display of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data in which FIA database information and query results can be viewed as or selected from interactive geographic maps are compared. The programs evaluated are the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service?s online systems; a SAS server-based mapping system...

Haz-Map: Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases

MedlinePlus

... Occupational Activities Industries Job Tasks Processes Symptoms/Findings Customer Service: tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov Specialized Information Services ... Health Disclaimer Notice Privacy Last Updated: October 2017 Customer Service: tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov Specialized Information Services ...

Use of Bedrock and Geomorphic Mapping Compilations in Assessing Geologic Hazards at Recreation Sites on National Forests in NW California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de La Fuente, J. A.; Bell, A.; Elder, D.; Mowery, R.; Mikulovsky, R.; Klingel, H.; Stevens, M.

2010-12-01

Geologic hazards on US Forest Service lands have a long history of producing catastrophic events. In 1890 (prior to the establishment of the Forest Service), the China Mine landslide buried a miner’s camp along the Trinity River in NW California, killing a number of miners. An earthquake in southwestern Montana triggered a massive landslide which killed 28 people in a US Forest Service campground in 1959. In 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in Oregon, killing 57 people. Debris flows from a winter storm in 2003 on the burned hillslopes of the San Bernardino National Forest in California killed 14 people at the St. Sophia youth Camp. A rockfall in the summer of 2009 in Lassen National Park killed a 9 year old boy. The most recent catastrophe occurred on June 11, 2010 when 20 people died in a flash flood at the Albert Pike Campground on the Ouachita National Forest. These and other disasters point out the need for geologic hazard mapping and assessments on the National Forests. The US Forest Service (USFS) is currently assessing geologic hazards in the Northern Province of USFS Region 5 (Pacific Southwest Region), which includes the Klamath, Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers National Forests. The most common geologic hazards (relatively short return intervals) in this area include landslides, rock falls, debris flows, flooding, temporary dam failures (landslide or woody debris), naturally occurring hazardous materials, (asbestos radon, etc), and rarely, karst subsidence. Seismic and volcanic hazards are also important at longer return intervals. This assessment will be conducted in three phases, and is patterned after a process developed by Region 8 of the US Forest Service. The first phase is a reconnaissance level assessment based on existing information such as spatial databases, aerial photos, Digital Elevation Models, State of California Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone maps, previous investigations and anecdotal accounts of past events. The bedrock coverage is a compilation of the best available mapping for all National Forests in California. The geomorphic coverage includes features such as active and dormant landslides, alluvial fans, headwall basins, glacial features, and valley inner gorge. Criteria will be developed which utilize elements of this data to evaluate geologic hazards in the vicinity of developed recreation sites. The second phase will be conducted later and involves site specific analyses focusing on areas identified as higher hazard in the first phase, along with verification and updating of phase 1 findings. The third phase will complete any site level geologic or hydrologic investigations, and wrap up the hazard assessment process. A summary report with hazard maps and recommendations will be prepared at the end of each phase. The overriding goal of this project is to provide sound geologic information to managers so they can use a science-based approach in recognizing and managing geologic hazards at recreation sites.

Ecosystem services - from assessements of estimations to quantitative, validated, high-resolution, continental-scale mapping via airborne LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zlinszky, András; Pfeifer, Norbert

2016-04-01

"Ecosystem services" defined vaguely as "nature's benefits to people" are a trending concept in ecology and conservation. Quantifying and mapping these services is a longtime demand of both ecosystems science and environmental policy. The current state of the art is to use existing maps of land cover, and assign certain average ecosystem service values to their unit areas. This approach has some major weaknesses: the concept of "ecosystem services", the input land cover maps and the value indicators. Such assessments often aim at valueing services in terms of human currency as a basis for decision-making, although this approach remains contested. Land cover maps used for ecosystem service assessments (typically the CORINE land cover product) are generated from continental-scale satellite imagery, with resolution in the range of hundreds of meters. In some rare cases, airborne sensors are used, with higher resolution but less covered area. Typically, general land cover classes are used instead of categories defined specifically for the purpose of ecosystem service assessment. The value indicators are developed for and tested on small study sites, but widely applied and adapted to other sites far away (a process called benefit transfer) where local information may not be available. Upscaling is always problematic since such measurements investigate areas much smaller than the output map unit. Nevertheless, remote sensing is still expected to play a major role in conceptualization and assessment of ecosystem services. We propose that an improvement of several orders of magnitude in resolution and accuracy is possible through the application of airborne LIDAR, a measurement technique now routinely used for collection of countrywide three-dimensional datasets with typically sub-meter resolution. However, this requires a clear definition of the concept of ecosystem services and the variables in focus: remote sensing can measure variables closely related to "ecosystem service potential" which is the ability of the local ecosystem to deliver various functions (water retention, carbon storage etc.), but can't quantify how much of these are actually used by humans or what the estimated monetary value is. Due to its ability to measure both terrain relief and vegetation structure in high resolution, airborne LIDAR supports direct quantification of the properties of an ecosystem that lead to it delivering a given service (such as biomass, water retention, micro-climate regulation or habitat diversity). In addition, its high resolution allows direct calibration with field measurements: routine harvesting-based ecological measurements, local biodiversity indicator surveys or microclimate recordings all take place at the human scale and can be directly linked to the local value of LIDAR-based indicators at meter resolution. Therefore, if some field measurements with standard ecological methods are performed on site, the accuracy of LIDAR-based ecosystem service indicators can be rigorously validated. With this conceptual and technical approach high resolution ecosystem service assessments can be made with well established credibility. These would consolidate the concept of ecosystem services and support both scientific research and evidence-based environmental policy at local and - as data coverage is continually increasing - continental scale.

Modeling the effects of urban expansion on natural capital stocks and ecosystem service flows: A case study in the Puget Sound, Washington, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zank, Ben; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Voigt, Brian; Villa, Ferdinando

2016-01-01

Urban expansion and its associated landscape modifications are important drivers of changes in ecosystem service (ES). This study examined the effects of two alternative land use-change development scenarios in the Puget Sound region of Washington State on natural capital stocks and ES flows. Land-use change model outputs served as inputs to five ES models developed using the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) platform. While natural capital stocks declined under managed (1.3–5.8%) and unmanaged (2.8–11.8%) development scenarios, ES flows increased by 18.5–56% and 23.2–55.7%, respectively. Human development of natural landscapes reduced their capacity for service provision, while simultaneously adding beneficiaries, particularly along the urban fringe. Using global and local Moran’s I, we identified three distinct patterns of change in ES due to projected landuse change. For services with location-dependent beneficiaries – open space proximity, viewsheds, and flood regulation – urbanization led to increased clustering and hot-spot intensities. ES flows were greatest in the managed land-use change scenario for open space proximity and flood regulation, and in the unmanaged land-use change scenario for viewsheds—a consequence of the differing ES flow mechanisms underpinning these services. We observed a third pattern – general declines in service provision – for carbon storage and sediment retention, where beneficiaries in our analysis were not location dependent. Contrary to past authors’ finding of ES declines under urbanization, a more nuanced analysis that maps and quantifies ES provision, beneficiaries, and flows better identifies gains and losses for specific ES beneficiaries as urban areas expand.

Cross-Dataset Analysis and Visualization Driven by Expressive Web Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexandru Dumitru, Mircea; Catalin Merticariu, Vlad

2015-04-01

The deluge of data that is hitting us every day from satellite and airborne sensors is changing the workflow of environmental data analysts and modelers. Web geo-services play now a fundamental role, and are no longer needed to preliminary download and store the data, but rather they interact in real-time with GIS applications. Due to the very large amount of data that is curated and made available by web services, it is crucial to deploy smart solutions for optimizing network bandwidth, reducing duplication of data and moving the processing closer to the data. In this context we have created a visualization application for analysis and cross-comparison of aerosol optical thickness datasets. The application aims to help researchers identify and visualize discrepancies between datasets coming from various sources, having different spatial and time resolutions. It also acts as a proof of concept for integration of OGC Web Services under a user-friendly interface that provides beautiful visualizations of the explored data. The tool was built on top of the World Wind engine, a Java based virtual globe built by NASA and the open source community. For data retrieval and processing we exploited the OGC Web Coverage Service potential: the most exciting aspect being its processing extension, a.k.a. the OGC Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) standard. A WCPS-compliant service allows a client to execute a processing query on any coverage offered by the server. By exploiting a full grammar, several different kinds of information can be retrieved from one or more datasets together: scalar condensers, cross-sectional profiles, comparison maps and plots, etc. This combination of technology made the application versatile and portable. As the processing is done on the server-side, we ensured that the minimal amount of data is transferred and that the processing is done on a fully-capable server, leaving the client hardware resources to be used for rendering the visualization. The application offers a set of features to visualize and cross-compare the datasets. Users can select a region of interest in space and time on which an aerosol map layer is plotted. Hovmoeller time-latitude and time-longitude profiles can be displayed by selecting orthogonal cross-sections on the globe. Statistics about the selected dataset are also displayed in different text and plot formats. The datasets can also be cross-compared either by using the delta map tool or the merged map tool. For more advanced users, a WCPS query console is also offered allowing users to process their data with ad-hoc queries and then choose how to display the results. Overall, the user has a rich set of tools that can be used to visualize and cross-compare the aerosol datasets. With our application we have shown how the NASA WorldWind framework can be used to display results processed efficiently - and entirely - on the server side using the expressiveness of the OGC WCPS web-service. The application serves not only as a proof of concept of a new paradigm in working with large geospatial data but also as an useful tool for environmental data analysts.

Estimated flood-inundation maps for Cowskin Creek in western Wichita, Kansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Studley, Seth E.

2003-01-01

The October 31, 1998, flood on Cowskin Creek in western Wichita, Kansas, caused millions of dollars in damages. Emergency management personnel and flood mitigation teams had difficulty in efficiently identifying areas affected by the flooding, and no warning was given to residents because flood-inundation information was not available. To provide detailed information about future flooding on Cowskin Creek, high-resolution estimated flood-inundation maps were developed using geographic information system technology and advanced hydraulic analysis. Two-foot-interval land-surface elevation data from a 1996 flood insurance study were used to create a three-dimensional topographic representation of the study area for hydraulic analysis. The data computed from the hydraulic analyses were converted into geographic information system format with software from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Hydrologic Engineering Center. The results were overlaid on the three-dimensional topographic representation of the study area to produce maps of estimated flood-inundation areas and estimated depths of water in the inundated areas for 1-foot increments on the basis of stream stage at an index streamflow-gaging station. A Web site (http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/cowskin.floodwatch) was developed to provide the public with information pertaining to flooding in the study area. The Web site shows graphs of the real-time streamflow data for U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations in the area and monitors the National Weather Service Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center for Cowskin Creek flood-forecast information. When a flood is forecast for the Cowskin Creek Basin, an estimated flood-inundation map is displayed for the stream stage closest to the National Weather Service's forecasted peak stage. Users of the Web site are able to view the estimated flood-inundation maps for selected stages at any time and to access information about this report and about flooding in general. Flood recovery teams also have the ability to view the estimated flood-inundation map pertaining to the most recent flood. The availability of these maps and the ability to monitor the real-time stream stage through the U.S. Geological Survey Web site provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for evacuation and rescue efforts in the event of a flood as well as for post-flood recovery efforts.

In vivo and ex vivo sentinel node mapping does not identify the same lymph nodes in colon cancer.

PubMed

Andersen, Helene Schou; Bennedsen, Astrid Louise Bjørn; Burgdorf, Stefan Kobbelgaard; Eriksen, Jens Ravn; Eiholm, Susanne; Toxværd, Anders; Riis, Lene Buhl; Rosenberg, Jacob; Gögenur, Ismail

2017-07-01

Identification of lymph nodes and pathological analysis is crucial for the correct staging of colon cancer. Lymph nodes that drain directly from the tumor area are called "sentinel nodes" and are believed to be the first place for metastasis. The purpose of this study was to perform sentinel node mapping in vivo with indocyanine green and ex vivo with methylene blue in order to evaluate if the sentinel lymph nodes can be identified by both techniques. Patients with colon cancer UICC stage I-III were included from two institutions in Denmark from February 2015 to January 2016. In vivo sentinel node mapping with indocyanine green during laparoscopy and ex vivo sentinel node mapping with methylene blue were performed in all patients. Twenty-nine patients were included. The in vivo sentinel node mapping was successful in 19 cases, and ex vivo sentinel node mapping was successful in 13 cases. In seven cases, no sentinel nodes were identified. A total of 51 sentinel nodes were identified, only one of these where identified by both techniques (2.0%). In vivo sentinel node mapping identified 32 sentinel nodes, while 20 sentinel nodes were identified by ex vivo sentinel node mapping. Lymph node metastases were found in 10 patients, and only two had metastases in a sentinel node. Placing a deposit in relation to the tumor by indocyanine green in vivo or of methylene blue ex vivo could only identify sentinel lymph nodes in a small group of patients.

Design of a High Resolution Open Access Global Snow Cover Web Map Service Using Ground and Satellite Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadlec, J.; Ames, D. P.

2014-12-01

The aim of the presented work is creating a freely accessible, dynamic and re-usable snow cover map of the world by combining snow extent and snow depth datasets from multiple sources. The examined data sources are: remote sensing datasets (MODIS, CryoLand), weather forecasting model outputs (OpenWeatherMap, forecast.io), ground observation networks (CUAHSI HIS, GSOD, GHCN, and selected national networks), and user-contributed snow reports on social networks (cross-country and backcountry skiing trip reports). For adding each type of dataset, an interface and an adapter is created. Each adapter supports queries by area, time range, or combination of area and time range. The combined dataset is published as an online snow cover mapping service. This web service lowers the learning curve that is required to view, access, and analyze snow depth maps and snow time-series. All data published by this service are licensed as open data; encouraging the re-use of the data in customized applications in climatology, hydrology, sports and other disciplines. The initial version of the interactive snow map is on the website snow.hydrodata.org. This website supports the view by time and view by site. In view by time, the spatial distribution of snow for a selected area and time period is shown. In view by site, the time-series charts of snow depth at a selected location is displayed. All snow extent and snow depth map layers and time series are accessible and discoverable through internationally approved protocols including WMS, WFS, WCS, WaterOneFlow and WaterML. Therefore they can also be easily added to GIS software or 3rd-party web map applications. The central hypothesis driving this research is that the integration of user contributed data and/or social-network derived snow data together with other open access data sources will result in more accurate and higher resolution - and hence more useful snow cover maps than satellite data or government agency produced data by itself.

Safeguarding Ecosystem Services: A Methodological Framework to Buffer the Joint Effect of Habitat Configuration and Climate Change

PubMed Central

Giannini, Tereza C.; Tambosi, Leandro R.; Acosta, André L.; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Saraiva, Antonio M.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L.; Metzger, Jean Paul

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services provided by mobile agents are increasingly threatened by the loss and modification of natural habitats and by climate change, risking the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and human welfare. Research oriented towards a better understanding of the joint effects of land use and climate change over the provision of specific ecosystem services is therefore essential to safeguard such services. Here we propose a methodological framework, which integrates species distribution forecasts and graph theory to identify key conservation areas, which if protected or restored could improve habitat connectivity and safeguard ecosystem services. We applied the proposed framework to the provision of pollination services by a tropical stingless bee (Melipona quadrifasciata), a key pollinator of native flora from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and important agricultural crops. Based on the current distribution of this bee and that of the plant species used to feed and nest, we projected the joint distribution of bees and plants in the future, considering a moderate climate change scenario (following IPPC). We then used this information, the bee’s flight range, and the current mapping of Atlantic Forest remnants to infer habitat suitability and quantify local and regional habitat connectivity for 2030, 2050 and 2080. Our results revealed north to south and coastal to inland shifts in the pollinator distribution during the next 70 years. Current and future connectivity maps unraveled the most important corridors, which if protected or restored, could facilitate the dispersal and establishment of bees during distribution shifts. Our results also suggest that coffee plantations from eastern São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais States could suffer a pollinator deficit in the future, whereas pollination services seem to be secured in southern Brazil. Landowners and governmental agencies could use this information to implement new land use schemes. Overall, our proposed methodological framework could help design novel conservational and agricultural practices that can be crucial to conserve ecosystem services by buffering the joint effect of habitat configuration and climate change. PMID:26091014

Colour Coding of Maps for Colour Deficient Observers.

PubMed

Røise, Anne Kari; Kvitle, Anne Kristin; Green, Phil

2016-01-01

We evaluate the colour coding of a web map traffic information service based on profiles simulating colour vision deficiencies. Based on these simulations and principles for universal design, we propose adjustments of the existing colours creating more readable maps for the colour vision deficient observers.

Spatial patterns of land cover in the United States: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

Treesearch

Kurt H. Riitters

2011-01-01

Land cover patterns inventoried from a national land cover map provide information about the landscape context and fragmentation of the Nation’s forests, grasslands, and shrublands. This inventory is required to quantify, map, and evaluate the capacities of landscapes to provide ecological goods and services sustainably. This report documents the procedures to...

3. Photographic copy of map. San Carlos Project, Arizona. Irrigation ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. Photographic copy of map. San Carlos Project, Arizona. Irrigation System. Department of the Interior. United States Indian Service. No date. Circa 1939. (Source: Henderson, Paul. U.S. Indian Irrigation Service. Supplemental Storage Reservoir, Gila River. November 10, 1939, RG 115, San Carlos Project, National Archives, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, CO.) - San Carlos Irrigation Project, Lands North & South of Gila River, Coolidge, Pinal County, AZ

A study of the utilization of ERTS-1 data from the Wabash River Basin. [soil mapping, crop identification, water resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landgrebe, D. A. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. In soil association mapping, computerized analysis of ERTS-1 MSS data has yielded images which will prove useful in the ongoing Cooperative Soil Survey program, involving the Soil Conservation Service of USDA and other state and local agencies. In the present mode of operation, a soil survey for a county may take up to 5 years to be completed. Results indicate that a great deal of soils information can be extracted from ERTS-1 data by computer analysis. This information is expected to be very valuable in the premapping conference phase of a soil survey, resulting in more efficient field operations during the actual mapping. In the earth surface features mapping effort it was found that temporal data improved the classification accuracy of forest classification in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In water resources study a severe scanner look angle effect was observed in the aircraft scanner data of a test lake which was not present in ERTS-1 data of the same site. This effect was greatly accentuated by surface roughness caused by strong winds. Quantitative evaluation of urban features classification in ERTS-1 data was obtained. An 87.1% test accuracy was obtained for eight categories in Marion County, Indiana.

Nurses' Contribution to Health Information Technology of Iran's 2025 Health Map: A Review of the Document.

PubMed

Sadoughi, Farahnaz; Azadi, Tania; Azadi, Tannaz

2016-01-01

Implementation of eHealth strategy in Iran has a history less than 17 years. Iran's eHealth strategy is developed in 2011 and is called "Iran' 2025 Health Map: Health Information Technology". Considering the important role of nurses in providing healthcare services as well as in future long term plans such as sustainable development, it is of high value to pay attention to nurses' contribution in developing eHealth strategies. Thus the purpose of this study was to investigate nurses' contribution to health information technology of Iran's 2025 health map. This study was a qualitative study conducted in 2015 through reviewing the "Iran' 2025 Health Map: Health Information Technology" official report. The strategy published in three volumes and in Persian language was downloaded through the official website of the office of Statistics and Information Technology of Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME). Two main themes were identified in the report indicating areas which nurses' roles were clearly stated. The findings revealed that nurses' contribution is not clearly stated in the strategy. However, there are a few areas highlighting nurses' involvement such as "determining beneficiary groups" and "information dissemination". It is suggested that more attention needs to be paid in contribution of nurses in further actions to revise the Iran's eHealth strategy.

The Regional Land Cover Monitoring System: Building regional capacity through innovative land cover mapping approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saah, D.; Tenneson, K.; Hanh, Q. N.; Aekakkararungroj, A.; Aung, K. S.; Goldstein, J.; Cutter, P. G.; Maus, P.; Markert, K. N.; Anderson, E.; Ellenburg, W. L.; Ate, P.; Flores Cordova, A. I.; Vadrevu, K.; Potapov, P.; Phongsapan, K.; Chishtie, F.; Clinton, N.; Ganz, D.

2017-12-01

Earth observation and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, products, and services are vital to support the environmental decision making by governmental institutions, non-governmental agencies, and the general public. At the heart of environmental decision making is the monitoring land cover and land use change (LCLUC) for land resource planning and for ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation and resilience to climate change. A major challenge for monitoring LCLUC in developing regions, such as Southeast Asia, is inconsistent data products at inconsistent intervals that have different typologies across the region and are typically made in without stakeholder engagement or input. Here we present the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (RLCMS), a novel land cover mapping effort for Southeast Asia, implemented by SERVIR-Mekong, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations to improve environmental decision making in developing countries. The RLCMS focuses on mapping biophysical variables (e.g. canopy cover, tree height, or percent surface water) at an annual interval and in turn using those biophysical variables to develop land cover maps based on stakeholder definitions of land cover classes. This allows for flexible and consistent land cover classifications that can meet the needs of different institutions across the region. Another component of the RLCMS production is the stake-holder engagement through co-development. Institutions that directly benefit from this system have helped drive the development for regional needs leading to services for their specific uses. Examples of services for regional stakeholders include using the RLCMS to develop maps using the IPCC classification scheme for GHG emission reporting and developing custom annual maps as an input to hydrologic modeling/flood forecasting systems. In addition to the implementation of this system and the service stemming from the RLCMS in Southeast Asia, it is planned to replicate the methods presented at the SERVIR-Hindu Kush Himalaya hub serving South Asia. Enhancements to the system will include change detection methods, enhanced biophysical models, and delivery systems.

A study of changes in middle school teachers' understanding of selected ideas in science as a function of an in-service program focusing on student preconceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shymansky, James A.; Woodworth, George; Norman, Obed; Dunkhase, John; Matthews, Charles; Liu, Chin-Tang

This article examines the impact of a specially designed in-service model on teacher understanding of selected science concepts. The underlying idea of the model is to get teachers to restructure their own understanding of a selected science topic by having them study the structure and evolution of their students' ideas on the same topic. Concepts on topics from the life, earth, and physical sciences served as the content focus and middle school Grades 4-9 served as the context for this study. The in-service experience constituting the main treatment in the study occurred in three distinct phases. In the initial phase, participating teachers interviewed several of their own students to find out what kinds of preconceptions students had about a particular topic. The teachers used concept mapping strategies learned in the in-service to facilitate the interviews. Next the teachers teamed with other teachers with similar topic interests and a science expert to evaluate and explore the scientific merit of the student conceptual frameworks and to develop instructional units, including a summative assessment during a summer workshop. Finally, the student ideas were further evaluated and explored as the teachers taught the topics in their classrooms during the fall term. Concept maps were used to study changes in teacher understanding across the phases of the in-service in a repeated-measures design. Analysis of the maps showed significant growth in the number of valid propositions expressed by teachers between the initial and final mappings in all topic groups. But in half of the groups, this long-term growth was interrupted by a noticeable decline in the number of valid propositions expressed. In addition, analysis of individual teacher maps showed distinctive patterns of initial invalid conceptions being replaced by new invalid conceptions in later mappings. The combination of net growth of valid propositions and the patterns of evolving invalid conceptions is discussed in constructivist terms.

Progress of Interoperability in Planetary Research for Geospatial Data Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hare, T. M.; Gaddis, L. R.

2015-12-01

For nearly a decade there has been a push in the planetary science community to support interoperable methods of accessing and working with geospatial data. Common geospatial data products for planetary research include image mosaics, digital elevation or terrain models, geologic maps, geographic location databases (i.e., craters, volcanoes) or any data that can be tied to the surface of a planetary body (including moons, comets or asteroids). Several U.S. and international cartographic research institutions have converged on mapping standards that embrace standardized image formats that retain geographic information (e.g., GeoTiff, GeoJpeg2000), digital geologic mapping conventions, planetary extensions for symbols that comply with U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee cartographic and geospatial metadata standards, and notably on-line mapping services as defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The latter includes defined standards such as the OGC Web Mapping Services (simple image maps), Web Feature Services (feature streaming), Web Coverage Services (rich scientific data streaming), and Catalog Services for the Web (data searching and discoverability). While these standards were developed for application to Earth-based data, they have been modified to support the planetary domain. The motivation to support common, interoperable data format and delivery standards is not only to improve access for higher-level products but also to address the increasingly distributed nature of the rapidly growing volumes of data. The strength of using an OGC approach is that it provides consistent access to data that are distributed across many facilities. While data-steaming standards are well-supported by both the more sophisticated tools used in Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing industries, they are also supported by many light-weight browsers which facilitates large and small focused science applications and public use. Here we provide an overview of the interoperability initiatives that are currently ongoing in the planetary research community, examples of their successful application, and challenges that remain.

Systemic challenges in bipolar disorder management: A patient-centered approach.

PubMed

Nestsiarovich, Anastasiya; Hurwitz, Nathaniel G; Nelson, Stuart J; Crisanti, Annette S; Kerner, Berit; Kuntz, Matt J; Smith, Alicia N; Volesky, Emma; Schroeter, Quentin L; DeShaw, Jason L; Young, S Stanley; Obenchain, Robert L; Krall, Ronald L; Jordan, Kimmie; Fawcett, Jan; Tohen, Mauricio; Perkins, Douglas J; Lambert, Christophe G

2017-12-01

As part of a series of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded large-scale retrospective observational studies on bipolar disorder (BD) treatments and outcomes, we sought the input of patients with BD and their family members to develop research questions. We aimed to identify systemic root causes of patient-reported challenges with BD management in order to guide subsequent studies and initiatives. Three focus groups were conducted where patients and their family members (total n = 34) formulated questions around the central theme, "What do you wish you had known in advance or over the course of treatment for BD?" In an affinity mapping exercise, participants clustered their questions and ranked the resulting categories by importance. The research team and members of our patient partner advisory council further rated the questions by expected impact on patients. Using a Theory of Constraints systems thinking approach, several causal models of BD management challenges and their potential solution were developed with patients using the focus group data. A total of 369 research questions were mapped to 33 categories revealing 10 broad themes. The top priorities for patient stakeholders involved pharmacotherapy and treatment alternatives. Analysis of causal relationships underlying 47 patient concerns revealed two core conflicts: for patients, whether or not to take pharmacotherapy, and for mental health services, the dilemma of care quality vs quantity. To alleviate the core conflicts identified, BD management requires a coordinated multidisciplinary approach including: improved access to mental health services, objective diagnostics, sufficient provider visit time, evidence-based individualized treatment, and psychosocial support. © 2017 The Authors. Bipolar Disorders Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

High temporal resolution mapping of seismic noise sources using heterogeneous supercomputers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gokhberg, Alexey; Ermert, Laura; Paitz, Patrick; Fichtner, Andreas

2017-04-01

Time- and space-dependent distribution of seismic noise sources is becoming a key ingredient of modern real-time monitoring of various geo-systems. Significant interest in seismic noise source maps with high temporal resolution (days) is expected to come from a number of domains, including natural resources exploration, analysis of active earthquake fault zones and volcanoes, as well as geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoir monitoring. Currently, knowledge of noise sources is insufficient for high-resolution subsurface monitoring applications. Near-real-time seismic data, as well as advanced imaging methods to constrain seismic noise sources have recently become available. These methods are based on the massive cross-correlation of seismic noise records from all available seismic stations in the region of interest and are therefore very computationally intensive. Heterogeneous massively parallel supercomputing systems introduced in the recent years combine conventional multi-core CPU with GPU accelerators and provide an opportunity for manifold increase and computing performance. Therefore, these systems represent an efficient platform for implementation of a noise source mapping solution. We present the first results of an ongoing research project conducted in collaboration with the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS). The project aims at building a service that provides seismic noise source maps for Central Europe with high temporal resolution (days to few weeks depending on frequency and data availability). The service is hosted on the CSCS computing infrastructure; all computationally intensive processing is performed on the massively parallel heterogeneous supercomputer "Piz Daint". The solution architecture is based on the Application-as-a-Service concept in order to provide the interested external researchers the regular access to the noise source maps. The solution architecture includes the following sub-systems: (1) data acquisition responsible for collecting, on a periodic basis, raw seismic records from the European seismic networks, (2) high-performance noise source mapping application responsible for generation of source maps using cross-correlation of seismic records, (3) back-end infrastructure for the coordination of various tasks and computations, (4) front-end Web interface providing the service to the end-users and (5) data repository. The noise mapping application is composed of four principal modules: (1) pre-processing of raw data, (2) massive cross-correlation, (3) post-processing of correlation data based on computation of logarithmic energy ratio and (4) generation of source maps from post-processed data. Implementation of the solution posed various challenges, in particular, selection of data sources and transfer protocols, automation and monitoring of daily data downloads, ensuring the required data processing performance, design of a general service oriented architecture for coordination of various sub-systems, and engineering an appropriate data storage solution. The present pilot version of the service implements noise source maps for Switzerland. Extension of the solution to Central Europe is planned for the next project phase.

EnviroAtlas - Woodbine, IA - Ecosystem Services by Block Group

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset presents environmental benefits of the urban forest in 1 block group in Woodbine, Iowa. Carbon attributes, temperature reduction, pollution removal and value, and runoff effects are calculated for each block group using i-Tree models (www.itreetools.org), local weather data, pollution data, EPA provided city boundary and land cover data, and U.S. Census derived block group boundary data. This dataset was produced by the US Forest Service to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Pittsburgh, PA - Ecosystem Services by Block Group

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset presents environmental benefits of the urban forest in 1,089 block groups in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Carbon attributes, temperature reduction, pollution removal and value, and runoff effects are calculated for each block group using i-Tree models (www.itreetools.org), local weather data, pollution data, EPA provided city boundary and land cover data, and U.S. Census derived block group boundary data. This dataset was produced by the US Forest Service to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Portland, OR - Ecosystem Services by Block Group

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset presents environmental benefits of the urban forest in 1176 block groups in Portland, Oregon. Carbon attributes, temperature reduction, pollution removal and value, and runoff effects are calculated for each block group using i-Tree models (www.itreetools.org), local weather data, pollution data, EPA provided city boundary and land cover data, and U.S. Census derived block group boundary data. This dataset was produced by the US Forest Service to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (http:/www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

EnviroAtlas - Fresno, CA - Ecosystem Services by Block Group

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas dataset presents environmental benefits of the urban forest in 405 block groups in Fresno, California. Carbon attributes, temperature reduction, pollution removal and value, and runoff effects are calculated for each block group using i-Tree models (www.itreetools.org), local weather data, pollution data, EPA provided city boundary and land cover data, and U.S. Census derived block group boundary data. This dataset was produced by the US Forest Service to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).