Non-dental primary care providers’ views on challenges in providing oral health services and strategies to improve oral health in Australian rural and remote communities: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Barnett, Tony; Hoang, Ha; Stuart, Jackie; Crocombe, Len

2015-01-01

Objectives To investigate the challenges of providing oral health advice/treatment as experienced by non-dental primary care providers in rural and remote areas with no resident dentist, and their views on ways in which oral health and oral health services could be improved for their communities. Design Qualitative study with semistructured interviews and thematic analysis. Setting Four remote communities in outback Queensland, Australia. Participants 35 primary care providers who had experience in providing oral health advice to patients and four dental care providers who had provided oral health services to patients from the four communities. Results In the absence of a resident dentist, rural and remote residents did present to non-dental primary care providers with oral health problems such as toothache, abscess, oral/gum infection and sore mouth for treatment and advice. Themes emerged from the interview data around communication challenges and strategies to improve oral health. Although, non-dental care providers commonly advised patients to see a dentist, they rarely communicated with the dentist in the nearest regional town. Participants proposed that oral health could be improved by: enabling access to dental practitioners, educating communities on preventive oral healthcare, and building the skills and knowledge base of non-dental primary care providers in the field of oral health. Conclusions Prevention is a cornerstone to better oral health in rural and remote communities as well as in more urbanised communities. Strategies to improve the provision of dental services by either visiting or resident dental practitioners should include scope to provide community-based oral health promotion activities, and to engage more closely with other primary care service providers in these small communities. PMID:26515687

Wastewater services for small communities.

PubMed

Gray, S; Booker, N

2003-01-01

Connection to centralised regional sewage systems has been too expensive for small-dispersed communities, and these townships have traditionally been serviced by on-site septic tank systems. The conventional on-site system in Australia has consisted of an anaerobic holding tank followed by adsorption trenches. This technique relies heavily on the uptake of nutrients by plants for effective removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from the effluent, and is very seasonal in its efficiency. Hence, as these small communities have grown in size, the environmental effects of the septic tank discharges have become a problem. In locations throughout Australia, such as rural Victoria and along the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, septic tanks as being replaced with the transport of sewage to regional treatment plants. For some isolated communities, this can mean spending 20,000 dollars-40,000 dollars/household, as opposed to more common connection prices of 7,000 dollars/household. This paper explores some alternative options that might be suitable for these small communities, and attempts to identify solutions that provide acceptable environmental outcomes at lower cost. The types of alternative systems that are assessed in the paper include local treatment systems, separate blackwater and greywater collection and treatment systems both with and without non-potable water recycling, a small township scale treatment plant compared to either existing septic tank systems or pumping to a remote regional treatment facility. The work demonstrated the benefits of a scenario analysis approach for the assessment of a range of alternative systems. It demonstrated that some of the alternatives systems can achieve better than 90% reductions in the discharge of nutrients to the environment at significantly lower cost than removing the wastewater to a remote regional treatment plant. These concepts allow wastewater to be retained within a community allowing for local reuse of treated effluent.

Primary birthing attendants and birth outcomes in remote Inuit communities--a natural "experiment" in Nunavik, Canada.

PubMed

Simonet, F; Wilkins, R; Labranche, E; Smylie, J; Heaman, M; Martens, P; Fraser, W D; Minich, K; Wu, Y; Carry, C; Luo, Z-C

2009-07-01

There is a lack of data on the safety of midwife-led maternity care in remote or indigenous communities. In a de facto natural "experiment", birth outcomes were assessed by primary birthing attendant in two sets of remote Inuit communities. A geocoding-based retrospective birth cohort study in 14 Inuit communities of Nunavik, Canada, 1989-2000: primary birth attendants were Inuit midwives in the Hudson Bay (1529 Inuit births) vs western physicians in Ungava Bay communities (1197 Inuit births). The primary outcome was perinatal death. Secondary outcomes included stillbirth, neonatal death, post-neonatal death, preterm, small-for-gestational-age and low birthweight birth. Multilevel logistic regression was used to obtain the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) controlling for maternal age, marital status, parity, education, infant sex and plurality, community size and community-level random effects. The aORs (95% confidence interval) for perinatal death comparing the Hudson Bay vs Ungava Bay communities were 1.29 (0.63 to 2.64) for all Inuit births and 1.13 (0.48 to 2.47) for Inuit births at > or =28 weeks of gestation. There were no statistically significant differences in the crude or adjusted risks of any of the outcomes examined. Risks of perinatal death were somewhat but not significantly higher in the Hudson Bay communities with midwife-led maternity care compared with the Ungava Bay communities with physician-led maternity care. These findings are inconclusive, although the results excluding extremely preterm births are more reassuring concerning the safety of midwife-led maternity care in remote indigenous communities.

Small Town Renewal: Overview and Case Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kenyon, Peter, Ed.; Black, Alan, Ed.

Many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities continue to lose population and businesses, a trend that has intensified over the last 2 decades. Mean age continues to rise, while the 15-24 age group contracts dramatically. Such declining demographics are caused by the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets, as well…

Primary birthing attendants and birth outcomes in remote Inuit communities—a natural “experiment” in Nunavik, Canada

PubMed Central

Simonet, F; Wilkins, R; Labranche, E; Smylie, J; Heaman, M; Martens, P; Fraser, W D; Minich, K; Wu, Y; Carry, C; Luo, Z-C

2010-01-01

Background There is a lack of data on the safety of midwife-led maternity care in remote or indigenous communities. In a de facto natural “experiment”, birth outcomes were assessed by primary birthing attendant in two sets of remote Inuit communities. Methods A geocoding-based retrospective birth cohort study in 14 Inuit communities of Nunavik, Canada, 1989–2000: primary birth attendants were Inuit midwives in the Hudson Bay (1529 Inuit births) vs western physicians in Ungava Bay communities (1197 Inuit births). The primary outcome was perinatal death. Secondary outcomes included stillbirth, neonatal death, post-neonatal death, preterm, small-for-gestational-age and low birthweight birth. Multilevel logistic regression was used to obtain the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) controlling for maternal age, marital status, parity, education, infant sex and plurality, community size and community-level random effects. Results The aORs (95% confidence interval) for perinatal death comparing the Hudson Bay vs Ungava Bay communities were 1.29 (0.63 to 2.64) for all Inuit births and 1.13 (0.48 to 2.47) for Inuit births at ≥28 weeks of gestation. There were no statistically significant differences in the crude or adjusted risks of any of the outcomes examined. Conclusion Risks of perinatal death were somewhat but not significantly higher in the Hudson Bay communities with midwife-led maternity care compared with the Ungava Bay communities with physician-led maternity care. These findings are inconclusive, although the results excluding extremely preterm births are more reassuring concerning the safety of midwife-led maternity care in remote indigenous communities. PMID:19286689

On-Line Learning Technologies: Networking in the Classroom. Rural, Small Schools Network Information Exchange No. 16, Summer 1994.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast & Islands, Andover, MA.

This packet includes reprints of articles and other information concerning the use of computer networks in small, rural schools. Computer networks can minimize isolation; develop stronger links to the community; access reference information from remote sources; and create professional and academic exchanges for teachers, administrators, and…

Non-dental primary care providers' views on challenges in providing oral health services and strategies to improve oral health in Australian rural and remote communities: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Barnett, Tony; Hoang, Ha; Stuart, Jackie; Crocombe, Len

2015-10-29

To investigate the challenges of providing oral health advice/treatment as experienced by non-dental primary care providers in rural and remote areas with no resident dentist, and their views on ways in which oral health and oral health services could be improved for their communities. Qualitative study with semistructured interviews and thematic analysis. Four remote communities in outback Queensland, Australia. 35 primary care providers who had experience in providing oral health advice to patients and four dental care providers who had provided oral health services to patients from the four communities. In the absence of a resident dentist, rural and remote residents did present to non-dental primary care providers with oral health problems such as toothache, abscess, oral/gum infection and sore mouth for treatment and advice. Themes emerged from the interview data around communication challenges and strategies to improve oral health. Although, non-dental care providers commonly advised patients to see a dentist, they rarely communicated with the dentist in the nearest regional town. Participants proposed that oral health could be improved by: enabling access to dental practitioners, educating communities on preventive oral healthcare, and building the skills and knowledge base of non-dental primary care providers in the field of oral health. Prevention is a cornerstone to better oral health in rural and remote communities as well as in more urbanised communities. Strategies to improve the provision of dental services by either visiting or resident dental practitioners should include scope to provide community-based oral health promotion activities, and to engage more closely with other primary care service providers in these small communities. 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/

What I Learned about Higher Ed Assessment in a Small Village in South America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Occhipinti, Laurie

2016-01-01

Does assessment change what is being taught? Laurie Occhipinti uses an analogy to answer this question. While conducting research on economic development in a remote rural area of the Argentine Chaco, a community had received some public funds to construct a new community center. They discussed where to place the center. The middle of the village…

Re-thinking the health benefits of outstations in remote Indigenous Australia.

PubMed

Senior, Kate; Chenhall, Richard; Hall, Julie; Daniels, Daphne

2018-05-11

The small, decentralised communities, known as outstations which satellite larger Indigenous Australian remote communities have often been conceptualised as places that are beneficial to health and well-being. This paper provides an exploration of the meaning of an outstation for one family and the benefits that this connection brings to them, which are expressed in a deep connection to the land, continuing relationships with ancestors and a safe refuge from the stresses of the larger community. We argue that the outstation provides a place for people to be in control of their lives and form hopes and plans for the future. These benefits are positioned in a context where the future liveability and sustainability of the outstation is both fragile and vulnerable. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of resident health workforce turnover and retention in remote communities of the Northern Territory of Australia, 2013-2015.

PubMed

Russell, Deborah J; Zhao, Yuejen; Guthridge, Steven; Ramjan, Mark; Jones, Michael P; Humphreys, John S; Wakerman, John

2017-08-15

The geographical maldistribution of the health workforce is a persisting global issue linked to inequitable access to health services and poorer health outcomes for rural and remote populations. In the Northern Territory (NT), anecdotal reports suggest that the primary care workforce in remote Aboriginal communities is characterised by high turnover, low stability and high use of temporary staffing; however, there is a lack of reliable information to guide workforce policy improvements. This study quantifies current turnover and retention in remote NT communities and investigates correlations between turnover and retention metrics and health service/community characteristics. This study used the NT Department of Health 2013-2015 payroll and financial datasets for resident health workforce in 53 remote primary care clinics. Main outcome measures include annual turnover rates, annual stability rates, 12-month survival probabilities and median survival. At any time point, the clinics had a median of 2.0 nurses, 0.6 Aboriginal health practitioners (AHPs), 2.2 other employees and 0.4 additional agency-employed nurses. Mean annual turnover rates for nurses and AHPs combined were extremely high, irrespective of whether turnover was defined as no longer working in any remote clinic (66%) or no longer working at a specific remote clinic (128%). Stability rates were low, and only 20% of nurses and AHPs remain working at a specific remote clinic 12 months after commencing. Half left within 4 months. Nurse and AHP turnover correlated with other workforce measures. However, there was little correlation between most workforce metrics and health service characteristics. NT Government-funded remote clinics are small, experience very high staff turnover and make considerable use of agency nurses. These staffing patterns, also found in remote settings elsewhere in Australia and globally, not only incur higher direct costs for service provision-and therefore may compromise long-term sustainability-but also are almost certainly contributing to sub-optimal continuity of care, compromised health outcomes and poorer levels of staff safety. To address these deficiencies, it is imperative that investments in implementing, adequately resourcing and evaluating staffing models which stabilise the remote primary care workforce occur as a matter of priority.

A solar thermal electric power plant for small communities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holl, R. J.

1979-01-01

A solar power plant has been designed with a rating of 1000-kW electric and a 0.4 annual capacity factor. It was configured as a prototype for plants in the 1000 to 10,000-kWe size range for application to small communities or industrial users either grid-connected or isolated from a utility grid. A small central receiver was selected for solar energy collection after being compared with alternative distributed collectors. Further trade studies resulted in the selection of Hitec (heat transfer salt composed of 53 percent KNO3, 40 percent NaNO2, 7 percent NaNO3) as both the receiver coolant and the sensible heat thermal stroage medium and the steam Rankine cycle for power conversion. The plant is configured with road-transportable units to accommodate remote sites and minimize site assembly requirements. Results of the analyses indicate that busbar energy costs are competitive with diesel-electric plants in certain situations, e.g., off-grid, remote regions with high insolation. Sensitivity of energy costs to plant power rating and system capacity factor are given.

Periphyton accumulation at remote reefs and shoals in Lake Superior

USGS Publications Warehouse

Edsall, Thomas A.; Stoermer, Eugene F.; Kociolek, John P.

1991-01-01

Observations made from a submarine showed that the bed-rock surfaces at water depths of about 5 to 14 m on Stannard Rock and Superior Shoal in Lake Superior were covered with a dense, fleece-like blanket of periphyton. Examination of the periphyton revealed it consisted primarily of structurally complex, diverse, diatom communities, but occasional small thalli of the green algae Cladophora andStigeoclonium were also noted. Extensive windrows of detritus-like material, apparently derived from the local periphyton community, were seen on soft bottoms at depths of about 20 to 60 m near the reefs. Our observations suggested that these periphyton communities may be locally important to the food web at these remote and oligotrophic sites, which are 22 to 77 km from the nearest mainland shore and are surrounded by water at least 140 m deep.

Modeling and Analysis of Remote, Off-grid Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madathil, Sreenath Chalil

Over the past century the electric power industry has evolved to support the delivery of power over long distances with highly interconnected transmission systems. Despite this evolution, some remote communities are not connected to these systems. These communities rely on small, disconnected distribution systems, i.e., microgrids, to deliver power. Power distribution in most of these remote communities often depend on a type of microgrid called "off-grid microgrids". However, as microgrids often are not held to the same reliability standards as transmission grids, remote communities can be at risk to experience extended blackouts. Recent trends have also shown an increased use of renewable energy resources in power systems for remote communities. The increased penetration of renewable resources in power generation will require complex decision making when designing a resilient power system. This is mainly due to the stochastic nature of renewable resources that can lead to loss of load or line overload during their operations. In the first part of this thesis, we develop an optimization model and accompanying solution algorithm for capacity planning and operating microgrids that include N-1 security and other practical modeling features (e.g., AC power flow physics, component efficiencies and thermal limits). We demonstrate the effectiveness of our model and solution approach on two test systems: a modified version of the IEEE 13 node test feeder and a model of a distribution system in a remote Alaskan community. Once a tractable algorithm was identified to solve the above problem, we develop a mathematical model that includes topology design of microgrids. The topology design includes building new lines, making redundant lines, and analyzing N-1 contingencies on generators and lines. We develop a rolling horizon algorithm to efficiently analyze the model and demonstrate the strength of our algorithm in the same network. Finally, we develop a stochastic model that considers generation uncertainties along with N-1 security on generation assets. We develop a chance-constrained model to analyze the efficacy of the problem under consideration and present a case study on an adapted IEEE-13 node network. A successful implementation of this research could help remote communities around the world to enhance their quality of life by providing them with cost-effective, reliable electricity.

[Small unmanned aerial vehicles for low-altitude remote sensing and its application progress in ecology.

PubMed

Sun, Zhong Yu; Chen, Yan Qiao; Yang, Long; Tang, Guang Liang; Yuan, Shao Xiong; Lin, Zhi Wen

2017-02-01

Low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) remote sensing system overcomes the deficiencies of space and aerial remote sensing system in resolution, revisit period, cloud cover and cost, which provides a novel method for ecological research on mesoscale. This study introduced the composition of UAV remote sensing system, reviewed its applications in species, population, community and ecosystem ecology research. Challenges and opportunities of UAV ecology were identified to direct future research. The promising research area of UAV ecology includes the establishment of species morphology and spectral characteristic data base, species automatic identification, the revelation of relationship between spectral index and plant physiological processes, three-dimension monitoring of ecosystem, and the integration of remote sensing data from multi resources and multi scales. With the development of UAV platform, data transformation and sensors, UAV remote sensing technology will have wide application in ecology research.

Development of a 21st Century Small Aircraft Transportation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowen, Brent D.; Holmes, Bruce J.; Hansen, Frederick

2000-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, industry stakeholders, and academia, have joined forces to pursue the NASA National General Aviation Roadmap leading to a Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). This strategic undertaking has a 25-year goal to bring the next-generation technologies and improve travel between remote communities and transportation centers in urban areas by utilizing the nation's 5,400 public use general aviation airports. To facilitate this initiative, a comprehensive upgrade of public infrastructure must be planned, coordinated, and implemented within the framework of the national air transportation system. The Nebraska NASA EPSCoR Program has proposed to deliver research support in key public infrastructure areas in coordination with the General Aviation Program Office at the NASA Langley Research Center. Ultimately, SATS may permit tripling aviation system throughput capacity by tapping the underutilized general aviation facilities to achieve the national goal of doorstep-to-destination travel at four times the speed of highways for the nation's suburban, rural, and remote communities.

The economic feasibility of price discounts to improve diet in Australian Aboriginal remote communities.

PubMed

Magnus, Anne; Moodie, Marj L; Ferguson, Megan; Cobiac, Linda J; Liberato, Selma C; Brimblecombe, Julie

2016-04-01

To estimate the cost-effectiveness of fiscal measures applied in remote community food stores for Aboriginal Australians. Six price discount strategies on fruit, vegetables, diet drinks and water were modelled. Baseline diet was measured as 12 months' actual food sales data in three remote Aboriginal communities. Discount-induced changes in food purchases were based on published price elasticity data while the weight of the daily diet was assumed constant. Dietary change was converted to change in sodium and energy intake, and body mass index (BMI) over a 12-month period. Improved lifetime health outcomes, modelled for the remote population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, were converted to disability adjusted life years (DALYs) saved using a proportional multistate lifetable model populated with diet-related disease risks and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rates of disease. While dietary change was small, five of the six price discount strategies were estimated as cost-effective, below a $50,000/DALY threshold. Stakeholders are committed to finding ways to reduce important inequalities in health status between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians. Price discounts offer potential to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Verification of these results by trial-based research coupled with consideration of factors important to all stakeholders is needed. © 2015 The Authors.

National General Aviation Roadmap for a Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holmes, Bruce J.

2000-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Aviation Administration, as well as state, industry, and academia partners have joined forces to pursue the NASA National General Aviation Roadmap leading to a Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). This long-term strategic undertaking has a goal to bring next-generation technologies and improve air access to small communities. The envisioned outcome is to improve travel between remote communities and transportation centers in urban areas by utilizing a new generation of single-pilot light planes for personal and business transportation between the nation's 5,400 public use general aviation airports. Current NASA investments in aircraft technologies are enabling industry to bring affordable, safe, and easy-to-use features to the marketplace, including "Highway in the Sky" glass cockpit operating capabilities, affordable crash worthy composite airframes, more efficient IFR flight training, and revolutionary engines. To facilitate this initiative, a comprehensive upgrade of public infrastructure must be planned, coordinated, and implemented within the framework of the national air transportation system. State partnerships are proposed to coordinate research support in key public infrastructure areas. Ultimately, SATS may permit more than tripling aviation system throughput capacity by tapping the under-utilized general aviation facilities to achieve the national goal of doorstep-to-destination travel at four times the speed of highways for the nation's suburban, rural, and remote communities.

Sustainable chronic disease management in remote Australia.

PubMed

Wakerman, John; Chalmers, Elizabeth M; Humphreys, John S; Clarence, Christine L; Bell, Andrew I; Larson, Ann; Lyle, David; Pashen, Dennis R

2005-11-21

The Sharing Health Care Initiative (SHCI) demonstration project, which aimed to improve management of chronic diseases, was implemented in four small remote communities in the Katherine region which are serviced by the Katherine West Health Board, a remote Aboriginal-community-controlled health organisation in the Northern Territory. We reviewed the project proposal, final report, evaluation reports and transitional funding proposal, and supplemented these with in-depth interviews with key individuals. We determined factors critical to the sustainability of the SHCI project in relation to context, community engagement, systems flexibility and adaptability, the availability and effect of information systems, and the human nature of health care and policy. The project had a significant impact on community awareness of chronic disease and an improvement in clinic processes. We found that a number of interrelated factors promoted sustainability, including: An implementation strategy sufficiently flexible to take account of local conditions; A high level of community engagement; Appropriate timeframes, timing and congruence between national policy and local readiness to implement a chronic disease project; Effective communication between participating organisations; Project champions (key individuals) in participating organisations; Effective use of monitoring and evaluation data; and Adequate and ongoing funding. The absence of a number of these factors, such as poor communication, inhibited sustainability. Other factors could both promote and inhibit. For example, the impact of key individuals was important, but could be idiosyncratic and have negative effects.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM DESIGN FOR A REMOTE COMMUNITY IN PANAMA

EPA Science Inventory

Santo Domingo, Panama, is a rural town of 100, located in the Colon province within Chagres National Park. The town’s inhabitants are small-scale farmers and ranchers. The town is only accessible via rugged roads and has neither electric nor phone lines. Since the town i...

The Production and Distribution of Burarra Talking Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darcy, Rose; Auld, Glenn

2008-01-01

The use of ICTs to support literacy in a minority Indigenous Australian language is an important domain of pedagogy that is often overlooked by teachers in these contexts. The development of new technological configurations in remote communities can be highly supportive of Indigenous languages spoken by a small number of people. This paper reports…

The Small Aircraft Transportation System for America: A Case in Public Infrastructure Change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowen, Brent D.

2000-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, industry stakeholders, and academia, have joined forces to pursue the NASA National General Aviation Roadmap leading to a Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). This strategic undertaking has a 25-year goal to bring next-generation technologies and improve travel between remote communities and transportation centers in urban areas by utilizing the nation's 5,400 public-use general aviation airports. To facilitate this initiative, a comprehensive upgrade of public infrastructure must be planned, coordinated, and implemented within the framework of the national air transportation system. The Nebraska NASA EPSCoR Program has proposed to deliver research support in key public infrastructure areas in coordination with the General Aviation Program Office at the NASA Langley Research Center. Ultimately, SATS may permit tripling aviation system throughput capacity by tapping the underutilized general aviation facilities to achieve the national goal of doorstep-to-destination travel at four times the speed of highways for the nation's suburban, rural, and remote communities.

Speed and accuracy of mobile BlackBerry Messenger to transmit chest radiography images from a small community emergency department to a geographically remote referral center.

PubMed

Scheuermeyer, Frank; Grunau, Brian; Cheyne, Jay; Grafstein, Eric; Christenson, Jim; Ho, Kendall

2016-06-01

Small emergency departments (EDs) may rely on radiologists at remote centers for interpretations of chest radiographs (CXRs). We investigated systematic transmission of CXR images from a small ED to a geographically remote referral center using the mobile BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) application. Investigators obtained de-identified CXR images of consecutive ED patients via mobile phone camera. Each CXR image, along with a brief clinical history, was sent via BBM to an emergency physician located at a remote referral site, and the receiving physician replied via BBM to confirm reception. All communications, image generation, and image analysis was conducted on mobile phones. The primary outcome was the proportion of BBMs received within two minutes of sending; the secondary outcome was the proportion of BBM replies to the sending physician within five minutes. Image accuracy-comparing the radiologist's interpretation with the receiving emergency physician's interpretation-was estimated using predefined criteria. Of 1281 consecutive ED patients, 231 (18.0 %) had CXRs obtained, 320 CXRs were analyzed and 611 BBMs sent. All BBMs (100.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 99.4-00.0) arrived within two minutes; 595 BBMs (97.4%, 95% CI 95.8-98.4) were replied to within five minutes. Of the 58 CXRs with abnormalities requiring intervention, there were 55 concordances (overall agreement 94.2%, 95% CI 85.9-98.3; kappa 0.95, 95% CI 0.89-1.0) CONCLUSION: Systematic transmission of CXR images from a small ED to a remote large center using mobile phones may be a safe and effective strategy to rapidly communicate important patient information. © The Author(s) 2015.

Safety and Certification Considerations for Expanding the Use of UAS in Precision Agriculture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Neogi, Natasha A.; Vertstynen, Harry A.

2016-01-01

The agricultural community is actively engaged in adopting new technologies such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to help assess the condition of crops and develop appropriate treatment plans. In the United States, agricultural use of UAS has largely been limited to small UAS, generally weighing less than 55 lb and operating within the line of sight of a remote pilot. A variety of small UAS are being used to monitor and map crops, while only a few are being used to apply agricultural inputs based on the results of remote sensing. Larger UAS with substantial payload capacity could provide an option for site-specific application of agricultural inputs in a timely fashion, without substantive damage to the crops or soil. A recent study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) investigated certification requirements needed to enable the use of larger UAS to support the precision agriculture industry. This paper provides a brief introduction to aircraft certification relevant to agricultural UAS, an overview of and results from the NASA study, and a discussion of how those results might affect the precision agriculture community. Specific topics of interest include business model considerations for unmanned aerial applicators and a comparison with current means of variable rate application. The intent of the paper is to inform the precision agriculture community of evolving technologies that will enable broader use of unmanned vehicles to reduce costs, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance yield, especially for specialty crops that are grown on small to medium size farms.

Phase 1 of the First Small Power System Experiment (engineering Experiment No. 1). Volume 5: Supporting Analyses and Trade Studies. [development and testing of a solar thermal power plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holl, R. J.

1979-01-01

The development and design of a modular solar thermal power system for application in the 1 to 10 MWe range is described. The system is used in remote utility applications, small communities, rural areas, and for industrial uses. Thermal and stress analyses are performed on the collector subsystem, energy storage subsystem, energy transport subsystem, the power conversion subsystem, and the plant control subsystem.

Phase 1 of the First Small Power System Experiment (engineering Experiment No. 1). Volume 4: Commercial System Definition. [development and testing of a solar thermal power plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holl, R. J.

1979-01-01

The development and design of a modular solar thermal power system for application in the 1 to 10 MWe range is described. The system is used in remote utility applications, small communities, rural areas, and for industrial uses. The operational reliability, the minimum risk of failure, and the maintenance and repair characteristics are determined and the commercial system design is defined.

Internet Based Remote Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamberlain, James

1999-01-01

This is the Final Report for the Internet Based Remote Operations Contract, has performed payload operations research support tasks March 1999 through September 1999. These tasks support the GSD goal of developing a secure, inexpensive data, voice, and video mission communications capability between remote payload investigators and the NASA payload operations team in the International Space Station (ISS) era. AZTek has provided feedback from the NASA payload community by utilizing its extensive payload development and operations experience to test and evaluate remote payload operations systems. AZTek has focused on use of the "public Internet" and inexpensive, Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Internet-based tools that would most benefit "small" (e.g., $2 Million or less) payloads and small developers without permanent remote operations facilities. Such projects have limited budgets to support installation and development of high-speed dedicated communications links and high-end, custom ground support equipment and software. The primary conclusions of the study are as follows: (1) The trend of using Internet technology for "live" collaborative applications such as telescience will continue. The GSD-developed data and voice capabilities continued to work well over the "public" Internet during this period. 2. Transmitting multiple voice streams from a voice-conferencing server to a client PC to be mixed and played on the PC is feasible. 3. There are two classes of voice vendors in the market: - Large traditional phone equipment vendors pursuing integration of PSTN with Internet, and Small Internet startups.The key to selecting a vendor will be to find a company sufficiently large and established to provide a base voice-conferencing software product line for the next several years.

Retention challenge facing Australia's rural community mental health services: Service managers' perspectives.

PubMed

Cosgrave, Catherine; Hussain, Rafat; Maple, Myfanwy

2015-10-01

This paper aims to contribute to the development of a more sustainable Australian rural community mental health workforce by comparing the findings from a literature search investigating impacting factors on retention with the experiences of community mental health service managers running services in rural Australia. Semi-structured interviews. Public health sector, rural New South Wales. Five community mental health managers, running services in rural Australia. Interviews were undertaken as a pilot for a broader qualitative study investigating factors influencing the decision to stay or leave among community mental health professionals working in rural positions. The purpose of undertaking this pilot study was to test for validity and relevance of the retention phenomena and help inform the research design for the main study. Three key retention focussed themes were identified: (i) Staffing is a persistent challenge; (ii) Small remote towns pose the biggest challenge; and (iii) The decision to stay or leave is complex and multifactorial. The findings of this pilot study support previous research and contribute to the understanding of influences on retention among health professionals working in rural community mental health services. Importantly, those who have worked for several years in rural positions hold important information through which to explore factors that impact retention in rural and remote regions. © 2015 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

New tools: potential medical applications of data from new and old environmental satellites.

PubMed

Huh, O K; Malone, J B

2001-04-27

The last 40 years, beginning with the first TIROS (television infrared observational satellite) launched on 1 April 1960, has seen an explosion of earth environmental satellite systems and their capabilities. They can provide measurements in globe encircling arrays or small select areas, with increasing resolutions, and new capabilities. Concurrently there are expanding numbers of existing and emerging infectious diseases, many distributed according to areal patterns of physical conditions at the earth's surface. For these reasons, the medical and remote sensing communities can beneficially collaborate with the objective of making needed progress in public health activities by exploiting the advances of the national and international space programs. Major improvements in applicability of remotely sensed data are becoming possible with increases in the four kinds of resolution: spatial, temporal, radiometric and spectral, scheduled over the next few years. Much collaborative research will be necessary before data from these systems are fully exploited by the medical community.

'Achievement, pride and inspiration': outcomes for volunteer role models in a community outreach program in remote Aboriginal communities.

PubMed

Cinelli, Renata L; Peralta, Louisa R

2015-01-01

There is growing support for the prosocial value of role modelling in programs for adolescents and the potentially positive impact role models can have on health and health behaviours in remote communities. Despite known benefits for remote outreach program recipients, there is limited literature on the outcomes of participation for role models. Twenty-four role models participated in a remote outreach program across four remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia (100% recruitment). Role models participated in semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Transcripts were coded and underwent thematic analysis by both authors. Cultural training, Indigenous heritage and prior experience contributed to general feelings of preparedness, yet some role models experienced a level of culture shock, being confronted by how disparate the communities were to their home communities. Benefits of participation included exposure to and experience with remote Aboriginal peoples and community, increased cultural knowledge, personal learning, forming and building relationships, and skill development. Effective role model programs designed for remote Indigenous youth can have positive outcomes for both role models and the program recipients. Cultural safety training is an important factor for preparing role models and for building their cultural competency for implementing health and education programs in remote Indigenous communities in Australia. This will maximise the opportunities for participants to achieve outcomes and minimise their culture shock.

Automatic control and remote monitoring system for biological nutrient removal on small wastewater treatment plants in Korea.

PubMed

Lee, H; Min, Y M; Park, C H; Park, Y H

2004-01-01

Many small-size wastewater treatment plants in Korea's rural communities are designed to remove organic and suspended matter only, and they generally show a large fluctuation in the influent loading compared to municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs). They also have no professional engineers stationed for efficient operation against mechanical breakdown. For those reasons, the wastewater treatment plants have low efficiency in treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus as well as organic matter. In order to solve those problems, this study developed an automatic control system and RMS (remote monitoring system), which can keep efficiency stable despite any change in the small plants' loading rates and are capable of removing nutrient materials such as nitrogen or phosphorus. According to the results of the Experimental SBR system of the automatic control program, complete nitrification was made under oxic conditions and denitrification occurred as NO3-N concentration decreased by 0.5 mg/l in anoxic conditions and excellent nitrogen removal efficiency was seen generally. The Experimental SBR system created "phosphate release and uptake" effectively and displayed phosphate-removing efficiency up to more than 80% as the concentration of effluent was kept low by 0.4 mg/l. RMS developed in this study transmits a plant's data and operation states to clients in remote locations in real-time interval through the Internet. Therefore, although you are in a remote location, it allows you to see if a plant is properly operated or there is any breakdown.

Social and Ecological Dynamics of Small-Scale Fisheries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, K.; Kramer, D.; Frank, K.

2012-12-01

Globalization's reach is rapidly extending to touch some of the most remote communities of the world, but we have yet to understand its scale and impact. On Nicaragua's previously remote Miskitu Coast, the introduction of new markets and global demand for seafood has resulted in changes in fishermen's harvest behavior manifested within the local fishery. Small-scale fisheries are a significant component in sustaining global fish trade, ensuring food security, and alleviating poverty, but because the fishermen are disperse, numerous and located in remote areas, the social and ecological dynamics of the system are poorly understood. Previous work has indicated a decline in fish abundance as a result of connection to markets, yet fishermen's response to this decline and the resulting shift in harvest strategy requires further examination. I identify the ecological and social factors that explain changes in fishermen behavior and use an innovative application of social network analysis to understand these changes. I also use interviews with fishermen and fishery-dependent surveys to measure catch and release behavior and seasonal gear use. Results demonstrate multiple cliques within a community that mitigate the response of fishermen to changes in the fishery. This research applies techniques in social science to address challenges in sustainable management of fisheries. As fisheries managers consider implementing new regulations, such as seasonal restrictions on gear, it is essential to understand not just how this might impact fish abundance, but how and why human systems respond as they do.

Rural and remote care

PubMed Central

Marciniuk, Darcy

2016-01-01

The challenges of providing quality respiratory care to persons living in rural or remote communities can be daunting. These populations are often vulnerable in terms of both health status and access to care, highlighting the need for innovation in service delivery. The rapidly expanding options available using telehealthcare technologies have the capacity to allow patients in rural and remote communities to connect with providers at distant sites and to facilitate the provision of diagnostic, monitoring, and therapeutic services. Successful implementation of telehealthcare programs in rural and remote settings is, however, contingent upon accounting for key technical, organizational, social, and legal considerations at the individual, community, and system levels. This review article discusses five types of telehealthcare delivery that can facilitate respiratory care for residents of rural or remote communities: remote monitoring (including wearable and ambient systems; remote consultations (between providers and between patients and providers), remote pulmonary rehabilitation, telepharmacy, and remote sleep monitoring. Current and future challenges related to telehealthcare are discussed. PMID:26902542

Incorporation of satellite remote sensing pan-sharpened imagery into digital soil prediction and mapping models to characterize soil property variability in small agricultural fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yiming; Smith, Scot E.; Grunwald, Sabine; Abd-Elrahman, Amr; Wani, Suhas P.

2017-01-01

Soil prediction models based on spectral indices from some multispectral images are too coarse to characterize spatial pattern of soil properties in small and heterogeneous agricultural lands. Image pan-sharpening has seldom been utilized in Digital Soil Mapping research before. This research aimed to analyze the effects of pan-sharpened (PAN) remote sensing spectral indices on soil prediction models in smallholder farm settings. This research fused the panchromatic band and multispectral (MS) bands of WorldView-2, GeoEye-1, and Landsat 8 images in a village in Southern India by Brovey, Gram-Schmidt and Intensity-Hue-Saturation methods. Random Forest was utilized to develop soil total nitrogen (TN) and soil exchangeable potassium (Kex) prediction models by incorporating multiple spectral indices from the PAN and MS images. Overall, our results showed that PAN remote sensing spectral indices have similar spectral characteristics with soil TN and Kex as MS remote sensing spectral indices. There is no soil prediction model incorporating the specific type of pan-sharpened spectral indices always had the strongest prediction capability of soil TN and Kex. The incorporation of pan-sharpened remote sensing spectral data not only increased the spatial resolution of the soil prediction maps, but also enhanced the prediction accuracy of soil prediction models. Small farms with limited footprint, fragmented ownership and diverse crop cycle should benefit greatly from the pan-sharpened high spatial resolution imagery for soil property mapping. Our results show that multiple high and medium resolution images can be used to map soil properties suggesting the possibility of an improvement in the maps' update frequency. Additionally, the results should benefit the large agricultural community through the reduction of routine soil sampling cost and improved prediction accuracy.

Tracking environmental dynamics and agricultural intensification in southern Mali

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tappan, G. Gray; McGahuey, M.

2007-01-01

The Office de la Haute Vallée du Fleuve Niger (OHVN) zone in southern Mali is a small but important agricultural production region. Against a background of environmental degradation including decades of declining rainfall, soil erosion, and human pressure on forest resources, numerous farming communities stand out through the use of improved soil and water management practices that have improved agricultural and environmental conditions. Field surveys conducted in 1998–2001 indicated that environmental and agricultural conditions have improved in the past decade. In an effort to better quantify environmental trends, we conducted a study using medium- and high-resolution remotely sensed images from 1965 to 2001 in order to analyze land use and land cover trends in 21 village territories. The trends show clear indications of agricultural intensification and diversification among villages that have received assistance from the OHVN agricultural development agency. Some communities have improved environmental conditions by protecting their forest resources through community management actions. Four decades of remotely sensed images played a practical role in tracking and quantifying environmental and agricultural conditions over time.

Going the Distance Part 2: Five Ways of Teaching an Extension Course: Elive, Blackboard, Teleconference, Correspondence, and Face-to-Face

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rader, Heidi B.; Hanna, Virgene; Spiers, Kent; Kienenberger, Donavan

2014-01-01

Remote and widely dispersed clientele in Alaska create a need for effective distance-delivery programs. Extension agents often travel via small airplane, snow machine, or boat to teach face-to-face classes in off-road communities. Effective and more cost-efficient delivery methods are needed. We taught a course for beginning farmers residing…

Small Traditional Human Communities Sustain Genomic Diversity over Microgeographic Scales despite Linguistic Isolation

PubMed Central

Cox, Murray P.; Hudjashov, Georgi; Sim, Andre; Savina, Olga; Karafet, Tatiana M.; Sudoyo, Herawati; Lansing, J. Stephen

2016-01-01

At least since the Neolithic, humans have largely lived in networks of small, traditional communities. Often socially isolated, these groups evolved distinct languages and cultures over microgeographic scales of just tens of kilometers. Population genetic theory tells us that genetic drift should act quickly in such isolated groups, thus raising the question: do networks of small human communities maintain levels of genetic diversity over microgeographic scales? This question can no longer be asked in most parts of the world, which have been heavily impacted by historical events that make traditional society structures the exception. However, such studies remain possible in parts of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania, where traditional ways of life are still practiced. We captured genome-wide genetic data, together with linguistic records, for a case–study system—eight villages distributed across Sumba, a small, remote island in eastern Indonesia. More than 4,000 years after these communities were established during the Neolithic period, most speak different languages and can be distinguished genetically. Yet their nuclear diversity is not reduced, instead being comparable to other, even much larger, regional groups. Modeling reveals a separation of time scales: while languages and culture can evolve quickly, creating social barriers, sporadic migration averaged over many generations is sufficient to keep villages linked genetically. This loosely-connected network structure, once the global norm and still extant on Sumba today, provides a living proxy to explore fine-scale genome dynamics in the sort of small traditional communities within which the most recent episodes of human evolution occurred. PMID:27274003

Construction of a photovoltaic power system at Natural Bridges National Monument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benoit, A. E.

1980-12-01

A 100 kW peak photovoltaic (PV) power system at Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah is described. This system is the largest of its kind in the world. The construction phases of the program are described, and a chronological history of the events and problems encountered when such a large and complex task is undertaken in a remote area with very limited fabrication facilities is given. This experiment demonstrates the application of solar energy to the variety of loads found in a small and remote community. This solar energy system was designed to meet all electrical requirements when there is no utility grid, with only occasional back-up from an existing diesel generator.

Challenges in assessing food environments in northern and remote communities in Canada.

PubMed

Skinner, Kelly; Burnett, Kristin; Williams, Patricia; Martin, Debbie; Stothart, Christopher; LeBlanc, Joseph; Veeraraghavan, Gigi; Sheedy, Amanda

2016-06-09

Effective tools for retail food environments in northern and remote communities are lacking. This paper examines the challenges of conducting food environment assessments in northern and remote communities in Canada encountered during our experience with a food costing project. One of the goals of the Paying for Nutrition in the North project is to develop guidelines to improve current food costing tools for northern Canada. Paying for Nutrition illustrates the complex context of measuring food environments in northern and remote communities. Through the development of a food costing methodology guide to assess northern food environments, several contextual issues emerged, including retail store oligopolies in communities; the importance of assessing food quality; informal social food economies; and the challenge of costing the acquisition and consumption of land- and water-based foods. Food environment measures designed for northern and remote communities need to reflect the geographic context in which they are being employed and must include input from local residents.

Phase 1 of the First Small Power System Experiment (engineering Experiment No. 1). Volume 1: Executive Summary. [development and testing of a solar thermal power plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holl, R. J.

1979-01-01

The development of a modular solar thermal power system for application in the 1 to 10 MWe range is presented. The system is used in remote utility applications, small communities, rural areas, and for industrial uses. Investigations are performed on the energy storage requirements and type of energy storage, concentrator design and field optimization, energy transport, and power conversion subsystems. The system utilizes a Rankine cycle, an axial flow steam turbine for power conversion, and heat transfer sodium for collector fluid.

Making media work in space: an interdisciplinary perspective on media and communication requirements for current and future space communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babidge, S.; Cokley, J.; Gordon, F.; Louw, E.

2005-10-01

As humans expand into space communities will form. These have already begun to form in small ways, such as long-duration missions on the International Space Station and the space shuttle, and small-scale tourist excursions into space. Social, behavioural and communications data emerging from such existing communities in space suggest that the physically-bounded, work-oriented and traditionally male-dominated nature of these extremely remote groups present specific problems for the resident astronauts, groups of them viewed as ‘communities’, and their associated groups who remain on Earth, including mission controllers, management and astronauts’ families. Notionally feminine group attributes such as adaptive competence, social adaptation skills and social sensitivity will be crucial to the viability of space communities and in the absence of gender equity, ‘staying in touch’ by means of ‘news from home’ becomes more important than ever. A template of news and media forms and technologies is suggested to service those needs and enhance the social viability of future terraforming activities.

Communicable diseases in rural and remote Australia: the need for improved understanding and action.

PubMed

Quinn, Emma K; Massey, Peter D; Speare, Rick

2015-01-01

Rural and remote communities of Australia, particularly those including Aboriginal people, experience greater morbidity and mortality across a range of health outcomes compared to urban communities. Previous national data have demonstrated that rural and remote communities experience a disproportionate burden of communicable diseases compared to their urban counterparts. This systematic review was undertaken to describe the types of research that have explored the epidemiology of communicable diseases in rural and remote communities in Australia, with particular reference to the social determinants of health. We conducted a keyword search of several databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE/PubMed, RURAL, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Database, Web of Science Core Collection, and Google and Google Scholar websites) for peer-reviewed and grey literature that described or analysed the epidemiology of communicable diseases in rural and/or remote communities of Australia from 2004 to 2013. Exclusion criteria were applied to keep the review focused on rural and/or remote communities and the population-level epidemiological analysis of communicable diseases. From 2287 retrieved articles, a total of 50 remained after applying exclusion criteria. The majority of included articles were descriptive studies (41/50). Seven of the total 50 articles contained analytical studies; one systematic literature review and one experimental study were also identified. Due to the diversity of approaches in measuring disease burden, we performed a narrative synthesis of the articles according to the review objectives. Most of the articles investigated the disease burden in remote (n=37/50) and Aboriginal communities only (n=21/50). The studies highlighted a high prevalence or incidence of skin, eye and respiratory infections for remote Aboriginal communities, particularly children over the past decade. There was emerging evidence to suggest that housing and social conditions play an important role in determining the risk of skin, ear, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children. Other health service and sociocultural factors were also discussed by authors as influencing the epidemiology of communicable diseases in rural and remote communities. This systematic review identified several communicable diseases that continue to cause considerable morbidity in remote Aboriginal communities, including skin, eye and respiratory infections, particularly for children. Overall there is a substantial amount of descriptive epidemiology published, but few analytical or experimental studies. Despite a lack of empirical investigation into the social determinants of the burden of communicable disease, there is emerging evidence that has demonstrated a significant association between housing conditions and skin, ear, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children. There is also growing recognition of other social and environmental factors that can influence the burden of diseases in rural and remote communities. Further investment into higher quality community-based research that addresses the social determinants of communicable diseases in remote communities is warranted. The lack of research investigating zoonoses and tropical diseases was noted.

Applying remote sensing and GIS for chimpanzee habitat change detection, behaviour and conservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pintea, Lilian

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), our closest living relatives, are declining alarmingly in abundance and distribution all across Africa. Clearing of forests and woodlands has one of the most rapid and devastating impacts, leaving chimpanzees in isolated, small populations that face edge effects and elevated risk of extinction. Satellite imagery could be a powerful tool to map chimpanzee habitats and threats at the landscape scale even in the most remote, difficult to access areas. However, few applications exist to demonstrate how remote sensing methods can be used in Africa for chimpanzee research and conservation in practice. In chapter one, I investigate the use of Landsat MSS and ETM+ satellite imagery to monitor dry tropical forests and miombo woodlands change between 1972-1999 inside and outside Gombe National Park, Tanzania. I show that canopy cover increased in the northern and middle parts of the park but with severe canopy loss outside protected area. Deforestation has had unequal effects on the three chimpanzee communities inside the park. The Kasekela chimpanzees have been least affected by canopy loss outside the park. In contrast, the Mitumba and Kalande communities have likely lost key range areas. In chapter two, I use 25 years of data on Gombe chimpanzees to investigate to what extent vegetation variables detected from multi-temporal satellite images can be applied to understand changes in chimpanzee feeding and party size. NDVI positively correlated with the time chimpanzees spent feeding but had no affect on the average number of adult males in the party. Instead the number of males in the party increased with proximity to hostile neighboring communities. In chapter three, I use Landsat and SPOT satellite imagery as the basis for Threat Reduction Assessment to evaluate conservation outcomes of a ten year community based conservation project in Tanzania. The findings suggest that the remote sensing methods applied in this study could provide new exciting prospects for monitoring chimpanzee habitats, socioecological research and a baseline to measure our conservation success.

The use of remote presence for health care delivery in a northern Inuit community: a feasibility study

PubMed Central

Mendez, Ivar; Jong, Michael; Keays-White, Debra; Turner, Gail

2013-01-01

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of remote presence for improving the health of residents in a remote northern Inuit community. Study design A pilot study assessed patient's, nurse's and physician's satisfaction with and the use of the remote presence technology aiding delivery of health care to a remote community. A preliminary cost analysis of this technology was also performed. Methods This study deployed a remote presence RP-7 robot to the isolated Inuit community of Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador for 15 months. The RP-7 is wirelessly controlled by a laptop computer equipped with audiovisual capability and a joystick to maneuver the robot in real time to aid in the assessing and care of patients from a distant location. Qualitative data on physician's, patient's, caregiver's and staff's satisfaction were collected as well as information on its use and characteristics and the number of air transports required to the referral center and associated costs. Results A total of 252 remote presence sessions occurred during the study period, with 89% of the sessions involving direct patient assessment or monitoring. Air transport was required in only 40% of the cases that would have been otherwise transported normally. Patients and their caregivers, nurses and physicians all expressed a high level of satisfaction with the remote presence technology and deemed it beneficial for improved patient care, workloads and job satisfaction. Conclusions These results show the feasibility of deploying a remote presence robot in a distant northern community and a high degree of satisfaction with the technology. Remote presence in the Canadian North has potential for delivering a cost-effective health care solution to underserviced communities reducing the need for the transport of patients and caregivers to distant referral centers. PMID:23984292

The use of remote presence for health care delivery in a northern Inuit community: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Mendez, Ivar; Jong, Michael; Keays-White, Debra; Turner, Gail

2013-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility of remote presence for improving the health of residents in a remote northern Inuit community. A pilot study assessed patient's, nurse's and physician's satisfaction with and the use of the remote presence technology aiding delivery of health care to a remote community. A preliminary cost analysis of this technology was also performed. This study deployed a remote presence RP-7 robot to the isolated Inuit community of Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador for 15 months. The RP-7 is wirelessly controlled by a laptop computer equipped with audiovisual capability and a joystick to maneuver the robot in real time to aid in the assessing and care of patients from a distant location. Qualitative data on physician's, patient's, caregiver's and staff's satisfaction were collected as well as information on its use and characteristics and the number of air transports required to the referral center and associated costs. A total of 252 remote presence sessions occurred during the study period, with 89% of the sessions involving direct patient assessment or monitoring. Air transport was required in only 40% of the cases that would have been otherwise transported normally. Patients and their caregivers, nurses and physicians all expressed a high level of satisfaction with the remote presence technology and deemed it beneficial for improved patient care, workloads and job satisfaction. These results show the feasibility of deploying a remote presence robot in a distant northern community and a high degree of satisfaction with the technology. Remote presence in the Canadian North has potential for delivering a cost-effective health care solution to underserviced communities reducing the need for the transport of patients and caregivers to distant referral centers.

Design and implementation of a dental caries prevention trial in remote Canadian Aboriginal communities.

PubMed

Harrison, Rosamund; Veronneau, Jacques; Leroux, Brian

2010-05-13

The goal of this cluster randomized trial is to test the effectiveness of a counseling approach, Motivational Interviewing, to control dental caries in young Aboriginal children. Motivational Interviewing, a client-centred, directive counseling style, has not yet been evaluated as an approach for promotion of behaviour change in indigenous communities in remote settings. Aboriginal women were hired from the 9 communities to recruit expectant and new mothers to the trial, administer questionnaires and deliver the counseling to mothers in the test communities. The goal is for mothers to receive the intervention during pregnancy and at their child's immunization visits. Data on children's dental health status and family dental health practices will be collected when children are 30-months of age. The communities were randomly allocated to test or control group by a random "draw" over community radio. Sample size and power were determined based on an anticipated 20% reduction in caries prevalence. Randomization checks were conducted between groups. In the 5 test and 4 control communities, 272 of the original target sample size of 309 mothers have been recruited over a two-and-a-half year period. A power calculation using the actual attained sample size showed power to be 79% to detect a treatment effect. If an attrition fraction of 4% per year is maintained, power will remain at 80%. Power will still be > 90% to detect a 25% reduction in caries prevalence. The distribution of most baseline variables was similar for the two randomized groups of mothers. However, despite the random assignment of communities to treatment conditions, group differences exist for stage of pregnancy and prior tooth extractions in the family. Because of the group imbalances on certain variables, control of baseline variables will be done in the analyses of treatment effects. This paper explains the challenges of conducting randomized trials in remote settings, the importance of thorough community collaboration, and also illustrates the likelihood that some baseline variables that may be clinically important will be unevenly split in group-randomized trials when the number of groups is small. This trial is registered as ISRCTN41467632.

Design and implementation of a dental caries prevention trial in remote Canadian Aboriginal communities

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The goal of this cluster randomized trial is to test the effectiveness of a counseling approach, Motivational Interviewing, to control dental caries in young Aboriginal children. Motivational Interviewing, a client-centred, directive counseling style, has not yet been evaluated as an approach for promotion of behaviour change in indigenous communities in remote settings. Methods/design Aboriginal women were hired from the 9 communities to recruit expectant and new mothers to the trial, administer questionnaires and deliver the counseling to mothers in the test communities. The goal is for mothers to receive the intervention during pregnancy and at their child's immunization visits. Data on children's dental health status and family dental health practices will be collected when children are 30-months of age. The communities were randomly allocated to test or control group by a random "draw" over community radio. Sample size and power were determined based on an anticipated 20% reduction in caries prevalence. Randomization checks were conducted between groups. Discussion In the 5 test and 4 control communities, 272 of the original target sample size of 309 mothers have been recruited over a two-and-a-half year period. A power calculation using the actual attained sample size showed power to be 79% to detect a treatment effect. If an attrition fraction of 4% per year is maintained, power will remain at 80%. Power will still be > 90% to detect a 25% reduction in caries prevalence. The distribution of most baseline variables was similar for the two randomized groups of mothers. However, despite the random assignment of communities to treatment conditions, group differences exist for stage of pregnancy and prior tooth extractions in the family. Because of the group imbalances on certain variables, control of baseline variables will be done in the analyses of treatment effects. This paper explains the challenges of conducting randomized trials in remote settings, the importance of thorough community collaboration, and also illustrates the likelihood that some baseline variables that may be clinically important will be unevenly split in group-randomized trials when the number of groups is small. Trial registration This trial is registered as ISRCTN41467632. PMID:20465831

Understanding food security issues in remote Western Australian Indigenous communities.

PubMed

Pollard, Christina M; Nyaradi, Anett; Lester, Matthew; Sauer, Kay

2014-08-01

Food insecurity in remote Western Australian (WA) Indigenous communities. This study explored remote community store managers' views on issues related to improving food security in order to inform health policy. A census of all remote WA Indigenous community store managers was conducted in 2010. Telephone interviews sought managers' perceptions of community food insecurity, problems with their store, and potential policy options for improving the supply, accessibility, affordability and consumption of nutritious foods. Descriptive analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows version 17.0. Managers stated that freight costs and irregular deliveries contributed to high prices and a limited range of foods. Poor store infrastructure, compromised cold chain logistics, and commonly occurring power outages affected food quality. Half of the managers said there was hunger in their community because people did not have enough money to buy food. The role of nutritionists beyond a clinical and educational role was not understood. Food security interventions in remote communities need to take into consideration issues such as freight costs, transport and low demand for nutritious foods. Store managers provide important local knowledge regarding the development and implementation of food security interventions. SO WHAT? Agencies acting to address the issue of food insecurity in remote WA Indigenous communities should heed the advice of community store managers that high food prices, poor quality and limited availability are mainly due to transport inefficiencies and freight costs. Improving healthy food affordability in communities where high unemployment and low household income abound is fundamental to improving food security, yet presents a significant challenge.

Assessing Caribbean Shallow and Mesophotic Reef Fish Communities Using Baited-Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and Diver-Operated Video (DOV) Survey Techniques.

PubMed

Andradi-Brown, Dominic A; Macaya-Solis, Consuelo; Exton, Dan A; Gress, Erika; Wright, Georgina; Rogers, Alex D

2016-01-01

Fish surveys form the backbone of reef monitoring and management initiatives throughout the tropics, and understanding patterns in biases between techniques is crucial if outputs are to address key objectives optimally. Often biases are not consistent across natural environmental gradients such as depth, leading to uncertainty in interpretation of results. Recently there has been much interest in mesophotic reefs (reefs from 30-150 m depth) as refuge habitats from fishing pressure, leading to many comparisons of reef fish communities over depth gradients. Here we compare fish communities using stereo-video footage recorded via baited remote underwater video (BRUV) and diver-operated video (DOV) systems on shallow and mesophotic reefs in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean. We show inconsistent responses across families, species and trophic groups between methods across the depth gradient. Fish species and family richness were higher using BRUV at both depth ranges, suggesting that BRUV is more appropriate for recording all components of the fish community. Fish length distributions were not different between methods on shallow reefs, yet BRUV recorded more small fish on mesophotic reefs. However, DOV consistently recorded greater relative fish community biomass of herbivores, suggesting that studies focusing on herbivores should consider using DOV. Our results highlight the importance of considering what component of reef fish community researchers and managers are most interested in surveying when deciding which survey technique to use across natural gradients such as depth.

Assessing Caribbean Shallow and Mesophotic Reef Fish Communities Using Baited-Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and Diver-Operated Video (DOV) Survey Techniques

PubMed Central

Macaya-Solis, Consuelo; Exton, Dan A.; Gress, Erika; Wright, Georgina; Rogers, Alex D.

2016-01-01

Fish surveys form the backbone of reef monitoring and management initiatives throughout the tropics, and understanding patterns in biases between techniques is crucial if outputs are to address key objectives optimally. Often biases are not consistent across natural environmental gradients such as depth, leading to uncertainty in interpretation of results. Recently there has been much interest in mesophotic reefs (reefs from 30–150 m depth) as refuge habitats from fishing pressure, leading to many comparisons of reef fish communities over depth gradients. Here we compare fish communities using stereo-video footage recorded via baited remote underwater video (BRUV) and diver-operated video (DOV) systems on shallow and mesophotic reefs in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Caribbean. We show inconsistent responses across families, species and trophic groups between methods across the depth gradient. Fish species and family richness were higher using BRUV at both depth ranges, suggesting that BRUV is more appropriate for recording all components of the fish community. Fish length distributions were not different between methods on shallow reefs, yet BRUV recorded more small fish on mesophotic reefs. However, DOV consistently recorded greater relative fish community biomass of herbivores, suggesting that studies focusing on herbivores should consider using DOV. Our results highlight the importance of considering what component of reef fish community researchers and managers are most interested in surveying when deciding which survey technique to use across natural gradients such as depth. PMID:27959907

Description of photovoltaic village power systems in the United States and Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ratajczak, A. F.; Bifano, W. J.

1979-01-01

Photovoltaic power systems in remote villages in the United States and Africa are described. These projects were undertaken to demonstrate that existing photovoltaic system technology is capable of providing electrical power for basic domestic services for the millions of small, remote communities in both developed and developing countries. One system is located in the Papago Indian Village of Schuchuli in southwest Arizona (U. S.) and became operational 16 December 1978. The other system is located in Tangaye, a rural village in Upper Volta, Africa. It became operational 1 March 1979. The Schuchuli system has a 3.5 kW (peak) solar array which provides electric power for village water pumping, a refrigerator for each family, lights in the village buildings, and a community washing machine and sewing machine. The 1.8 kW (peak) Tangaye system provides power for community water pumping, flour milling and lights in the milling building. These are both stand-alone systems (i.e., no back-up power source) which are being operated and maintained by local personnel. Both systems are instrumented. Systems operations are being monitored by NASA to measure design adequacy and to refine designs for future systems.

OzBot and haptics: remote surveillance to physical presence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullins, James; Fielding, Mick; Nahavandi, Saeid

2009-05-01

This paper reports on robotic and haptic technologies and capabilities developed for the law enforcement and defence community within Australia by the Centre for Intelligent Systems Research (CISR). The OzBot series of small and medium surveillance robots have been designed in Australia and evaluated by law enforcement and defence personnel to determine suitability and ruggedness in a variety of environments. Using custom developed digital electronics and featuring expandable data busses including RS485, I2C, RS232, video and Ethernet, the robots can be directly connected to many off the shelf payloads such as gas sensors, x-ray sources and camera systems including thermal and night vision. Differentiating the OzBot platform from its peers is its ability to be integrated directly with haptic technology or the 'haptic bubble' developed by CISR. Haptic interfaces allow an operator to physically 'feel' remote environments through position-force control and experience realistic force feedback. By adding the capability to remotely grasp an object, feel its weight, texture and other physical properties in real-time from the remote ground control unit, an operator's situational awareness is greatly improved through Haptic augmentation in an environment where remote-system feedback is often limited.

'You can drop dead': midwives bullying women.

PubMed

Dietsch, Elaine; Shackleton, Pamela; Davies, Carmel; McLeod, Margaret; Alston, Margaret

2010-06-01

This paper describes how women experienced what came to be labelled as 'bullying' by a small number of midwives when they were evacuated from their rural and remote areas of NSW, Australia to a maternity unit to birth. What is the experience of women who are required to travel away from their NSW rural/remote communities to birth? Forty-two participants together with a number of their partners/support people were interviewed in depth for this qualitative, exploratory study. Upon thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews, an unexpected finding was that four participants (plus one partner) described experiences which were interpreted as bullying, by a small number of midwives working with them. Women identifying as Aboriginal were especially likely to share stories of midwifery bullying. Emotional and cultural safety of women must be a prime consideration of midwives. Strategies to reverse power differentials between midwives and women are urgently required to eradicate bullying by any midwife. 2009. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children at Risk and Community Response. Notes, Comments... No. 187 = L'action des populations locales face au probleme de l'enfance en danger.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Oudenhoven, Nico

Begun in 1978 by a small group of Colombians who were affiliated with a private organization and who were interested in children's upbringing, education, and development, the Promesa Project began by organizing discussion groups among about 20 mothers and their children between 3 and 7 years of age in four remote villages on the shores of the…

The development of a culturally appropriate school based intervention for Australian Aboriginal children living in remote communities: A formative evaluation of the Alert Program® intervention.

PubMed

Wagner, Bree; Fitzpatrick, James; Symons, Martyn; Jirikowic, Tracy; Cross, Donna; Latimer, Jane

2017-06-01

Although previous research has demonstrated the benefits of targeting self-regulation in non-Aboriginal children, it is unclear whether such programs would be effective for Aboriginal children attending school in remote communities. Some of these children have been diagnosed with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) impairing their ability to self-regulate. The aim of this article is to describe a three phase formative process to develop and pilot a curriculum version of the Alert Program ® , a promising intervention for improving self-regulation that could be used in remote community schools. This modified version of the program will be subsequently tested in a cluster randomised controlled trial. A mixed methods approach was used. Modifications to the Alert Program ® , its delivery and evaluation were made after community and stakeholder consultation facilitated by a senior Aboriginal community researcher. Changes to lesson plans and program resources were made to reflect the remote community context, classroom environment and the challenging behaviours of children. Standardised study outcome measures were modified by removing several questions that had little relevance to the lives of children in remote communities. Program training for school staff was reduced in length to reduce staff burden. This study identified aspects of the Alert Program ® training, delivery and measures for evaluation that need modification before their use in assessing the efficacy of the Alert Program ® in remote Aboriginal community primary schools. © 2016 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Oral health care in remote Kimberley Aboriginal communities: the characteristics and perceptions of dental volunteers.

PubMed

Patel, J; Hearn, L; Slack-Smith, L M

2015-09-01

Aboriginal Australians face significant disparities in oral health and this is particularly the case in remote communities where access to dental services can be difficult. Using volunteers to provide dental care in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia is a novel approach. This study comprised an anonymous online survey of volunteers working with the Kimberley Dental Team (KDT). The survey had a response fraction of 66% and explored volunteer demographic characteristics, factors that motivated their involvement, perceptions of oral health among Aboriginal communities, and barriers and enablers to oral health in remote Aboriginal communities. Volunteers were more likely to be female, middle-aged and engaged in full-time employment. The two most common reasons reported for volunteering were to assist the community and visit the Kimberley region. Education and access to reliable, culturally appropriate care were perceived as enablers to good oral health for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley while limited access to services, poor nutrition and lack of government support were cited as barriers. Volunteers providing dental services to remote areas in Western Australia had a diverse demographic profile. However, they share similar motivating factors and views on the current barriers and enablers to good oral health in remote Aboriginal communities. © 2015 Australian Dental Association.

Community-based clinical education increases motivation of medical students to medicine of remote area: comparison between lecture and practice.

PubMed

Tani, Kenji; Yamaguchi, Harutaka; Tada, Saaya; Kondo, Saki; Tabata, Ryo; Yuasa, Shino; Kawaminami, Shingo; Nakanishi, Yoshinori; Ito, Jun; Shimizu, Nobuhiko; Obata, Fumiaki; Shin, Teruki; Bando, Hiroyasu; Kohno, Mitsuhiro

2014-01-01

In this study, we administered a questionnaire to medical students to evaluate the effect of community-based clinical education on their attitudes to community medicine and medicine in remote area. Questionnaires were given 4 times to all the students from first-year to sixth-year. Of 95 students, 65 students (68.4%) who completed all questionnaires, were used in this study. The intensity of students' attitudes was estimated by using visual analogue scale. The intensity of interest, a sense of fulfillment and passion in medicine of remote area was significantly increased after the community-based practice. On the other hand, the level of understanding in medicine in remote area was increased by the lecture not by the practice. The intensity of desire both to become a generalist and a specialist was significantly increased when the grade went up. Most of sixth-year students desired to have abilities of a generalist and a specialist simultaneously. This study shows that the community-based practice is more meaningful in increasing motivation in medicine in remote area than the lecture, and suggests that it is important to prepare more courses to experience community medicine to increase the number of physicians who desire to work in remote area.

Learning Preferences and Impacts of Education Programs in Dog Health Programs in Five Rural and Remote Australian Indigenous Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Constable, Sophie; Dixon, Roselyn; Dixon, Robert

2011-01-01

As part of strategies to improve dog and community health in rural and remote Indigenous communities, this study investigated preferences and impacts of dog health education programs. Semistructured interviews with 63 residents from five communities explored learning preferences. Though each community differed, on average yarning was preferred by…

A case study of physical and social barriers to hygiene and child growth in remote Australian Aboriginal communities

PubMed Central

McDonald, Elizabeth; Bailie, Ross; Grace, Jocelyn; Brewster, David

2009-01-01

Background Despite Australia's wealth, poor growth is common among Aboriginal children living in remote communities. An important underlying factor for poor growth is the unhygienic state of the living environment in these communities. This study explores the physical and social barriers to achieving safe levels of hygiene for these children. Methods A mixed qualitative and quantitative approach included a community level cross-sectional housing infrastructure survey, focus groups, case studies and key informant interviews in one community. Results We found that a combination of crowding, non-functioning essential housing infrastructure and poor standards of personal and domestic hygiene underlie the high burden of infection experienced by children in this remote community. Conclusion There is a need to address policy and the management of infrastructure, as well as key parenting and childcare practices that allow the high burden of infection among children to persist. The common characteristics of many remote Aboriginal communities in Australia suggest that these findings may be more widely applicable. PMID:19761623

solar thermal power systems advanced solar thermal technology project, advanced subsystems development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The preliminary design for a prototype small (20 kWe) solar thermal electric generating unit was completed, consisting of several subsystems. The concentrator and the receiver collect solar energy and a thermal buffer storage with a transport system is used to provide a partially smoothed heat input to the Stirling engine. A fossil-fuel combustor is included in the receiver designs to permit operation with partial or no solar insolation (hybrid). The engine converts the heat input into mechanical action that powers a generator. To obtain electric power on a large scale, multiple solar modules will be required to operate in parallel. The small solar electric power plant used as a baseline design will provide electricity at remote sites and small communities.

Culture, context and therapeutic processes: delivering a parent-child intervention in a remote Aboriginal community.

PubMed

Mares, Sarah; Robinson, Gary

2012-04-01

Little is written about the process of delivering mainstream, evidence-based therapeutic interventions for Aboriginal children and families in remote communities. Patterns of interaction between parents and children and expectations about parenting and professional roles and responsibilities vary across cultural contexts. This can be a challenging experience for professionals accustomed to work in urban settings. Language is only a part of cultural difference, and the outsider in a therapeutic group in an Aboriginal community is outside not only in language but also in access to community relationships and a place within those relationships. This paper uses examples from Let's Start, a therapeutic parent-child intervention to describe the impact of distance, culture and relationships in a remote Aboriginal community, on the therapeutic framework, group processes and relationships. Cultural and contextual factors influence communication, relationships and group processes in a therapeutic group program for children and parents in a remote Aboriginal community. Group leaders from within and from outside the community, are likely to have complementary skills. Cultural and contextual factors influence communication, relationships and group processes in a therapeutic group program for children and parents in a remote Aboriginal community. Group leaders from within and from outside the community, are likely to have complementary skills. Program adaptation, evaluation and staff training and support need to take these factors into account to ensure cultural accessibility without loss of therapeutic fidelity and efficacy.

Designing for Learning Engagement in Remote Communities: Narratives from North of Sixty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doering, Aaron; Henrickson, Jeni

2014-01-01

There are multiple challenges to designing learning experiences for schools in remote communities, including technology and infrastructure limitations, high teacher and administrator turnover, and conflicting interests between local culture and school curricula. In this paper, we offer a brief history of educational initiatives in remote Arctic…

Place integration through efforts to support healthy aging in resource frontier communities: the role of voluntary sector leadership.

PubMed

Hanlon, Neil; Skinner, Mark W; Joseph, Alun E; Ryser, Laura; Halseth, Greg

2014-09-01

Resource-dependent communities in hinterland regions of Australia, Canada and elsewhere are rapidly aging, yet many features that distinguish them (e.g., geographic remoteness, small populations, infrastructure built with younger persons in mind) also pose significant challenges for healthy aging. These challenges can lead to substantial gaps in access to formal health and social services, with negative implications for older residents aging-in-place and the development aspirations of resource frontier communities. In this paper, we explore the efforts of voluntary sector leaders to transform resource communities into more livable and supportive places for older adults. We offer a case study of two small towns in Canada׳s aging resource frontier; one forestry-dependent and the other dependent on coal mining. Our findings suggest that place integration develops through volunteer work and explains how voluntarism works as both a process and outcome of 'placemaking'. We argue that greater attention to place integration is needed to bring into focus the transformative potential of the voluntary sector in creating supportive and sustainable environments for healthy aging. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of water fluoridation in caries reduction in a remote Indigenous community in Far North Queensland.

PubMed

Johnson, N W; Lalloo, R; Kroon, J; Fernando, S; Tut, O

2014-09-01

Children in remote Indigenous communities in Australia have levels of dental caries much greater than the national average. One such, the Northern Peninsula Area of Far North Queensland (NPA), had an oral health survey conducted in 2004, shortly before the introduction of fluoridated, reticular water. Children were again surveyed in 2012, following five years exposure. An oral examination was conducted on all consenting children enrolled in schools across the community, using WHO Basic Oral Health Survey methodology. Few teeth had restorations in both surveys. Age-weighted overall caries prevalence and severity declined from 2005 to 2012 by 37.3%. The effect was most marked in younger children, dmft decreasing by approximately 50% for ages 4-9 years; at age 6, mean decayed score decreased from 5.20 to 3.43. DMFT levels also decreased by almost half in 6-9 year olds. However, significant unmet treatment needs exist at all ages. There has been considerable improvement in child dental health in the NPA over the past 6-7 years. In light of continued poor diet and oral hygiene, water fluoridation is the most likely explanation. The cost-effectiveness for this small community remains an issue which, in the current climate of political antagonism to water fluoridation in many quarters, requires continued study. © 2014 Australian Dental Association.

'Gotta be sit down and worked out together': views of Aboriginal caregivers and service providers on ways to improve dementia care for Aboriginal Australians.

PubMed

Smith, Kate; Flicker, Leon; Shadforth, Geraldine; Carroll, Emily; Ralph, Naomi; Atkinson, David; Lindeman, Melissa; Schaper, Frank; Lautenschlager, Nicola T; LoGiudice, Dina

2011-01-01

Dementia is five-fold more prevalent among Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal Australians. Despite this, the quality of care available to people living with dementia in remote Aboriginal communities is poor. The objective of this study was to determine ways to overcome factors affecting the successful delivery of services to Aboriginal people with dementia living in remote communities, and to their families and communities. This qualitative research took place in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Data collection occurred in three stages: (1) interviews with service providers to identify the services available; (2) interviews with the caregivers of Aboriginal people living with dementia and community-based care workers; and (3) focus groups with community representatives and community care staff. Each stage was concluded when no new themes emerged. At each stage the transcribed information was analysed and joint interpretation identified common themes. In total, 42 service providers, 31 caregivers and community-based care workers were interviewed and 3 focus groups were conducted. Obstacles to accessing quality care were mentioned and recommendations on ways to improve care were made. The key themes that emerged were caregiver role, perspectives of dementia, community and culturally-appropriate care, workforce, education and training, issues affecting remote communities and service issues. Detailed information on how each theme affects the successful delivery of dementia care is provided. These research findings indicate that people living with dementia and their caregivers in remote Aboriginal communities are struggling to cope. They are requesting and require better community care. Implementing a culturally safe model of dementia care for remote Aboriginal communities that encompasses the recommendations made and builds on the strengths of the communities could potentially deliver the required improvements to dementia care for this population.

The Role of Community Development Employment Projects in Rural and Remote Communities. Support Document

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Misko, Josie

2006-01-01

This document was produced by the author(s) based on their research for the report, "The Role of Community Development Employment Projects in Rural and Remote Communities," (ED495158) and is an added resource for further information. The contents of this support docment include: (1) Regional Council--Roma; (2) Regional Council--Tennant…

Mobile devices for community-based REDD+ monitoring: a case study for Central Vietnam.

PubMed

Pratihast, Arun Kumar; Herold, Martin; Avitabile, Valerio; de Bruin, Sytze; Bartholomeus, Harm; Souza, Carlos M; Ribbe, Lars

2012-12-20

Monitoring tropical deforestation and forest degradation is one of the central elements for the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) scheme. Current arrangements for monitoring are based on remote sensing and field measurements. Since monitoring is the periodic process of assessing forest stands properties with respect to reference data, adopting the current REDD+ requirements for implementing monitoring at national levels is a challenging task. Recently, the advancement in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and mobile devices has enabled local communities to monitor their forest in a basic resource setting such as no or slow internet connection link, limited power supply, etc. Despite the potential, the use of mobile device system for community based monitoring (CBM) is still exceptional and faces implementation challenges. This paper presents an integrated data collection system based on mobile devices that streamlines the community-based forest monitoring data collection, transmission and visualization process. This paper also assesses the accuracy and reliability of CBM data and proposes a way to fit them into national REDD+ Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) scheme. The system performance is evaluated at Tra Bui commune, Quang Nam province, Central Vietnam, where forest carbon and change activities were tracked. The results show that the local community is able to provide data with accuracy comparable to expert measurements (index of agreement greater than 0.88), but against lower costs. Furthermore, the results confirm that communities are more effective to monitor small scale forest degradation due to subsistence fuel wood collection and selective logging, than high resolution remote sensing SPOT imagery.

Mobile Devices for Community-Based REDD+ Monitoring: A Case Study for Central Vietnam

PubMed Central

Pratihast, Arun Kumar; Herold, Martin; Avitabile, Valerio; de Bruin, Sytze; Bartholomeus, Harm; Souza, Carlos M.; Ribbe, Lars

2013-01-01

Monitoring tropical deforestation and forest degradation is one of the central elements for the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) scheme. Current arrangements for monitoring are based on remote sensing and field measurements. Since monitoring is the periodic process of assessing forest stands properties with respect to reference data, adopting the current REDD+ requirements for implementing monitoring at national levels is a challenging task. Recently, the advancement in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and mobile devices has enabled local communities to monitor their forest in a basic resource setting such as no or slow internet connection link, limited power supply, etc. Despite the potential, the use of mobile device system for community based monitoring (CBM) is still exceptional and faces implementation challenges. This paper presents an integrated data collection system based on mobile devices that streamlines the community-based forest monitoring data collection, transmission and visualization process. This paper also assesses the accuracy and reliability of CBM data and proposes a way to fit them into national REDD+ Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) scheme. The system performance is evaluated at Tra Bui commune, Quang Nam province, Central Vietnam, where forest carbon and change activities were tracked. The results show that the local community is able to provide data with accuracy comparable to expert measurements (index of agreement greater than 0.88), but against lower costs. Furthermore, the results confirm that communities are more effective to monitor small scale forest degradation due to subsistence fuel wood collection and selective logging, than high resolution remote sensing SPOT imagery. PMID:23344371

A remote sensing applications update: Results of interviews with Earth Observations Commercialization Program (EOCAP) participants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcvey, Sally

1991-01-01

Earth remote sensing is a uniquely valuable tool for large-scale resource management, a task whose importance will likely increase world-wide through the foreseeable future. NASA research and engineering have virtually created the existing U.S. system, and will continue to push the frontiers, primarily through Earth Observing System (EOS) instruments, research, and data and information systems. It is the researchers' view that the near-term health of remote sensing applications also deserves attention; it seems important not to abandon the system or its clients. The researchers suggest that, like its Landsat predecessor, a successful Earth Observing System program is likely to reinforce pressure to 'manage' natural resources, and consequently, to create more pressure for Earth Observations Commercialization (EOCAP) type applications. The current applications programs, though small, are valuable because of their technical and commercial results, and also because they support a community whose contributions will increase along with our ability to observe the Earth from space.

Health care for all: effective, community supported, healthcare with innovative use of telemedicine technology.

PubMed

Shah, Tariq Kazim; Tariq, Tasneem; Phillips, Roger; Davison, Steve; Hoare, Adam; Hasan, Syed Shahzad; Babar, Zaheer-Ud-Din

2018-01-01

Almost half of the world's total population reside in rural and remote areas and a large number of these people remain deprived of most basic facilities like healthcare and education. It is deemed impossible for government with scarce resources in developing countries to open and run a health facility in every remote community using conventional means. One increasingly popular unconventional mean is the use of existing technology to improve exchange of medical information for the purpose of improving health of underprivileged communities. Telemedicine implies the use of information and communication technology to provide health care remotely from a distance. With the induction of telemedicine, patients who live in rural and remote areas can have increased access to medical services. In many developing countries, use of telemedicine however has been limited mainly to teleconferencing between primary and secondary/tertiary care facilities for diagnosis and management of patients. This system still requires patients from remote communities to travel, often long and arduous journeys to the centre where telecom and medical facilities are available. Health Care 4 All International, a not for profit registered charity is providing primary care to patients by taking telemedicine into their homes in remote communities, thus obviating the need and hardships of travel for patient.

Measuring grassland structure for recovery of grassland species at risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xulin; Gao, Wei; Wilmshurst, John

2005-09-01

An action plan for recovering species at risk (SAR) depends on an understanding of the plant community distribution, vegetation structure, quality of the food source and the impact of environmental factors such as climate change at large scale and disturbance at small scale, as these are fundamental factors for SAR habitat. Therefore, it is essential to advance our knowledge of understanding the SAR habitat distribution, habitat quality and dynamics, as well as developing an effective tool for measuring and monitoring SAR habitat changes. Using the advantages of non-destructive, low cost, and high efficient land surface vegetation biophysical parameter characterization, remote sensing is a potential tool for helping SAR recovery action. The main objective of this paper is to assess the most suitable techniques for using hyperspectral remote sensing to quantify grassland biophysical characteristics. The challenge of applying remote sensing in semi-arid and arid regions exists simply due to the lower biomass vegetation and high soil exposure. In conservation grasslands, this problem is enhanced because of the presence of senescent vegetation. Results from this study demonstrated that hyperspectral remote sensing could be the solution for semi-arid grassland remote sensing applications. Narrow band raw data and derived spectral vegetation indices showed stronger relationships with biophysical variables compared to the simulated broad band vegetation indices.

Are We Making Education Count in Remote Australian Communities or Just Counting Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guenther, John

2013-01-01

For quite some time the achievements of students in remote Australian schools have been lamented. There is not necessarily anything new about the relative difference between the results of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote communities and their counterparts in urban, regional and rural schools across Australia. However, in…

Toward Linking Aboveground Vegetation Properties and Soil Microbial Communities Using Remote Sensing

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

Hamada, Yuki; Gilbert, Jack A.; Larsen, Peter E.

2014-04-01

Despite their vital role in terrestrial ecosystem function, the distributions and dynamics of soil microbial communities (SMCs) are poorly understood. Vegetation and soil properties are the primary factors that influence SMCs. This paper discusses the potential effectiveness of remote sensing science and technologies for mapping SMC biogeography by characterizing surface biophysical properties (e.g., plant traits and community composition) strongly correlated with SMCs. Using remotely sensed biophysical properties to predict SMC distributions is extremely challenging because of the intricate interactions between biotic and abiotic factors and between above- and belowground ecosystems. However, the integration of biophysical and soil remote sensing withmore » geospatial information about the e nvironment holds great promise for mapping SMC biogeography. Additional research needs invol ve microbial taxonomic definition, soil environmental complexity, and scaling strategies. The collaborative effort of experts from diverse disciplines is essential to linking terrestrial surface biosphere observations with subsurface microbial community distributions using remote sensing.« less

Toward Linking Aboveground Vegetation Properties and Soil Microbial Communities Using Remote Sensing

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

Hamada, Yuki; Gilbert, Jack A.; Larsen, Peter E.

2014-04-01

Despite their vital role in terrestrial ecosystem function, the distributions and dynamics of soil microbial communities (SMCs) are poorly understood. Vegetation and soil properties are the primary factors that influence SMCs. This paper discusses the potential effectiveness of remote sensing science and technologies for mapping SMC biogeography by characterizing surface biophysical properties (e.g., plant traits and community composition) strongly correlated with SMCs. Using remotely sensed biophysical properties to predict SMC distributions is extremely challenging because of the intricate interactions between biotic and abiotic factors and between above- and below-ground ecosystems. However, the integration of biophysical and soil remote sensing withmore » geospatial information about the environment holds great promise for mapping SMC biogeography. Additional research needs involve microbial taxonomic definition, soil environmental complexity, and scaling strategies. The collaborative effort of experts from diverse disciplines is essential to linking terrestrial surface biosphere observations with subsurface microbial community distributions using remote sensing.« less

Are hygiene and public health interventions likely to improve outcomes for Australian Aboriginal children living in remote communities? A systematic review of the literature

PubMed Central

McDonald, Elizabeth; Bailie, Ross; Brewster, David; Morris, Peter

2008-01-01

Background Australian Aboriginal children living in remote communities still experience a high burden of common infectious diseases which are generally attributed to poor hygiene and unsanitary living conditions. The objective of this systematic literature review was to examine the epidemiological evidence for a relationship between various hygiene and public health intervention strategies, separately or in combination, and the occurrence of common preventable childhood infectious diseases. The purpose was to determine what intervention/s might most effectively reduce the incidence of skin, diarrhoeal and infectious diseases experienced by children living in remote Indigenous communities. Methods Studies were identified through systematically searching electronic databases and hand searching. Study types were restricted to those included in Cochrane Collaboration Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Review Group (EPOC) guidelines and reviewers assessed the quality of studies and extracted data using the same guidelines. The types of participants eligible were Indigenous populations and populations of developing countries. The types of intervention eligible for inclusion were restricted to those likely to prevent conditions caused by poor personal hygiene and poor living environments. Results The evidence showed that there is clear and strong evidence of effect of education and handwashing with soap in preventing diarrhoeal disease among children (consistent effect in four studies). In the largest well-designed study, children living in households that received plain soap and encouragement to wash their hands had a 53% lower incidence of diarrhoea (95% CI, 0.35, 0.59). There is some evidence of an effect of education and other hygiene behaviour change interventions (six studies), as well as the provision of water supply, sanitation and hygiene education (two studies) on reducing rates of diarrhoeal disease. The size of these effects is small and the quality of the studies generally poor. Conclusion Research which measures the effectiveness of hygiene interventions is complex and difficult to implement. Multifaceted interventions (which target handwashing with soap and include water, sanitation and hygiene promotion) are likely to provide the greatest opportunity to improve child health outcomes in remote Indigenous communities. PMID:18462504

Are hygiene and public health interventions likely to improve outcomes for Australian Aboriginal children living in remote communities? A systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

McDonald, Elizabeth; Bailie, Ross; Brewster, David; Morris, Peter

2008-05-08

Australian Aboriginal children living in remote communities still experience a high burden of common infectious diseases which are generally attributed to poor hygiene and unsanitary living conditions. The objective of this systematic literature review was to examine the epidemiological evidence for a relationship between various hygiene and public health intervention strategies, separately or in combination, and the occurrence of common preventable childhood infectious diseases. The purpose was to determine what intervention/s might most effectively reduce the incidence of skin, diarrhoeal and infectious diseases experienced by children living in remote Indigenous communities. Studies were identified through systematically searching electronic databases and hand searching. Study types were restricted to those included in Cochrane Collaboration Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Review Group (EPOC) guidelines and reviewers assessed the quality of studies and extracted data using the same guidelines. The types of participants eligible were Indigenous populations and populations of developing countries. The types of intervention eligible for inclusion were restricted to those likely to prevent conditions caused by poor personal hygiene and poor living environments. The evidence showed that there is clear and strong evidence of effect of education and handwashing with soap in preventing diarrhoeal disease among children (consistent effect in four studies). In the largest well-designed study, children living in households that received plain soap and encouragement to wash their hands had a 53% lower incidence of diarrhoea (95% CI, 0.35, 0.59). There is some evidence of an effect of education and other hygiene behaviour change interventions (six studies), as well as the provision of water supply, sanitation and hygiene education (two studies) on reducing rates of diarrhoeal disease. The size of these effects is small and the quality of the studies generally poor. Research which measures the effectiveness of hygiene interventions is complex and difficult to implement. Multifaceted interventions (which target handwashing with soap and include water, sanitation and hygiene promotion) are likely to provide the greatest opportunity to improve child health outcomes in remote Indigenous communities.

Quantifying biological integrity of California sage scrub communities using plant life-form cover.

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

Hamada, Y.; Stow, D. A.; Franklin, J.

2010-01-01

The California sage scrub (CSS) community type in California's Mediterranean-type ecosystems supports a large number of rare, threatened, and endangered species, and is critically degraded and endangered. Monitoring ecological variables that provide information about community integrity is vital to conserving these biologically diverse communities. Fractional cover of true shrub, subshrub, herbaceous vegetation, and bare ground should fill information gaps between generalized vegetation type maps and detailed field-based plot measurements of species composition and provide an effective means for quantifying CSS community integrity. Remote sensing is the only tool available for estimating spatially comprehensive fractional cover over large extent, and fractionalmore » cover of plant life-form types is one of the measures of vegetation state that is most amenable to remote sensing. The use of remote sensing does not eliminate the need for either field surveying or vegetation type mapping; rather it will likely require a combination of approaches to reliably estimate life-form cover and to provide comprehensive information for communities. According to our review and synthesis, life-form fractional cover has strong potential for providing ecologically meaningful intermediate-scale information, which is unattainable from vegetation type maps and species-level field measurements. Thus, we strongly recommend incorporating fractional cover of true shrub, subshrub, herb, and bare ground in CSS community monitoring methods. Estimating life-form cover at a 25 m x 25 m spatial scale using remote sensing would be an appropriate approach for initial implementation. Investigation of remote sensing techniques and an appropriate spatial scale; collaboration of resource managers, biologists, and remote sensing specialists, and refinement of protocols are essential for integrating life-form fractional cover mapping into strategies for sustainable long-term CSS community management.« less

Media literacy and remote community development in Eastern Indonesia Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aras, M.

2018-03-01

This study focused on media literacy phenomenon and educational development of remote communities in the eastern Indonesia region. Therefore, this study used the qualitative approach. The research was done by using direct observation and depth-interview. The research results showed that (1) the media literacy phenomenon of remote community in eastern Indonesia region was apprehensive. This was due to lack of access to information or media exposure through print media, electronic media, and social media. Therefore, the implication was the education awareness of the local community. The media literacy community has a strong relation with public awareness in improving education, and (2) the role of media in the development as facilitators or means of socialization to convey messages related to sustainable development programs in Indonesia. The current media phenomenon had become a necessity, without the exception of the remote communities. The development of an area was also characterized by the increasing education of its citizen and media became one of supporting factors that can motivate the citizen in gaining knowledge. It meant that media literacy community has strong relationships with people awareness in increasing their education. The more media literate, the more people have an awareness of self-development and their region development. Therefore, in the future, there will be no more remote areas because the media network has reached all areas.

The applied technologies to access clean water for remote communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabindra, I. B.

2018-01-01

A lot of research is done to overcome the remote communities to access clean water, yet very little is utilized and implemented by the community. Various reasons can probably be made for, which is the application of research results is assessed less practical. The aims of this paper is seeking a practical approach, how to establish criteria for the design can be easier applied, at the proper locations, the simple construction, effectively producing a volume and quality of clean water designation. The methods used in this paper is a technological model assessment of treatment/filtering clean water produced a variety of previous research, to establish a model of appropriate technology for remote communities. Various research results collected from the study of literature, while the identification of opportunities and threats to its application is done using a SWOT analysis. This article discussion is looking for alternative models of clean water filtration technology from the previous research results, to be selected as appropriate technology, easily applied and bring of many benefits to the remote communities. The conclusions resulting from the discussion in this paper, expected to be used as the basic criteria of design model of clean water filtration technologies that can be accepted and applied effectively by the remote communities.

Novel fine-scale aerial mapping approach quantifies grassland weed cover dynamics and response to management.

PubMed

Malmstrom, Carolyn M; Butterfield, H Scott; Planck, Laura; Long, Christopher W; Eviner, Valerie T

2017-01-01

Invasive weeds threaten the biodiversity and forage productivity of grasslands worldwide. However, management of these weeds is constrained by the practical difficulty of detecting small-scale infestations across large landscapes and by limits in understanding of landscape-scale invasion dynamics, including mechanisms that enable patches to expand, contract, or remain stable. While high-end hyperspectral remote sensing systems can effectively map vegetation cover, these systems are currently too costly and limited in availability for most land managers. We demonstrate application of a more accessible and cost-effective remote sensing approach, based on simple aerial imagery, for quantifying weed cover dynamics over time. In California annual grasslands, the target communities of interest include invasive weedy grasses (Aegilops triuncialis and Elymus caput-medusae) and desirable forage grass species (primarily Avena spp. and Bromus spp.). Detecting invasion of annual grasses into an annual-dominated community is particularly challenging, but we were able to consistently characterize these two communities based on their phenological differences in peak growth and senescence using maximum likelihood supervised classification of imagery acquired twice per year (in mid- and end-of season). This approach permitted us to map weed-dominated cover at a 1-m scale (correctly detecting 93% of weed patches across the landscape) and to evaluate weed cover change over time. We found that weed cover was more pervasive and persistent in management units that had no significant grazing for several years than in those that were grazed, whereas forage cover was more abundant and stable in the grazed units. This application demonstrates the power of this method for assessing fine-scale vegetation transitions across heterogeneous landscapes. It thus provides means for small-scale early detection of invasive species and for testing fundamental questions about landscape dynamics.

Novel fine-scale aerial mapping approach quantifies grassland weed cover dynamics and response to management

PubMed Central

Butterfield, H. Scott; Planck, Laura; Long, Christopher W.; Eviner, Valerie T.

2017-01-01

Invasive weeds threaten the biodiversity and forage productivity of grasslands worldwide. However, management of these weeds is constrained by the practical difficulty of detecting small-scale infestations across large landscapes and by limits in understanding of landscape-scale invasion dynamics, including mechanisms that enable patches to expand, contract, or remain stable. While high-end hyperspectral remote sensing systems can effectively map vegetation cover, these systems are currently too costly and limited in availability for most land managers. We demonstrate application of a more accessible and cost-effective remote sensing approach, based on simple aerial imagery, for quantifying weed cover dynamics over time. In California annual grasslands, the target communities of interest include invasive weedy grasses (Aegilops triuncialis and Elymus caput-medusae) and desirable forage grass species (primarily Avena spp. and Bromus spp.). Detecting invasion of annual grasses into an annual-dominated community is particularly challenging, but we were able to consistently characterize these two communities based on their phenological differences in peak growth and senescence using maximum likelihood supervised classification of imagery acquired twice per year (in mid- and end-of season). This approach permitted us to map weed-dominated cover at a 1-m scale (correctly detecting 93% of weed patches across the landscape) and to evaluate weed cover change over time. We found that weed cover was more pervasive and persistent in management units that had no significant grazing for several years than in those that were grazed, whereas forage cover was more abundant and stable in the grazed units. This application demonstrates the power of this method for assessing fine-scale vegetation transitions across heterogeneous landscapes. It thus provides means for small-scale early detection of invasive species and for testing fundamental questions about landscape dynamics. PMID:29016604

Satellites for What? Creating User Communities for Space-based Data in France: The Case from LERTS to CESBIO.

PubMed

Cirac-Claveras, Gemma

2018-01-01

This article uses a French case to explore the who, how, and why of satellite remote-sensing development and its transition towards routine utilization in the domain of ecosystems ecology. It discusses the evolution of a community of technology developers promoting remote-sensing capabilities (mostly sponsored by the French space agency). They attempted to legitimate quality scientific practices, establish the authority of satellite remote-sensing data within academic institutions, and build a community of technology users. This article, hence, is intended to contribute to historical interest in how a community of users is constructed for a technological system.

STI in remote communities: improved and enhanced primary health care (STRIVE) study protocol: a cluster randomised controlled trial comparing ‘usual practice’ STI care to enhanced care in remote primary health care services in Australia

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Despite two decades of interventions, rates of sexually transmissible infections (STI) in remote Australian Aboriginal communities remain unacceptably high. Routine notifications data from 2011 indicate rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea among Aboriginal people in remote settings were 8 and 61 times higher respectively than in the non-Indigenous population. Methods/design STRIVE is a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial designed to compare a sexual health quality improvement program (SHQIP) to usual STI clinical care delivered in remote primary health care services. The SHQIP is a multifaceted intervention comprising annual assessments of sexual health service delivery, implementation of a sexual health action plan, six-monthly clinical service activity data reports, regular feedback meetings with a regional coordinator, training and financial incentive payments. The trial clusters comprise either a single community or several communities grouped together based on geographic proximity and cultural ties. The primary outcomes are: prevalence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas in Aboriginal residents aged 16–34 years, and performance in clinical management of STIs based on best practice indicators. STRIVE will be conducted over five years comprising one and a half years of trial initiation and community consultation, three years of trial conditions, and a half year of data analysis. The trial was initiated in 68 remote Aboriginal health services in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Discussion STRIVE is the first cluster randomised trial in STI care in remote Aboriginal health services. The trial will provide evidence to inform future culturally appropriate STI clinical care and control strategies in communities with high STI rates. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610000358044 PMID:24016143

The Development, Validation and Use of the Rural and Remote Teaching, Working, Living and Learning Environment Survey (RRTWLLES)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorman, Jeffrey; Kennedy, Joy; Young, Janelle

2015-01-01

Research in rural and remote schools and communities of Queensland resulted in the development and validation of the Rural and Remote Teaching, Working, Living and Learning Environment Survey (RRTWLLES). Samples of 252 teachers and 191 community members were used to validate the structure of this questionnaire. It was developed within the standard…

Managing Tensions in Statutory Professional Practice: Living and Working in Rural and Remote Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jervis-Tracey, Paula; Chenoweth, Lesley; McAuliffe, Donna; O'Connor, Barry; Stehlik, Daniela

2012-01-01

Delivering essential health, education and human services in rural and remote communities remains a critical problem for Australia. When professionals have mandatory responsibilities (e.g. in child protection, law enforcement, education or mental health), tensions can arise between workers and the communities in which they live. This paper reports…

The comparative cost of food and beverages at remote Indigenous communities, Northern Territory, Australia.

PubMed

Ferguson, Megan; O'Dea, Kerin; Chatfield, Mark; Moodie, Marjory; Altman, Jon; Brimblecombe, Julie

2016-04-01

To determine the average price difference between foods and beverages in remote Indigenous community stores and capital city supermarkets and explore differences across products. A cross-sectional survey compared prices derived from point-of-sale data in 20 remote Northern Territory stores with supermarkets in capital cities of the Northern Territory and South Australia for groceries commonly purchased in remote stores. Average price differences for products, supply categories and food groups were examined. The 443 products examined represented 63% of food and beverage expenditure in remote stores. Remote products were, on average, 60% and 68% more expensive than advertised prices for Darwin and Adelaide supermarkets, respectively. The average price difference for fresh products was half that of packaged groceries for Darwin supermarkets and more than 50% for food groups that contributed most to purchasing. Strategies employed by manufacturers and supermarkets, such as promotional pricing, and supermarkets' generic products lead to lower prices. These opportunities are not equally available to remote customers and are a major driver of price disparity. Food affordability for already disadvantaged residents of remote communities could be improved by policies targeted at manufacturers, wholesalers and/or major supermarket chains. © 2015 The Authors.

State-Of in Uav Remote Sensing Survey - First Insights Into Applications of Uav Sensing Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aasen, H.

2017-08-01

UAVs are increasingly adapted as remote sensing platforms. Together with specialized sensors, they become powerful sensing systems for environmental monitoring and surveying. Spectral data has great capabilities to the gather information about biophysical and biochemical properties. Still, capturing meaningful spectral data in a reproducible way is not trivial. Since a couple of years small and lightweight spectral sensors, which can be carried on small flexible platforms, have become available. With their adaption in the community, the responsibility to ensure the quality of the data is increasingly shifted from specialized companies and agencies to individual researchers or research teams. Due to the complexity of the data acquisition of spectral data, this poses a challenge for the community and standardized protocols, metadata and best practice procedures are needed to make data intercomparable. In November 2016, the ESSEM COST action Innovative optical Tools for proximal sensing of ecophysiological processes (OPTIMISE; http://optimise.dcs.aber.ac.uk/) held a workshop on best practices for UAV spectral sampling. The objective of this meeting was to trace the way from particle to pixel and identify influences on the data quality / reliability, to figure out how well we are currently doing with spectral sampling from UAVs and how we can improve. Additionally, a survey was designed to be distributed within the community to get an overview over the current practices and raise awareness for the topic. This talk will introduce the approach of the OPTIMISE community towards best practises in UAV spectral sampling and present first results of the survey (http://optimise.dcs.aber.ac.uk/uav-survey/). This contribution briefly introduces the survey and gives some insights into the first results given by the interviewees.

Using Remotely Piloted Aircraft System to Study the Evolution of the Boundary Layer Related to Fog Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, G. C.; Cayez, G.; Ronflé-Nadaud, C.; Albrand, M.; Dralet, J. P.; Momboisse, G.; Nicoll, K.; Seity, Y.; Bronz, M.; Hattenberger, G.; Gorraz, M.; Bustico, A.

2014-12-01

Over the past decade, the scientific community has embraced the use of RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft system) as a tool to improve observations of the Earth's surface and atmospheric phenomena. The use of small RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) in atmospheric research has increased because of their relative low-cost, compact size and ease of operation. Small RPAS are especially adapted for observing the atmospheric boundary layer processes at high vertical and temporal resolution. To this end, CNRM, ENAC, and ENM have developed the VOLTIGE (Vecteurs d'Observation de La Troposphere pour l'Investigation et la Gestion de l'Environnement) program to study the life cycle of fog with multiple, small RPAS. The instrumented RPAS flights have successfully observed the evolution of the boundary layer and dissipation of fog events. In addition, vertical profiles from the RPAS have been compared with Météo France forecast models, and the results suggest that forecast models may be improved using high resolution and frequent in-situ measurements. Within the VOLTIGE project, a flying-wing RPAS with four control surfaces was developed to separate elevator and aileron controls in order to reduce the pitch angle envelope and improve turbulence and albedo measurements. The result leads to a small RPAS with the capability of flying up to two hours with 150 grams of payload, while keeping the hand-launch capability as a constraint for regular atmospheric research missions. High frequency data logging has been integrated into the main autopilot in order to synchronize navigation and payload measurements, as well as allowing an efficient sensor-based navigation. The VOLTIGE program also encourages direct participation of students on the advancement of novel observing systems for atmospheric sciences, and provides a step towards deploying small RPAS in an operational network. VOLTIGE is funded by the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR-Blanc 2012) and supported by Aerospace Valley.

An Elder's View of Community Resilience.

PubMed

Gladue, Ruth; Lund, Carrielynn

2008-01-01

This paper is an interview between Carrielynn Lund and Cree Elder Ruth Gladue on research and community resilience in her semi-remote, northern Alberta community. Ruth is a Cree Elder born "during the war years." She is married and has two girls, one boy, and "a few grandchildren." Ruth has worked as a Community Health Representative (CHR) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for over forty years. She lives in a semi-remote First Nations community in northern Alberta.

Implementing an anti-smoking program in rural-remote communities: challenges and strategies.

PubMed

Tall, Julie A; Brew, Bronwyn K; Saurman, Emily; Jones, Therese C

2015-01-01

Rural-remote communities report higher smoking rates and poorer health outcomes than that of metropolitan areas. While anti-smoking programs are an important measure for addressing smoking and improving health, little is known of the challenges faced by primary healthcare staff implementing those programs in the rural-remote setting. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges and strategies of implementing an anti-smoking program by primary healthcare staff in rural-remote Australia. Guided by a phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with health service managers, case managers and general practitioners involved in program implementation in Australian rural-remote communities between 2008 and 2010. Program implementation was reported to be challenged by limited primary and mental healthcare resources and client access to services; limited collaboration between health services; the difficulty of accessing staff training; high levels of community distress and disadvantage; the normalisation of smoking and its deleterious impact on smoking abstinence among program clients; and low morale among health staff. Strategies identified to overcome challenges included appointing tobacco-dedicated staff; improving health service collaboration, access and flexibility; providing subsidised pharmacotherapies and boosting staff morale. Findings may assist health services to better tailor anti-smoking programs for the rural-remote setting, where smoking rates are particularly high. Catering for the unique challenges of the rural-remote setting is necessary if anti-smoking programs are to be efficacious, cost-effective and capable of improving rural-remote health outcomes.

Remote nursing certified practice: viewing nursing and nurse practitioner practice through a social justice lens.

PubMed

Tarlier, Denise S; Browne, Annette J

2011-06-01

Remote Nursing Certified Practice (RNCP) was introduced in 2010 to regulate nursing practice in remote, largely First Nations communities in British Columbia, Canada. These are communities that often experience profound health and health-care inequities. Typically nurses are the main health-care providers. Using a critical social justice lens, the authors explore the clinical and ethical implications of RNCP in terms of access to equitable, high-quality primary health care.They examine the fit between the level and scope of health services provided by registered nurses working under RNCP and the health needs of remote First Nations communities. In doing so, they draw comparisons between nurse practitioners (NPs) and outpost nurses working in NP roles who historically were employed to provide health care in these communities.The authors conclude by calling for nursing regulations that support equitable, high-quality primary care for all British Columbians.

Introduction to Small Telescope Research Communities of Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genet, Russell M.

2016-06-01

Communities of practice are natural, usually informal groups of people who work together. Experienced members teach new members the “ropes.” Social learning theorist Etienne Wenger’s book, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, defined the field. There are, in astronomy, many communities of practice. One set of communities uses relatively small telescopes to observe brighter objects such as eclipsing binaries, intrinsically variable stars, transiting exoplanets, tumbling asteroids, and the occultation of background stars by asteroids and the Moon. Advances in low cost but increasingly powerful instrumentation and automation have greatly increased the research capabilities of smaller telescopes. These often professional-amateur (pro-am) communities engage in research projects that require a large number of observers as exemplified by the American Association of Variable Star Observers. For high school and community college students with an interest in science, joining a student-centered, small telescope community of practice can be both educational and inspirational. An example is the now decade-long Astronomy Research Seminar offered by Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California. Each student team is required to plan a project, obtain observations (either locally or via a remote robotic telescope), analyze their data, write a paper, and submit it for external review and publication. Well over 100 students, composed primarily of high school juniors and seniors, have been coauthors of several dozen published papers. Being published researchers has boosted these students’ educational careers with admissions to choice schools, often with scholarships. This seminar was recently expanded to serve multiple high schools with a volunteer assistant instructor at each school. The students meet regularly with their assistant instructor and also meet online with other teams and the seminar’s overall community college instructor. The seminar features a textbook, self-paced learning units, and a website sponsored by the Institute for Student Astronomical Research.

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

Lindberg, James

The America Saves! Energizing Main Street Small Businesses project engaged the 1,200-member National Main Street Center (NMSC) network of downtown organizations and other local, regional, and national partners to test a methodology for sharing customized energy efficiency information with owners of commercial buildings smaller than 50,000 square feet. Led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab, the project marshalled local staff and volunteers to gather voluntarily-disclosed energy use information from participating businesses. This information was analyzed using a remote auditing tool (validated by the National Renewable Energy Lab) to assess energy savings opportunities and design retrofit strategiesmore » targeting seven building types (food service and sales, attached mixed-use, strip mall, retail, office, lodging, and schools). The original project design contemplated extensive leveraging of the Green Button protocol for sharing annualized utility data at a district scale. Due the lack of adoption of Green Button, the project partners developed customized approaches to data collection in each of twelve pilot communities. The project team encountered considerable challenges in gathering standardized annual utility data from local partners. After overcoming these issues, the data was uploaded to a data storehouse. Over 450 properties were benchmarked and the remote auditing tool was tested using full building profiles and utility records for more than 100 commercial properties in three of the pilot communities. The audit tool demonstrated potential for quickly capturing, analyzing, and communicating energy efficiency opportunities in small commercial buildings. However, the project team found that the unique physical characteristics and use patterns (partial vacancy, periodic intensive uses) of small commercial buildings required more trouble-shooting and data correction than was anticipated. In addition, the project revealed that remote technology alone (such as audits) is not sufficient to convince most owners of commercial buildings or businesses to invest in energy efficiency. Additional, one-on-one personal communication is critical. A combination of technology and well-planned direct contact is likely to produce the highest rate of energy efficiency implementation in the small commercial building market sector. Note that only two of the three planned phases of this project were completed. As a result, research and testing were not fully implemented and thus all results and conclusions from the America Saves! Energizing Main Street Small Businesses project should be considered preliminary. In addition to the National Main Street Center, local organizations, and regional utilities, the America Saves! project partners included the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy Center of Wisconsin (Seventh Wave), Lend Lease, Building Energy, and Energy RM.« less

Transitioning Earth Remote Sensing Data to Benefit Society: A Paradigm for a Center of Excellence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jedlovec, Gary; Bjorgo, Einar; Burn, Anthony

2015-01-01

Over the past decade there has been a substantial increase in the number of Earth remote sensing satellites launched for research and operational usage and numerous others planned by the international community. These satellites have been used to varying degrees by their supporting agencies for weather and environmental monitoring, climate studies, disaster monitoring and response, and other humanitarian activities. While there are success stories on useful applications of remote sensing data, the broader use of these satellite assets by other organizations and entities has been limited for a number of reasons including lack of data services, data dissemination issues, and a general failure to engage the broader end user community with useful data access and knowledge of how to use the data and products. This paper describes some of these current limitations on the broader use of Earth remote sensing data by the international community and describes the concept of a general "Center of Excellence" to facilitate the development, transition, and utilization of these Earth remote sensing observations by the broader international community.

Application of remote sensing to state and regional problems. [for Mississippi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, W. F.; Bouchillon, C. W.; Harris, J. C.; Carter, B.; Whisler, F. D.; Robinette, R.

1974-01-01

The primary purpose of the remote sensing applications program is for various members of the university community to participate in activities that improve the effective communication between the scientific community engaged in remote sensing research and development and the potential users of modern remote sensing technology. Activities of this program are assisting the State of Mississippi in recognizing and solving its environmental, resource and socio-economic problems through inventory, analysis, and monitoring by appropriate remote sensing systems. Objectives, accomplishments, and current status of the following individual projects are reported: (1) bark beetle project; (2) state park location planning; and (3) waste source location and stream channel geometry monitoring.

New space technology advances knowledge of the remote polar regions. [Arctic and Antarctic regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macdonald, W. R.

1974-01-01

The application of ERTS-1 imagery is rapidly increasing man's knowledge of polar regions. Products compiled from this imagery at scales of 1:250,000, 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000 are already providing valuable information to earth scientists working in Antarctica. Significant finds detected by these bench mark products were glaciological changes, advancement in ice fronts, discovery of new geographic features, and the repositioning of nunataks, islands, and ice tongues. Tests conducted in Antarctica have proven the feasibility of tracking Navy navigation satellites to establish ground control for positioning ERTS-1 imagery in remote areas. ERTS imagery coupled with satellite geodesy shows great promise and may prove to be the most practical and cost effective way to meet the small-scale cartographic requirements of the polar science community.

Water insecurity in Canadian Indigenous communities: some inconvenient truths.

PubMed

Sarkar, Atanu; Hanrahan, Maura; Hudson, Amy

2015-01-01

Canada has the second highest per capita water consumption in the world. However, little is known about complex socio-economic and cultural dynamics of water insecurities in Indigenous communities and the multiple health consequences. Most studies have concentrated on a simplified interpretation of accessibility, availability and quality issues, including some common water-borne infections as the only health outcomes. Thus, several government initiatives on potable water supply, particularly for remotely located communities, have failed to sustain and promote a healthy lifestyle. The objective was to explore the water insecurity, coping strategies and associated health risks in a small and isolated sub-Arctic Indigenous (Inuit) community in Canada. The study was based on a community-based survey (2013) in one of the most remote Inuit communities of Labrador. In-depth, open-ended key informant (KI) interviews (community leader (1), woman (1), nurse (1), teacher (1), and elder (1)) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community leaders (5), community members (25), women (5), and high school students (8). Convenience sampling was followed in selection of the subjects for FGDs and approached some KIs. All the water sources (five in April and seven in October) were visited and tested for their physical, chemical and microbiological parameters. The FGDs and KI interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. In the analysis, the data (qualitative and quantitative) were broadly categorized into (a) water sources, access and quality, (b) coping, (c) health risks and (d) challenges to run a public water system. The community did not have any piped water supply. Their regular sources of water consisted of several unmonitored local streams, brooks, and ponds. The public water system was not affordable to the majority of community members who solely depended on government aid. Animal fecal contamination (in natural sources such as streams, brooks, and ponds) and the presence of disinfection by-products (in the public water system) were the major quality issues. Gastro-intestinal infections were the most common disease in the community. Per capita water consumption was less than one-third of the Canadian national average (274 L/day/person), severely compromising personal hygiene and water intake. High-sugar-content beverages were the most common alternative to lack of accessible and affordable potable water, particularly for children. Mental stress due to water insecurity and chronic back and shoulder injuries due to carrying heavy water buckets every day were the commonly encountered adverse health outcomes. Water insecurity has put the community at risk of multiple serious adverse health outcomes. The scenario is not unique in Canada. There are many remote Indigenous communities facing similar kinds of water insecurity.

Practical lessons in remote connectivity.

PubMed Central

Kouroubali, A.; Starren, J.; Barrows, R. C.; Clayton, P. D.

1997-01-01

Community Health Information Networks (CHINs) require the ability to provide computer network connections to many remote sites. During the implementation of the Washington Heights and Inwood Community Health Management Information System (WHICHIS) at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (CPMC), a number of remote connectivity issues have been encountered. Both technical and non-technical issues were significant during the installation. We developed a work-flow model for this process which may be helpful to any health care institution attempting to provide seamless remote connectivity. This model is presented and implementation lessons are discussed. PMID:9357643

Could the bug Triatoma sherlocki be vectoring Chagas disease in small mining communities in Bahia, Brazil?

PubMed

Almeida, C E; Folly-Ramos, E; Peterson, A T; Lima-Neiva, V; Gumiel, M; Duarte, R; Lima, M M; Locks, M; Beltrão, M; Costa, J

2009-12-01

Searches for Chagas disease vectors were performed at the type locality from which Triatoma sherlocki Papa et al. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) was described in the municipality of Gentio do Ouro, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and in a small artisan quarry-mining community approximately 13 km distant in a remote area of the same municipality. The latter site represents a new locality record for this species. Adults, nymphs and exuviae of T. sherlocki were found in 21% of human dwellings, indicating that the species is in the process of domiciliation. Prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in collected bugs was 10.8%. Simple predictive approaches based on environmental similarity were used to identify additional sites likely suitable for this species. The approach successfully predicted an additional five sites for the species in surrounding landscapes. Ecological and entomological indicators were combined to discuss whether this scenario likely represents an isolated case or an emerging public health problem.

An Elder’s View of Community Resilience

PubMed Central

Gladue, Ruth; Lund, Carrielynn

2010-01-01

This paper is an interview between Carrielynn Lund and Cree Elder Ruth Gladue on research and community resilience in her semi-remote, northern Alberta community. Ruth is a Cree Elder born “during the war years.” She is married and has two girls, one boy, and “a few grandchildren.” Ruth has worked as a Community Health Representative (CHR) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for over forty years. She lives in a semi-remote First Nations community in northern Alberta. PMID:20835300

The role of telementoring and telerobotic assistance in the provision of laparoscopic colorectal surgery in rural areas.

PubMed

Sebajang, H; Trudeau, P; Dougall, A; Hegge, S; McKinley, C; Anvari, M

2006-09-01

The aim of this study was to assess whether telementoring and telerobotic assistance would improve the range and quality of laparoscopic colorectal surgery being performed by community surgeons. We present a series of 18 patients who underwent telementored or telerobotically assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery in two community hospitals between December 2002 and December 2003. Four community surgeons with no formal advanced laparoscopic fellowship were remotely mentored and assisted by an expert surgeon from a tertiary care center. Telementoring was achieved with real-time two-way audio-video communications over bandwidths of 384 kbps-1.2 mbps and included one redo ileocolic resection, two right hemicolectomies, two sigmoid resections, three low anterior resections, one subtotal colectomy, one reversal of a Hartmann operation, and one abdominoperineal resection. A Zeus TS microjoint system (Computer Motion Inc, Santa Barbara CA) was used to provide telepresence for the telerobotically assisted laparoscopic procedures, which included three right hemicolectomies, three sigmoid resections, and one low anterior resection. There were no major intraoperative complications. There were two minor intraoperative complications involving serosal tears of the colon from the robotic graspers. In the telementored cases, there were two postoperative complications requiring reoperation (intra-abdominal bleeding and small bowel obstruction). Two telementored procedures were converted because of the mentee's inability to find the appropriate planes of dissection. One telerobotically assisted procedure was completed laparoscopically by the local surgeon with aid of telementoring because of inadequate robotic arm position. The median length of hospital stay for this series was 4 days. The surgeons considered telementoring useful in all cases (median score 4 out of 5). The use of remote telerobotic assistance was also considered a significant enabling tool. Telementoring and remote telerobotic assistance are excellent tools for supporting community surgeons and providing patients better access to advanced surgical care.

Description of photovoltaic village power systems in the United States and Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ratajczak, A. F.; Bifano, W. J.

1979-01-01

The paper describes the designs, hardware, and installations of NASA photovoltaic power systems in the village of Schuchuli in Arizona and Tangaye in Upper Volta, Africa. The projects were designed to demonstrate that current photovoltaic system technology can provide electrical power for domestic services for small, remote communities. The Schuchuli system has a 3.5 kW peak solar array which provides power for water pumping, a refrigerator for each family, lights, and community washing and sewing machines. The 1.8 kW Tangaye system provides power for pumping, flour milling, and lights in the milling building. Both are stand-alone systems operated by local personnel, and they are monitored by NASA to measure design adequacy and refine future designs.

Hyperspectral remote sensing study of harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Yixiang

Recent development of hyperspectral remote sensing provides capability to identify and classify harmful algal blooms beyond the estimation of chlorophyll concentrations. This study uses hyperspectral data to extract spectral signatures, classify algal blooms, and map the spatial distribution of the algal blooms in the upper Chesapeake Bay. Furthermore, water quality parameters from ground stations have been used together with remote sensing data to provide better understanding of the formation and transformation of the life cycle of harmful algal blooms, and the cause of their outbreaks in the upper Chesapeake Bay. The present results show a strong and significant positive correlation between chlorophyll concentrations and total organic nitrogen concentrations. This relation suggests that total organic nitrogen played an important role in triggering the harmful algal blooms in the upper Chesapeake Bay in this study. This study establishes an integrated approach which combines hyperspectral imaging with multispectral ocean color remote sensing data and traditional water quality monitoring system in the study of harmful algal blooms in small water bodies such as the Chesapeake Bay. Presently, remote sensing is well integrated into the research community, but is less commonly used by resource managers. This dissertation couples remote sensing technologies with specific monitoring programs. The present results will help natural resource managers, local authorities, and the public to utilize an integrated approach in order to better understand, evaluate, preserve, and restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay waters and habitats.

What works in Indigenous tobacco control? The perceptions of remote Indigenous community members and health staff.

PubMed

Johnston, Vanessa; Thomas, David P

2010-04-01

To explore the perceptions of remote Indigenous community members and health staff regarding the acceptability and effectiveness of different tobacco control health promotion interventions. Qualitative methods were used for this exploratory study, including interviews with remote Indigenous community members and health staff, as well as observations of the delivery of different tobacco control activities in three remote communities in the Northern Territory (NT). Several tobacco control interventions for which there is strong evidence in other settings were generally perceived as acceptable and efficacious in the remote Indigenous setting. Primary care interventions, such as brief advice and pharmaceutical quitting aids, when available and accessible, were perceived as important and effective strategies to help people quit, as were the promotion of smokefree areas. By contrast unmodified Quit programs were perceived to have questionable application in this context and there were conflicting findings regarding taxation increases on tobacco and social marketing campaigns. Several evidence-based 'mainstream' activities are perceived to be acceptable to this population, but we may also need to address the concerns raised by health staff and community members about the acceptability of some unmodified activities. Additionally, organisational barriers within the health system may be contributing to the reduced effectiveness of tobacco control in this setting.

Identifying maternity services in public hospitals in rural and remote Australia.

PubMed

Longman, Jo; Pilcher, Jennifer M; Donoghue, Deborah A; Rolfe, Margaret; Kildea, Sue V; Kruske, Sue; Oats, Jeremy J N; Morgan, Geoffrey G; Barclay, Lesley M

2014-06-01

This paper articulates the importance of accurately identifying maternity services. It describes the process and challenges of identifying the number, level and networks of rural and remote maternity services in public hospitals serving communities of between 1000 and 25000 people across Australia, and presents the findings of this process. Health departments and the national government's websites, along with lists of public hospitals, were used to identify all rural and remote Australian public hospitals offering maternity services in small towns. State perinatal reports were reviewed to establish numbers of births by hospital. The level of maternity services and networks of hospitals within which services functioned were determined via discussion with senior jurisdictional representatives. In all, 198 rural and remote public hospitals offering maternity services were identified. There were challenges in sourcing information on maternity services to generate an accurate national picture. The nature of information about maternity services held centrally by jurisdictions varied, and different frameworks were used to describe minimum requirements for service levels. Service networks appeared to be based on a combination of individual links, geography and transport infrastructure. The lack of readily available centralised and comparable information on rural and remote maternity services has implications for policy review and development, equity, safety and quality, network development and planning. Accountability for services and capacity to identify problems is also compromised.

Post-disaster community tourism recovery: the tsunami and Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Robinson, Lyn; Jarvie, Jim K

2008-12-01

Tourism is highly vulnerable to external, non-controllable events. A natural disaster can affect the local tourism industry in numerous ways, and such events are particularly devastating for small communities whose local economy is heavily dependent on the sector. Loss of infrastructure plus negative media stories can have long-term ramifications for the destination. In spite of the economic importance of tourism, post-disaster recovery efforts in this sector are often overlooked by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which focus on more traditional livelihoods such as agriculture or fishing. This paper describes Mercy Corps' support of tourism recovery activities in Arugam Bay, a remote village on the east coast of Sri Lanka, following the 2004 tsunami. The local economic base is built largely on two sectors: community tourism and fishing. As many other actors were supporting recovery in the local fishing industry, Mercy Corps concentrated on revitalising the tourism sector.

Fishing down the largest coral reef fish species.

PubMed

Fenner, Douglas

2014-07-15

Studies on remote, uninhabited, near-pristine reefs have revealed surprisingly large populations of large reef fish. Locations such as the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, northern Marianas Islands, Line Islands, U.S. remote Pacific Islands, Cocos-Keeling Atoll and Chagos archipelago have much higher reef fish biomass than islands and reefs near people. Much of the high biomass of most remote reef fish communities lies in the largest species, such as sharks, bumphead parrots, giant trevally, and humphead wrasse. Some, such as sharks and giant trevally, are apex predators, but others such as bumphead parrots and humphead wrasse, are not. At many locations, decreases in large reef fish species have been attributed to fishing. Fishing is well known to remove the largest fish first, and a quantitative measure of vulnerability to fishing indicates that large reef fish species are much more vulnerable to fishing than small fish. The removal of large reef fish by fishing parallels the extinction of terrestrial megafauna by early humans. However large reef fish have great value for various ecological roles and for reef tourism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community Based Informatics: Geographical Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Ontology collaboration - A technical hands-on approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branch, B. D.; Raskin, R. G.; Rock, B.; Gagnon, M.; Lecompte, M. A.; Hayden, L. B.

2009-12-01

With the nation challenged to comply with Executive Order 12906 and its needs to augment the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pipeline, applied focus on geosciences pipelines issue may be at risk. The Geosciences pipeline may require intentional K-12 standard course of study consideration in the form of project based, science based and evidenced based learning. Thus, the K-12 to geosciences to informatics pipeline may benefit from an earth science experience that utilizes a community based “learning by doing” approach. Terms such as Community GIS, Community Remotes Sensing, and Community Based Ontology development are termed Community Informatics. Here, approaches of interdisciplinary work to promote and earth science literacy are affordable, consisting of low cost equipment that renders GIS/remote sensing data processing skills necessary in the workforce. Hence, informal community ontology development may evolve or mature from a local community towards formal scientific community collaboration. Such consideration may become a means to engage educational policy towards earth science paradigms and needs, specifically linking synergy among Math, Computer Science, and Earth Science disciplines.

The "Come and Go" Syndrome of Teachers in Remote Indigenous Schools: Listening to the Perspective of Indigenous Teachers about What Helps Teachers to Stay and What Makes Them Go

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Lisa

2012-01-01

High turnover of teachers in remote Indigenous community schools in the Northern Territory has long been considered a significant contributing factor to low academic outcomes for students in those communities. The average length of stay for a non-Indigenous teacher in a remote school can more easily be measured in months than years. This…

Phase 1 of the First Small Power System Experiment (engineering Experiment No. 1). Volume 2: System Concept Selection. [development and testing of a solar thermal power plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holl, R. J.

1979-01-01

The development of a modular solar thermal power system for application in the 1 to 10 MWe range is presented. The system is used in remote utility applications, small communities, rural areas, and for industrial uses. Systems design and systems optimization studies are conducted which consider plant size, annual capacity factors, and startup time as variables. Investigations are performed on the energy storage requirements and type of energy storage, concentrator design and field optimization, energy transport, and power conversion subsystems. The system utilizes a Rankine cycle, an axial flow steam turbine for power conversion, and heat transfer sodium for collector fluid.

Telemedicine in the Himalayas: Operational Challenges-A Preliminary Report.

PubMed

Ganapathy, Krishnan; Chawdhry, Vineet; Premanand, Satgunam; Sarma, Arunabh; Chandralekha, Jothivaithilingam; Kumar, Kotte Yogesh; Kumar, Saroj; Guleri, Rajesh

2016-10-01

Nonavailability of quality healthcare in mountainous, isolated, inaccessible sparsely populated regions is a universal problem. In this project, remote virtual healthcare was provided at Keylong and Kaza in Himachal Pradesh (HP) in North India. This innovative public-private partnership (PPP) provides 24/7 affordable healthcare to an alpine community where people commute 20-50 km for primary and 250 km for secondary healthcare services. Following a need assessment study, an MoU was signed by Apollo Hospitals in January 2015 with the National Health Mission. The government paid for all services delivered, Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operating Expenditure (OPEX). Noncompliance to auditable weekly and monthly program MIS would result in penalties. Apollo Telehealth Services customized a turnkey solution, end-to-end, on a program management approach with measurable milestones and monthly reports. Key health issues in the region were identified. Very Small Aperture Terminals were installed amidst landslides and subzero temperatures. In February and March 2015, staff recruited from the community and local government staff were trained in Chennai. A major cultural transformation had to be effected. Urban teleconsultants were sensitized for community interaction, while deploying cutting- edge technology. Case records were audited. In the first 42 weeks, 2,213 teleconsults were provided, including 171 emergencies. Telelaboratory services and telehealth education programs have also been added. Evaluation confirms that delivering remote healthcare in inhospitable terrains in a PPP mode is effective.

Community participation in health service reform: the development of an innovative remote Aboriginal primary health-care service.

PubMed

Reeve, Carole; Humphreys, John; Wakerman, John; Carroll, Vicki; Carter, Maureen; O'Brien, Tim; Erlank, Carol; Mansour, Rafik; Smith, Bec

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe the reorientation of a remote primary health-care service, in the Kimberley region of Australia, its impact on access to services and the factors instrumental in bringing about change. A unique community-initiated health service partnership was developed between a community-controlled Aboriginal health organisation, a government hospital and a population health unit, in order to overcome the challenges of delivering primary health care to a dispersed, highly disadvantaged Aboriginal population in a very remote area. The shared goals and clear delineation of responsibilities achieved through the partnership reoriented an essentially acute hospital-based service to a prevention-focussed comprehensive primary health-care service, with a focus on systematic screening for chronic disease, interdisciplinary follow up, health promotion, community advocacy and primary prevention. This formal partnership enabled the primary health-care service to meet the major challenges of providing a sustainable, prevention-focussed service in a very remote and socially disadvantaged area.

How Relevant Are Science Curricula for Rural and Remote Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyons, Terry; Quinn, Frances

2014-01-01

This paper reports findings from the Choosing Science study (Lyons & Quinn, 2010) indicating that Australian Year 10 students in small rural or remote areas tend to regard their science lessons as less relevant than do students in larger towns and cities. Specifically, those in small rural or remote schools were significantly more inclined…

An Approach to Data Center-Based KDD of Remote Sensing Datasets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lynnes, Christopher; Mack, Robert; Wharton, Stephen W. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The data explosion in remote sensing is straining the ability of data centers to deliver the data to the user community, yet many large-volume users actually seek a relatively small information component within the data, which they extract at their sites using Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) techniques. To improve the efficiency of this process, the Goddard Earth Sciences Distributed Active Archive Center (GES DAAC) has implemented a KDD subsystem that supports execution of the user's KDD algorithm at the data center, dramatically reducing the volume that is sent to the user. The data are extracted from the archive in a planned, organized "campaign"; the algorithms are executed, and the output products sent to the users over the network. The first campaign, now complete, has resulted in overall reductions in shipped volume from 3.3 TB to 0.4 TB.

Planning for disaster resilience in rural, remote, and coastal communities: moving from thought to action.

PubMed

Murphy, Brenda L; Anderson, Gregory S; Bowles, Ron; Cox, Robin S

2014-01-01

Disaster resilience is the cornerstone of effective emergency management across all phases of a disaster from preparedness through response and recovery. To support community resilience planning in the Rural Disaster Resilience Project (RDRP) Planning Framework, a print-based version of the guide book and a suite of resilience planning tools were field tested in three communities representing different regions and geographies within Canada. The results provide a cross-case study analysis from which lessons learned can be extracted. The authors demonstrate that by encouraging resilience thinking and proactive planning even very small rural communities can harness their inherent strengths and resources to enhance their own disaster resilience, as undertaking the resilience planning process was as important as the outcomes.The resilience enhancement planning process must be flexible enough to allow each community to act independently to meet their own needs. The field sites demonstrate that any motivated group of individuals, representing a neighborhood or some larger area could undertake a resilience initiative, especially with the assistance of a bridging organization or tool such as the RDRP Planning Framework.

High-resolution remotely sensed small target detection by imitating fly visual perception mechanism.

PubMed

Huang, Fengchen; Xu, Lizhong; Li, Min; Tang, Min

2012-01-01

The difficulty and limitation of small target detection methods for high-resolution remote sensing data have been a recent research hot spot. Inspired by the information capture and processing theory of fly visual system, this paper endeavors to construct a characterized model of information perception and make use of the advantages of fast and accurate small target detection under complex varied nature environment. The proposed model forms a theoretical basis of small target detection for high-resolution remote sensing data. After the comparison of prevailing simulation mechanism behind fly visual systems, we propose a fly-imitated visual system method of information processing for high-resolution remote sensing data. A small target detector and corresponding detection algorithm are designed by simulating the mechanism of information acquisition, compression, and fusion of fly visual system and the function of pool cell and the character of nonlinear self-adaption. Experiments verify the feasibility and rationality of the proposed small target detection model and fly-imitated visual perception method.

Overview of GNSS-R Research Program for Ocean Observations at Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichikawa, Kaoru; Ebinuma, Takuji; Akiyama, Hiroaki; Kitazawa, Yukihito

2015-04-01

GNSS-R is a new remote-sensing method which uses reflected GNSS signals. Since no transmitters are required, it is suitable for small satellites. Constellations of GNSS-R small satellites have abilities on revolutionary progress on 'all-time observable' remote-sensing methods . We have started a research program for GNSS-R applications on oceanographic observations under a contract with MEXT (Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, JAPAN) as a'Space science research base formation program'. The duration of research program is 3 years (2015-2017). The one of important focuses of this program is creation of a new community to merge space engineering and marine science through establishment on application plans of GNSS-R. Actual GNSS-R data acquisition experiments using multi-copters, ships, and/or towers are planned, together with in-situ sea truth data such as wave spectrum, wind speed profiles and sea surface height. These data are compared to determine the accuracy and resolution of the estimates based on GNSS-R observations. Meanwhile, preparation of a ground station for receiving GNSS-R satellite data will be also established. Whole those data obtained in this project will be distributed for public. This paper introduces the overview of research plan..

The Aboriginal Practical Experience and Its Impact on Pre-Service Teacher's Decisions about Living and Working in Remote in Indigenous Communities in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jay, Jenny; Moss, Lynette; Cherednichenko, Brenda

2009-01-01

In June 2008, 10 pre-service teachers and 2 teacher educators from Edith Cowan University (ECU) participated in an existing community education program in rural and remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. From an intrepid start with a mountain of overloaded baggage and camping cutlery setting off the scanning machine at the airport,…

Innovations in Literacy Learning: Reaching the Remote Northwestern Communities of Ontario

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eady, Michelle

2006-01-01

The Sioux Hudson Literacy Council in partnership with AlphaPlus Centre in Toronto, Ontario and Confederation College, Sioux Lookout Campus, is making groundbreaking strides to reach adult learners who reside in remote, isolated communities of Northwestern Ontario. Generous funding from the National Literacy Secretariat in collaboration with…

Reflectance Spectroscopy and Lunar Sample Science: Finally a Marriage After Far Too Long an Engagement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Lawrence A.; Pieters, Carle; McKay, David S.

1998-01-01

Inferences about the igneous and impact evolution of planetary bodies are based upon spectral remote sensing of their surfaces. However, it is not the rocks of a body that are seen by the remote sensing, but rather the regolith, that may contain small pieces of rock but also many other phases as well. Indeed, recent flybys of objects even as small as asteroid Ida have shown that these objects are covered by a regolith. Thus, spectral properties cannot be directly converted into information about the igneous history of the object. It is imperative to fully understand the nature of the regolith, particularly its finer fraction termed "soil," to appreciate the possible effects of "space weathering" on the reflectance spectra. We have initiated a study of our nearest, regolith-bearing body, the Moon, as "ground truth" for further probes of planetary and asteroidal surfaces. the foundation for remote chemical and mineralogical analyses lies in the physics underlying optical absorption and the linking of spectral properties of materials measured in the laboratory to well understood mineral species and their mixtures. From this statement, it is obvious that there should be a thorough integration of the material science of lunar rocks and soils with the remote-sensing observations. That is, the lunar samples returned by the Apollo missions provide a direct means for evaluation of spectral characteristics of the Moon. However, this marriage of the remote-sensing and lunar sample communities has suffered from a prolonged unconsummated betrothal, nurtured by an obvious complacency by both parties. To make more direct and quantitative links between soil chemistry/mineralogy and spectral properties, we have initiated a program to (1) obtain accurate characterization of the petrography of lunar soils (in terms relevant to remote analyses), coupled with (2) measurement of precise reflectance spectra, with testing and use of appropriate analytical tools that identify and characterize individual mineral and glass components. It is the finest-sized fractions of the bulk lunar soil that dominate the observed spectral signatures.

Remote Antimicrobial Stewardship in Community Hospitals

PubMed Central

Wood, Zachary H.; Nicolsen, Nicole C.; Allen, Nichole; Cook, Paul P.

2015-01-01

Antimicrobial stewardship has become standard practice at university medical centers, but the practice is more difficult to implement in remote community hospitals that lack infectious diseases trained practitioners. Starting in 2011, six community hospitals within the Vidant Health system began an antimicrobial stewardship program utilizing pharmacists who reviewed charts remotely from Vidant Medical Center. Pharmacists made recommendations within the electronic medical record (EMR) to streamline, discontinue, or switch antimicrobial agents. Totals of charts reviewed, recommendations made, recommendations accepted, and categories of intervention were recorded. Linear regression was utilized to measure changes in antimicrobial use over time. For the four larger hospitals, recommendations for changes were made in an average of 45 charts per month per hospital and physician acceptance of the pharmacists’ recommendations varied between 83% and 88%. There was no significant decrease in total antimicrobial use, but much of the use was outside of the stewardship program’s review. Quinolone use decreased by more than 50% in two of the four larger hospitals. Remote antimicrobial stewardship utilizing an EMR is feasible in community hospitals and is generally received favorably by physicians. As more community hospitals adopt EMRs, there is an opportunity to expand antimicrobial stewardship beyond the academic medical center. PMID:27025642

Application of NASA's advanced life support technologies in polar regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bubenheim, D. L.; Lewis, C.

1997-01-01

NASA's advanced life support technologies are being combined with Arctic science and engineering knowledge in the Advanced Life Systems for Extreme Environments (ALSEE) project. This project addresses treatment and reduction of waste, purification and recycling of water, and production of food in remote communities of Alaska. The project focus is a major issue in the state of Alaska and other areas of the Circumpolar North; the health and welfare of people, their lives and the subsistence lifestyle in remote communities, care for the environment, and economic opportunity through technology transfer. The challenge is to implement the technologies in a manner compatible with the social and economic structures of native communities, the state, and the commercial sector. NASA goals are technology selection, system design and methods development of regenerative life support systems for planetary and Lunar bases and other space exploration missions. The ALSEE project will provide similar advanced technologies to address the multiple problems facing the remote communities of Alaska and provide an extreme environment testbed for future space applications. These technologies have never been assembled for this purpose. They offer an integrated approach to solving pressing problems in remote communities.

Community-based first aid: a program report on the intersection of community-based participatory research and first aid education in a remote Canadian Aboriginal community.

PubMed

VanderBurgh, D; Jamieson, R; Beardy, J; Ritchie, S D; Orkin, A

2014-01-01

Community-based first aid training is the collaborative development of locally relevant emergency response training. The Sachigo Lake Wilderness Emergency Response Education Initiative was developed, delivered, and evaluated through two intensive 5-day first aid courses. Sachigo Lake First Nation is a remote Aboriginal community of 450 people in northern Ontario, Canada, with no local paramedical services. These courses were developed in collaboration with the community, with a goal of building community capacity to respond to medical emergencies. Most first aid training programs rely on standardized curriculum developed for urban and rural contexts with established emergency response systems. Delivering effective community-based first aid training in a remote Aboriginal community required specific adaptations to conventional first aid educational content and pedagogy. Three key lessons emerged during this program that used collaborative principles to adapt conventional first aid concepts and curriculum: (1) standardized approaches may not be relevant nor appropriate; (2) relationships between course participants and the people they help are relevant and important; (3) curriculum must be attentive to existing informal and formal emergency response systems. These lessons may be instructive for the development of other programs in similar settings.

Feasibility of a community intervention for the prevention of suicide and alcohol abuse with Yup'ik Alaska Native youth: the Elluam Tungiinun and Yupiucimta Asvairtuumallerkaa studies.

PubMed

Mohatt, Gerald V; Fok, Carlotta Ching Ting; Henry, David; Allen, James

2014-09-01

The Elluam Tungiinun and Yupiucimta Asvairtuumallerkaa studies evaluated the feasibility of a community intervention to prevent suicide and alcohol abuse among rural Yup'ik Alaska Native youth in two remote communities. The intervention originated in an Indigenous model of protection, and its development used a community based participatory research process. Feasibility assessment aimed to assess the extent to which (1) the intervention could be implemented in rural Alaska Native communities, and (2) the intervention was capable of producing measurable effects. Scales maximally sensitive to change were derived from earlier measurement work, and the study contrasted implementation process and outcomes across the two communities. In one community, medium dose response effects (d = .30-.50), with dose defined as number of intervention activities attended, were observed in the growth of intermediate protective factors and ultimate variables. In the other community, medium dose effects were observed for one intermediate protective factor variable, and small dose effects were observed in ultimate variables. Differences across communities in resources supporting intervention explain these contrasting outcomes. Results suggest implementation in these rural Alaska settings is feasible when sufficient resources are available to sustain high levels of local commitment. In such cases, measureable effects are sufficient to warrant a prevention trial.

Essential Biodiversity Variables: A framework for communication between the biodiversity community and space agencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leidner, A. K.; Skidmore, A. K.; Turner, W. W.; Geller, G. N.

2017-12-01

The biodiversity community is working towards developing a consensus on a set of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) that can be used to measure and monitor biodiversity change over time. These EBVs will inform research, modeling, policy, and assessment efforts. The synoptic coverage provided by satellite data make remote sensing a particularly important observation tool to inform many EBVs. Biodiversity is a relatively new subject matter for space agencies, and thus the definition, description, and requirements of EBVs with a significant remote sensing component can foster ways for the biodiversity community to clearly and concisely communicate observational needs to space agencies and the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS, the international coordinating body for civilian space agencies). Here, we present an overview of EBVs with a particular emphasis on those for which remote sensing will play a significant role and also report on the results of recent workshops to prioritize and refine EBVs. Our goal is to provide a framework for the biodiversity community to coalesce around a set of observational needs to convey to space agencies. Compared to many physical science disciplines, the biodiversity community represents a wide range of sub-disciplines and organizations (academia, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, national and local natural resource management agencies, etc.), which creates additional challenges when communicating needs to space agencies unfamiliar with the topic. EBVs thus offer a communication pathway that could increase awareness within space agencies of the uses of remote sensing for biodiversity research and applications, which in turn could foster greater use of remote sensing in the broader biodiversity community.

Apparent dietary intake in remote aboriginal communities.

PubMed

Lee, A J; O'Dea, K; Mathews, J D

1994-06-01

Apparent per capita food and nutrient intake in six remote Australian Aboriginal communities using the 'store-turnover' method is described. The method is based on the analysis of community-store food invoices. The face validity of the method supports the notion that, under the unique circumstances of remote Aboriginal communities, the turnover of foodstuffs from the community store is a useful measure of apparent dietary intake for the community as a whole. In all Aboriginal communities studied, the apparent intake of energy, sugars and fat was excessive, while the apparent intake of dietary fibre and several nutrients, including folic acid, was low. White sugar, flour, bread and meat provided in excess of 50 per cent of the apparent total energy intake. Of the apparent high fat intake, fatty meats contributed nearly 40 per cent in northern coastal communities and over 60 per cent in central desert communities. Sixty per cent of the apparent high intake of sugars was derived from sugar per se in both regions. Compared with national Australian apparent consumption data, intakes of sugar, white flour and sweetened carbonated beverages were much higher in Aboriginal communities, and intakes of wholemeal bread, fruit and vegetables were much lower. Results of the store-turnover method have important implications for community-based nutrition intervention programs.

Indigenous Respiratory Outreach Care: the first 18 months of a specialist respiratory outreach service to rural and remote Indigenous communities in Queensland, Australia.

PubMed

Medlin, Linda G; Chang, Anne B; Fong, Kwun; Jackson, Rebecca; Bishop, Penny; Dent, Annette; Hill, Deb C; Vincent, Stephen; O'Grady, Kerry-Ann F

2014-09-01

Respiratory diseases are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Indigenous Australians. However, there are limited approaches to specialist respiratory care in rural and remote communities that are culturally appropriate. A specialist Indigenous Respiratory Outreach Care (IROC) program, developed to address this gap, is described. The aim of the present study was to implement, pilot and evaluate multidisciplinary specialist respiratory outreach medical teams in rural and remote Indigenous communities in Queensland, Australia. Sites were identified based on a perception of unmet need, burden of respiratory disease and/or capacity to use the clinical service and capacity building for support offered. IROC commenced in March 2011 and, to date, has been implemented in 13 communities servicing a population of approximately 43000 Indigenous people. Clinical service delivery has been possible through community engagement and capacity building initiatives directed by community protocols. IROC is a culturally sensitive and sustainable model for adult and paediatric specialist outreach respiratory services that may be transferrable to Indigenous communities across Queensland and Australia.

Remote Sensing and the Kyoto Protocol: A Workshop Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenqvist, Ake; Imhoff, Marc; Milne, Anthony; Dobson, Craig

2000-01-01

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change contains quantified, legally binding commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels and allows carbon emissions to be balanced by carbon sinks represented by vegetation. The issue of using vegetation cover as an emission offset raises a debate about the adequacy of current remote sensing systems and data archives to both assess carbon stocks/sinks at 1990 levels, and monitor the current and future global status of those stocks. These concerns and the potential ratification of the Protocol among participating countries is stimulating policy debates and underscoring a need for the exchange of information between the international legal community and the remote sensing community. On October 20-22 1999, two working groups of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) joined with the University of Michigan (Michigan, USA) to convene discussions on how remote sensing technology could contribute to the information requirements raised by implementation of, and compliance with, the Kyoto Protocol. The meeting originated as a joint effort between the Global Monitoring Working Group and the Radar Applications Working Group in Commission VII of the ISPRS, co-sponsored by the University of Michigan. Tile meeting was attended by representatives from national government agencies and international organizations and academic institutions. Some of the key themes addressed were: (1) legal aspects of transnational remote sensing in the context of the Kyoto Protocol; (2) a review of the current and future and remote sensing technologies that could be applied to the Kyoto Protocol; (3) identification of areas where additional research is needed in order to advance and align remote sensing technology with the requirements and expectations of the Protocol; and 94) the bureaucratic and research management approaches needed to align the remote sensing community with both the science and policy communities.

Education, outreach and the future of remote sensing in human health

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, B. L.; Beck, L. R.; Lobitz, B. M.; Bobo, M. R.

2000-01-01

The human health community has been slow to adopt remote sensing technology for research, surveillance, or control activities. This chapter presents a brief history of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's experiences in the use of remotely sensed data for health applications, and explores some of the obstacles, both real and perceived, that have slowed the transfer of this technology to the health community. These obstacles include the lack of awareness, which must be overcome through outreach and proper training in remote sensing, and inadequate spatial, spectral and temporal data resolutions, which are being addressed as new sensor systems are launched and currently overlooked (and underutilized) sensors are newly discovered by the health community. A basic training outline is presented, along with general considerations for selecting training candidates. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of some current and future sensors that show promise for health applications.

Red Dirt Thinking on Child Wellbeing in Indigenous, Rural and Remote Australian Communities: The SpICE Model "I Just Don't Want my Kid to Struggle Like I Did at School"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Kendall; Denton, Marijke

2013-01-01

Supporting children in their early development and learning has long-term benefits for both them and the broader community. Yet in Australia we still have significant examples of inequality of opportunity (Allan, 2010) and other structural barriers to family wellbeing, particularly in Indigenous and rural and remote communities (Bourke, Humphreys,…

Post Occupancy Evaluation of a Remote Australian Community: Shay Gap, Australia.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-07-01

AD-AOB 675 ENVIRONENTAL RESARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION TU ETC F G 5 11 POST OCCUPANCY EVALUATION OF A REMOTE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY: SHA--ETC(U...conditions. Lessons learned have aided design and community planning guidelines used by the military, government , and private business to produce more cost...occurs. The education action pattern is scored when formal teaching and learning occur, as in a school classroom. The government action pattern is

Remote observing environment using a KVM-over-IP for the OAO 188 cm telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanagisawa, Kenshi; Inoue, Goki; Kuroda, Daisuke; Ukita, Nobuharu; Mizumoto, Yoshihiko; Izumiura, Hideyuki

2016-08-01

We have prepared remote observing environment for the 188 cm telescope at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory. A KVM-over-IP and a VPN gateway are employed as core devices, which offer reliable, secure and fast link between on site and remote sites. We have confirmed the KVM-over-IP has ideal characteristics for serving the remote observing environment; the use is simple for both users and maintainer; access from any platform is available; multiple and simultaneous access is possible; and maintenance load is small. We also demonstrated that the degradation of observing efficiency specific to the remote observing is negligibly small. The remote observing environment has fully opened since the semester 2016A, about 30% of the total observing time in the last semester was occupied by remote observing.

IMPROVED COMBUSTION AND EMISSIONS FOR MSW BURN-MANAGEMENT UNIT APPLICABLE TO REMOTE COMMUNITIES IN ALASKA - PHASE I

EPA Science Inventory

Approximately 180 to 225 very remote communities, the bulk inaccessible by road, with populations averaging 200 to 500 people, are located in Alaska for which the open burning of municipal solid waste is prevalent, inevitable, and necessary to minimize environmental health con...

Sharing Place, Learning Together: Perspectives and Reflections on an Educational Partnership Formation with a Remote Indigenous Community School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godinho, Sally Caroline; Woolley, Marilyn; Webb, Jessie; Winkel, Kenneth Daniel

2015-01-01

Sustainable partnership formation in a remote Indigenous community involves social, cultural and political considerations. This article reports on the project, "Sharing Place, Learning Together: Supporting Sustainable Educational Partnerships to Advance Social Equity," funded by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI) at the…

Tobacco Sales in Community Pharmacies: Remote Decisions and Demographic Targets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morton, Cory M.; Peterson, N. Andrew; Schneider, John E.; Smith, Brian J.; Armstead, Theresa L.

2010-01-01

This study applied multilevel modeling procedures with data from 678 community pharmacies and 382 residential census tracts in a Midwestern U.S. state to determine if two sets of variables: retail type (e.g., remotely owned, independently owned) and population demographics of the tracts in which outlets were located were associated with retail…

Learning from Anangu Histories: Population Centralisation and Decentralisation Influences and the Provision of Schooling in Tri-State Remote Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osborne, Sam

2015-01-01

Remote Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander schools and communities are diverse and complex sites shaped by contrasting geographies, languages, histories and cultures, including historical and ongoing relationships with colonialism, and connected yet contextually unique epistemologies, ontologies and cosmologies. This paper explores…

Parabolic dish systems at work - Applying the concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marriott, A. T.

1981-01-01

An overview is given of parabolic dish solar concentrator application experiments being conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy. The 'engineering experiments' comprise the testing of (1) a small-community powerplant system, in conjunction with a grid-connected utility; (2) stand-alone applications at remote sites such as military installations, radar stations and villages; and (3) dish modules that can deliver heat for direct use in industrial processes. Applicability projections are based on a dish and receiver that use a Brayton engine with an engine/generator efficiency of 25% and a production level of up to 25,000 units per year. Analyses indicate that parabolic-dish power systems can potentially replace small, oil-fired power plants in all regions of the U.S. between 1985 and 1991.

Small wastewater treatment plants in mountain areas: combination of septic tank and biological filter.

PubMed

Maunoir, S; Philip, H; Rambaud, A

2007-01-01

Research work has been carried out for more than 20 years by Eparco and the University of Montpellier (France) on the application of biological wastewater treatment processes for small communities. This research has led to a new process which is particularly suitable for remote populations, taking into account several specificities such as as the seasonal fluctuations in the population, the accessibility of the site, the absence of a power supply on site, the reduced area of land available and the low maintenance. Thus, the process, which combines a septic tank operating under anaerobic conditions and a biological aerobic filter, is a solution for wastewater treatment in mountain areas. This paper presents the process and three full-scale applications in the region of the Alps.

Specialist clinics in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: where rock art meets rocket science.

PubMed

Gruen, Russell; Bailie, Ross

2004-10-01

People in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory have greater morbidity and mortality than other Australians, but face considerable barriers when accessing hospital-based specialist services. The Specialist Outreach Service, which began in 1997, was a novel policy initiative to improve access by providing a regular multidisciplinary visiting specialist services to remote communities. It led to two interesting juxtapositions: that of 'state of the art' specialist services alongside under-resourced primary care in remote and relatively traditional Aboriginal communities; and that of attempts to develop an evidence base for the effectiveness of outreach, while meeting the short-term evaluative requirements of policy-makers. In this essay, first we describe the development of the service in the Northern Territory and its initial process evaluation. Through a Cochrane systematic review we then summarise the published research on the effectiveness of specialist outreach in improving access to tertiary and hospital-based care. Finally we describe the findings of an observational population-based study of the use of specialist services and the impact of outreach to three remote communities over 11 years. Specialist outreach improves access to specialist care and may lessen the demand for both outpatient and inpatient hospital care. Specialist outreach is, however, dependent on well-functioning primary care. According to the way in which outreach is conducted and the service is organised, it can either support primary care or it can hinder primary care and, as a result, reduce its own effectiveness.

An environmental scan of emergency response systems and services in remote First Nations communities in Northern Ontario.

PubMed

Mew, E J; Ritchie, S D; VanderBurgh, D; Beardy, J L; Gordon, J; Fortune, M; Mamakwa, S; Orkin, A M

2017-01-01

Approximately 24,000 Ontarians live in remote Indigenous communities with no road access. These communities are a subset of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political grouping of 49 First Nations communities in Northern Ontario, Canada. Limited information is available regarding the status of emergency care in these communities. We aimed to understand emergency response systems, services, and training in remote NAN communities. We used an environmental scan approach to compile information from multiple sources including community-based participatory research. This included the analysis of data collected from key informant interviews (n=10) with First Nations community health leaders and a multi-stakeholder roundtable meeting (n=33) in October 2013. Qualitative analysis of the interview data revealed four issues related to emergency response systems and training: (1) inequity in response capacity and services, (2) lack of formalised dispatch systems, (3) turnover and burnout in volunteer emergency services, and (4) challenges related to first aid training. Roundtable stakeholders supported the development of a community-based emergency care system to address gaps. Existing first response, paramedical, and ambulance service models do not meet the unique geographical, epidemiological and cultural needs in most NAN communities. Sustainable, context-appropriate, and culturally relevant emergency care systems are needed.

Estimating tobacco consumption in remote Aboriginal communities using retail sales data: some challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

MacLaren, David; Redman-MacLaren, Michelle; Clough, Alan

2010-07-01

To describe and discuss challenges and opportunities encountered when estimating tobacco consumption in six remote Aboriginal communities using tobacco sales data from retail outlets. We consider tobacco sales data collected from retail outlets selling tobacco to six Aboriginal communities in two similar but separate studies. Despite challenges--including: not all outlets provided data; data not uniform across outlets (sales and invoice data); change in format of data; personnel change or management restructures; and anomalies in data and changes in community populations--tobacco consumption was estimated and returned through project newsletters and community feedback sessions. Amounts of tobacco sold were returned using graphs in newsletters and pictures of items common to the community in community feedback sessions. Despite inherent limitations of estimating tobacco consumption using tobacco sales data, returning the amount of tobacco sold to communities provided an opportunity to discuss tobacco consumption and provide a focal point for individual and community action. Using this method, however, may require large and sustained changes be observed over time to evaluate whether initiatives to reduce tobacco consumption have been effective. Estimating tobacco consumption in remote Aboriginal communities using tobacco sales data from retail outlets requires careful consideration of many logistical, social, cultural and geographic challenges.

Radiation decontamination unit for the community hospital.

PubMed

Waldron, R L; Danielson, R A; Shultz, H E; Eckert, D E; Hendricks, K O

1981-05-01

"Freestanding" radiation decontamination units including surgical capability can be developed and made operational in small/medium sized community hospitals at relatively small cost and with minimal plant reconstruction. Because of the development of nuclear power plants in relatively remote areas and widespread transportation of radioactive materials it is important for hospitals and physicians to be prepared to handle radiation accident victims. The Radiological Assistance Program of the United States Department of Energy and the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center Training Site of Oak Ridge Associated Universities are ready to support individual hospitals and physicians in this endeavor. Adequate planning rather than luck, should be used in dealing with potential radiation accident victims. The radiation emergency team is headed by a physician on duty in the hospital. It is important that the team leader be knowledgeable in radiation accident management and have personnel trained in radiation accident management as members of this team. The senior administrative person on duty is responsible for intramural and extramural communications. Rapid mobilization of the radiation decontamination unit is important. Periodic drills are necessary for this mobilization and the smooth operation of the unit.

A decade of experience evolving visiting dental services in partnership with rural remote Aboriginal communities.

PubMed

Dyson, K; Kruger, E; Tennant, M

2014-06-01

Embedding research capabilities and workforce development activities with clinical service entities promotes the development of sustainable, innovative, quality-focused oral health care services. Clinical and strategic governance is an important area of consideration for rural and remote dental services, posing particular challenges for smaller service structures. Sustaining remote area dental services has some significant complexities beyond those involved in urban service models. This study describes the sustaining structure of a remote area dental service with a decade of history. In the current climate, chief among these challenges may be those associated with dental workforce shortages as these impact most heavily in the public sector, and most particularly, in remote areas. As sustained workforce solutions come from developing a future workforce, an essential element of the workforce governance framework for remote dental service provision should be the inclusion of a student participation programme. Collaborative partnership approaches with Aboriginal health services promote the development and maintenance of effective, culturally sensitive dental services within rural and remote Aboriginal communities. Having sustained care for 10 years, this collaborative model of integrated research, education and service has demonstrated its effectiveness as a service model for Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. This descriptive study finds the core values for this success have been communication, clinical leadership, mentorship within effective governance systems all linked to an integrated education and research agenda. © 2014 Australian Dental Association.

SMALL DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS HANDBOOK A GUIDE TO "PACKAGED" FILTRATION AND DISINFECTION TECHNOLOGIES WITH REMOTE MONITORING AND CONTROL TOOLS

EPA Science Inventory

The intent of this handbook is to highlight information appropriate to small systems with an emphasis on filtration and disinfection technologies and how they can be "packaged" with remote monitoring and control technologies to provide a healthy and affordable solution for small ...

Delivering an empowerment intervention to a remote Indigenous child safety workforce: Its economic cost from an agency perspective.

PubMed

Kinchin, Irina; Doran, Christopher M; McCalman, Janya; Jacups, Susan; Tsey, Komla; Lines, Katrina; Smith, Kieran; Searles, Andrew

2017-10-01

The Family Wellbeing (FWB) program applies culturally appropriate community led empowerment training to enhance the personal development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in life skills. This study sought to estimate the economic cost required to deliver the FWB program to a child safety workforce in remote Australian communities. This study was designed as a retrospective cost description taken from the perspective of a non-government child safety agency. The target population were child protection residential care workers aged 24 or older, who worked in safe houses in five remote Indigenous communities and a regional office during the study year (2013). Resource utilization included direct costs (personnel and administrative) and indirect or opportunity costs of participants, regarded as absence from work. The total cost of delivering the FWB program for 66 participants was $182,588 ($2766 per participant), with 45% ($82,995) of costs classified as indirect (i.e., opportunity cost of participants time). Training cost could be further mitigated (∼30%) if offered on-site, in the community. The costs for offering the FWB program to a remotely located workforce were high, but not substantial when compared to the recruitment cost required to substitute a worker in remote settings. An investment of $2766 per participant created an opportunity to improve social and emotional wellbeing of remotely located workforce. This cost study provided policy relevant information by identifying the resources required to transfer the FWB program to other remote locations. It also can be used to support future comparative cost and outcome analyses and add to the evidence base around the cost-effectiveness of empowerment programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Getting into the GROOVE: How Building Effective Education Partnerships and Promoting Authentic Student Research through the Girls' Remotely Operated Ocean Vehicle Exploration (GROOVE) Workshop.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelz, M.; Heesemann, M.; Hoeberechts, M.

2017-12-01

This presentation outlines the pilot year of Girls' Remotely Operated Ocean Vehicle Exploration or GROOVE, a hands-on learning program created collaboratively with education partners Ocean Networks Canada and St. Margaret's School (Victoria, BC, Canada). The program features student-led activities, authentic student experiences, clearly outlined learning outcomes, teacher and student self-assessment tools, and curriculum-aligned content. Presented through the lens of STEM, students build a modified Seaperch ROV and explore and research thematic scientific concepts such as buoyancy, electronic circuitry, and deep-sea exploration. Further, students learn engineering skills such as isotropic scaling, soldering, and assembly as they build their ROV. Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), an initiative of the University of Victoria, develops, operates, and maintains cabled ocean observatory systems. These include technologies developed on the world-leading NEPTUNE and VENUS observatories and the ever-expanding network of community observatories in the Arctic and coastal British Columbia. These observatories, large and small, enable communities, users, scientists, teachers, and students to monitor real-time and historical data from the local marine environment from anywhere on the globe. GROOVE, Girls' Remotely Operated Ocean Vehicle Exploration, is ONC's newest educational program and is related to their foundational program K-12 Ocean Sense educational program. This presentation will share our experiences developing, refining, and assessing our efforts to implement GROOVE using a train-the-trainer model aimed at formal and informal K-12 educators. We will highlight lessons learned from multiple perspectives (students, participants, developers, and mentors) with the intent of informing future education and outreach initiatives.

The Fly-in Fly-out and Drive-in Drive-out model of health care service provision for rural and remote Australia: benefits and disadvantages.

PubMed

Hussain, Rafat; Maple, Myfanwy; Hunter, Sally V; Mapedzahama, Virginia; Reddy, Prasuna

2015-01-01

Rural Australians experience poorer health and poorer access to health care services than their urban counterparts, and there is a chronic shortage of health professionals in rural and remote Australia. Strategies designed to reduce this rural-urban divide include fly-in fly-out (FIFO) and drive-in drive-out (DIDO) services. The aim of this article is to examine the opportunities and challenges involved in these forms of service delivery. This article reviews recent literature relating to FIFO and DIDO healthcare services and discusses their benefits and potential disadvantages for rural Australia, and for health practitioners. FIFO and DIDO have short-term benefits for rural Australians seeking healthcare services in terms of increasing equity and accessibility to services and reducing the need to travel long distances for health care. However, significant disadvantages need to be considered in the longer term. There is a potential for burnout among health professionals who travel long distances and work long hours, often without adequate peer support or supervision, in order to deliver these services. A further disadvantage, particularly in the use of visiting medical practitioners to provide generalist services, is the lack of development of a sufficiently well-resourced local primary healthcare system in small rural communities. Given the potential negative consequences for both health professionals and rural Australians, the authors caution against the increasing use of FIFO and DIDO services, without the concurrent development of well-resourced, funded and staffed primary healthcare services in rural and remote communities.

Challenges to student transition in allied health undergraduate education in the Australian rural and remote context: a synthesis of barriers and enablers.

PubMed

Spiers, M C; Harris, M

2015-01-01

The optimum supply of an allied health workforce in rural and remote communities is a persistent challenge. Despite previous indicative research and government investment, the primary focus for rural and remote recruitment has been on the medical profession. The consequent shortage of allied health professionals leaves these communities less able to receive appropriate health care. This comprehensive review incorporates a literature analysis while articulating policy and further research implications. The objective was to identify drivers to recruitment and retention of an allied health workforce in rural and remote communities. This issue was observed in two parts: identification of barriers and enablers for students accessing allied health undergraduate tertiary education, and barriers and enablers to clinical placement experience in rural and remote communities. A search of empirical literature was conducted together with review of theoretical publications, including public health strategies and policy documents. Database searches of CINAHL, Medline, ERIC, PsychInfo and Scopus were performed. Selection criteria included Australian research in English, full text online, keywords in title or abstract, year of publication 1990 to 2012 and research inclusive of rural and remote context by application of the Australian Standard Geographical Classication (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. Theoretical publications, or grey literature, were identified by broad Google searches utilising a variety of search terms relevant to the review objective. Allied health professions were defined as including audiology, dietetics, occupational therapy, optometry, orthoptics, orthotics and prosthetics, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, radiography, social work, speech pathology and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers. A total of 28 empirical publications met the selection criteria with a further 22 grey literature texts identified with relevance to the research objective. Patterns of barriers and enablers for rural and remote student transition in the allied health professions were identified in the literature. Recruitment pathways to allied health tertiary studies in rural and remote communities are vague and often interrupted, and the return of graduates is haphazard. Students from rural and remote communities face an assembly of barriers. They often experience secondary education disadvantage with inadequate subject choices, pathways and opportunities. Programs designed to facilitate transition to tertiary study are often limited in their capacity to address cumulative concerns. Students also face financial imposts and are confronted by daunting social isolation, and separation from families and support systems. In regard to clinical placement, the disincentives weigh heavily. The financial burdens of a rural placement offer little inducement. Social isolation associated with a placement far from home is more acutely felt by students when there is inadequate administrative support and consequent disillusionment. Students also lack a frame of reference to pursue a rural placement option, and are often discouraged by the cumulative commitments involved. Clear and accessible pathways to allied health training for students from rural and remote communities are pivotal to a stronger representation of this cohort among graduates. Similarly, greater representation of rural and remote clinical placements for allied health undergraduate students is an important facilitator. Despite regional coordination and strategies designed to promote a broader range of placement opportunities, the problems remain. This review has consequences for policy and program development for growth of the rural allied health workforce in Australia, as well as identifying knowledge deficits to guide future research endeavours.

Need for an Australian Indigenous disability workforce strategy: review of the literature.

PubMed

Gilroy, John; Dew, Angela; Lincoln, Michelle; Hines, Monique

2017-08-01

To identify approaches for developing workforce capacity to deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to Indigenous people with disability in Australian rural and remote communities. A narrative review of peer-reviewed and gray literature was undertaken. Searches of electronic databases and websites of key government and non-government organizations were used to supplement the authors' knowledge of literature that (a) focused on Indigenous peoples in Australia or other countries; (b) referred to people with disability; (c) considered rural/remote settings; (d) recommended workforce strategies; and (e) was published in English between 2004 and 2014. Recommended workforce strategies in each publication were summarized in a narrative synthesis. Six peer-reviewed articles and 12 gray publications met inclusion criteria. Three broad categories of workforce strategies were identified: (a) community-based rehabilitation (CBR) and community-centered approaches; (b) cultural training for all workers; and (c) development of an Indigenous disability workforce. An Indigenous disability workforce strategy based on community-centered principles and incorporating cultural training and Indigenous disability workforce development may help to ensure that Indigenous people with a disability in rural and remote communities benefit from current disability sector reforms. Indigenous workforce development requires strategies to attract and retain Aboriginal workers. Implications for Rehabilitation Indigenous people with disability living in rural and remote areas experience significant access and equity barriers to culturally appropriate supports and services that enable them to live independent, socially inclusive lives. A workforce strategy based on community-centered principles has potential for ensuring that the disability services sector meets the rehabilitation needs of Aboriginal people with disability living in rural and remote areas. Cultural training and development of an Indigenous disability workforce may help to ensure a culturally safe disability services sector and workforce.

Impact of an integrated diabetes service involving specialist outreach and primary health care on risk factors for micro- and macrovascular diabetes complications in remote Indigenous communities in Australia.

PubMed

Hotu, Cheri; Rémond, Marc; Maguire, Graeme; Ekinci, Elif; Cohen, Neale

2018-06-04

To determine the impact of an integrated diabetes service involving specialist outreach and primary health care teams on risk factors for micro- and macrovascular diabetes complications in three remote Indigenous Australian communities over a 12-month period. Quantitative, retrospective evaluation. Primary health care clinics in remote Indigenous communities in Australia. One-hundred-and-twenty-four adults (including 123 Indigenous Australians; 76.6% female) with diabetes living in remote communities. Glycosylated haemoglobin, lipid profile, estimated glomerular filtration rate, urinary albumin : creatinine ratio and blood pressure. Diabetes prevalence in the three communities was high, at 32.8%. A total of 124 patients reviewed by the outreach service had a median consultation rate of 1.0 by an endocrinologist and 0.9 by a diabetes nurse educator over the 12-month period. Diabetes care plans were made in collaboration with local primary health care services, which also provided patients with diabetes care between outreach team visits. A significant reduction was seen in median (interquartile range) glycosylated haemoglobin from baseline to 12 months. Median (interquartile range) total cholesterol was also reduced. The number of patients prescribed glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors increased over the 12 months and an increase in the number of patients prescribed insulin trended towards statistical significance. A collaborative health care approach to deliver diabetes care to remote Indigenous Australian communities was associated with an improvement in glycosylated haemoglobin and total cholesterol, both important risk factors, respectively, for micro- and macrovascular diabetes complications. © 2018 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.

Social Support Networks: An Effective Means for Coping with the Unique Problems of Rural and Remote Communities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuchs, Don M.

Intervention aimed at the development of social support networks provides a means for preventing some of the physical, emotional, and social problems of both long-term and transient rural residents. Individuals living in rural and remote communities face several contextual problems, including distance, personal and professional isolation, unique…

Adult Literacy and Socio-Cultural Learning at "Pina Pina Jarrinjaku" (Yuendumu Learning Centre)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauer, Ros

2018-01-01

The Whole of Community Engagement (WCE) initiative commenced in July 2014, led by the Office of Pro Vice Chancellor of Indigenous Leadership at Charles Darwin University (CDU). WCE aimed to build the aspiration, expectation and capacity of six remote and very remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory to participate and achieve in…

The Learning Circle: A New Model of BSW Education for Alberta's Rural, Remote, and Aboriginal Communities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zapf, M. K.; Bastien, B.; Bodor, R.; Carriere, J.; Pelech, W.

In 1998, a consortium including the University of Calgary (Alberta) and representatives from social service agencies and Native organizations developed a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) model for delivery in rural, remote, and Aboriginal communities. The model called for innovative course content that was culturally and geographically relevant to…

78 FR 65602 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-01

... part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov..., remote, coastal communities in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska to purchase halibut and sablefish QS for... specifically intended to provide opportunities to remote coastal communities in the GOA that met specific...

Dangerous Practices: The Practicum Experiences of Non-Indigenous Pre-Service Teachers in Remote Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auld, Glenn; Dyer, Julie; Charles, Claire

2016-01-01

This paper seeks to explore the risks of providing preservice teachers with professional experiences in remote communities. In particular this paper focuses on the risks associated with this kind of professional experience. Twelve pre-service teachers were interviewed whilst on a three-week practicum around Katherine and in Maningrida in the…

Australian Aboriginal Education at the Fulcrum of Forces of Change: Remote Queensland Communities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Victoria J.

Schools in Australian Aboriginal communities are pulled between an educational model that stresses cultural pride and preservation and one that emphasizes uniformity of education to prepare Aboriginal students for a place in the dominant society. The tension between these objectives is seen in these case studies of schools in two remote Queensland…

Social accountability in medical education--an Australian rural and remote perspective.

PubMed

Worley, Paul; Murray, Richard

2011-01-01

Australia's medical education system is undergoing a socially motivated transformation focused on improving access to medical care for rural and remote communities. A rural and remote backbone of Rural Clinical Schools (RCS), University Departments of Rural Health, regional medical schools, and the postgraduate college, ACRRM, have enabled community responsive innovation and partnerships with rural health services that once would have been difficult to imagine. This article argues that this transformation is succeeding because of the passionate leadership of rural medical and community leaders, government seed funding to encourage rural medicine as an academic discipline, rigorous research and consultation that underpinned each step of the innovation pathway, and a political campaign to invest in rural medical education as a form of rural social capital.

Calculation of the age of the first infection for skin sores and scabies in five remote communities in northern Australia.

PubMed

Lydeamore, M J; Campbell, P T; Cuningham, W; Andrews, R M; Kearns, T; Clucas, D; Gundjirryirr Dhurrkay, R; Carapetis, J; Tong, S Y C; McCaw, J M; McVernon, J

2018-05-08

Prevalence of skin sores and scabies in remote Australian Aboriginal communities remains unacceptably high, with Group A Streptococcus (GAS) the dominant pathogen. We aim to better understand the drivers of GAS transmission using mathematical models. To estimate the force of infection, we quantified the age of first skin sores and scabies infection by pooling historical data from three studies conducted across five remote Aboriginal communities for children born between 2001 and 2005. We estimated the age of the first infection using the Kaplan-Meier estimator; parametric exponential mixture model; and Cox proportional hazards. For skin sores, the mean age of the first infection was approximately 10 months and the median was 7 months, with some heterogeneity in median observed by the community. For scabies, the mean age of the first infection was approximately 9 months and the median was 8 months, with significant heterogeneity by the community and an enhanced risk for children born between October and December. The young age of the first infection with skin sores and scabies reflects the high disease burden in these communities.

Government bodies and their influence on the 2009 H1N1 health sector pandemic response in remote and isolated First Nation communities of sub-Arctic Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Charania, N A; Tsuji, L J S

2011-01-01

First Nation communities were highly impacted by the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Multiple government bodies (ie federal, provincial, and First Nations) in Canada share responsibility for the health sector pandemic response in remote and isolated First Nation communities and this may have resulted in a fragmented pandemic response. This study aimed to discover if and how the dichotomy (or trichotomy) of involved government bodies led to barriers faced and opportunities for improvement during the health sector response to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in three remote and isolated sub-arctic First Nation communities of northern Ontario, Canada. A qualitative community-based participatory approach was employed. Semi-directed interviews were conducted with adult key informants (n=13) using purposive sampling of participants representing the two (or three) government bodies of each study community. Data were manually transcribed and coded using deductive and inductive thematic analysis to reveal positive aspects, barriers faced, and opportunities for improvement along with the similarities and differences regarding the pandemic responses of each government body. Primary barriers faced by participants included receiving contradicting governmental guidelines and direction from many sources. In addition, there was a lack of human resources, information sharing, and specific details included in community-level pandemic plans. Recommended areas of improvement include developing a complementary communication plan, increasing human resources, and updating community-level pandemic plans. Participants reported many issues that may be attributable to the dichotomy (or trichotomy) of government bodies responsible for healthcare delivery during a pandemic. Increasing formal communication and collaboration between responsible government bodies will assist in clarifying roles and responsibilities and improve the pandemic response in Canada's remote and isolated First Nation communities.

Satellite remote sensing, biodiversity research and conservation of the future

PubMed Central

Pettorelli, Nathalie; Safi, Kamran; Turner, Woody

2014-01-01

Assessing and predicting ecosystem responses to global environmental change and its impacts on human well-being are high priority targets for the scientific community. The potential for synergies between remote sensing science and ecology, especially satellite remote sensing and conservation biology, has been highlighted by many in the past. Yet, the two research communities have only recently begun to coordinate their agendas. Such synchronization is the key to improving the potential for satellite data effectively to support future environmental management decision-making processes. With this themed issue, we aim to illustrate how integrating remote sensing into ecological research promotes a better understanding of the mechanisms shaping current changes in biodiversity patterns and improves conservation efforts. Added benefits include fostering innovation, generating new research directions in both disciplines and the development of new satellite remote sensing products. PMID:24733945

Near-earth orbital guidance and remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powers, W. F.

1972-01-01

The curriculum of a short course in remote sensing and parameter optimization is presented. The subjects discussed are: (1) basics of remote sensing and the user community, (2) multivariant spectral analysis, (3) advanced mathematics and physics of remote sensing, (4) the atmospheric environment, (5) imaging sensing, and (6)nonimaging sensing. Mathematical models of optimization techniques are developed.

Validation of Microcapillary Flow Cytometry for Community-Based CD4+ T Lymphocyte Enumeration in Remote Burkina Faso

PubMed Central

Renault, Cybèle A; Traore, Arouna; Machekano, Rhoderick N; Israelski, Dennis M

2010-01-01

Background: CD4+ T lymphocyte enumeration plays a critical role in the initiation and monitoring of HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy. There is an urgent need for low-cost CD4+ enumeration technologies, particularly for use in dry, dusty climates characteristic of many small cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Blood samples from 98 HIV-infected patients followed in a community HIV clinic in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso were obtained for routine CD4+ T lymphocyte count monitoring. The blood samples were divided into two aliquots, on which parallel CD4+ measurements were performed using microcapillary (Guava EasyCD4) and dedicated (Becton Dickinson FACSCount) CD4+ enumeration systems. Spearman rank correlation coefficient was calculated, and the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) for EasyCD4 <200 cells/µL were determined compared to the reference standard FACSCount CD4 <200 cells/µL. Results: Mean CD4 counts for the EasyCD4 and FACSCount were 313.75 cells/µL and 303.47 cells/µL, respectively. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was 0.92 (p<0.001). Median values using EasyCD4 were higher than those with the FACSCount (p=0.004). For a CD4<350 cells/uL, sensitivity of the EasyCD4 was 93.9% (95%CI 85.2-98.3%), specificity was 90.6% (95% CI 75.0-98.0%), and PPV was 95.4% (95%CI 87.1-99.0%). Conclusion: Use of the EasyCD4 system was feasible and highly accurate in the harsh conditions of this remote city in Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating acceptable sensitivity and specificity compared to a standard operating system. Microcapillary flow cytometry offers a cost-effective alternative for community-based, point-of-care CD4+ testing and could play a substantial role in scaling up HIV care in remote, resource-limited settings. PMID:21253463

Private business: the uptake of confidential HIV testing in remote aboriginal communities on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands.

PubMed

Miller, P J; Torzillo, P J

1998-10-01

Despite a concentration of risk factors for HIV transmission, many remote Aboriginal communities in central Australia have a low uptake of HIV testing. We studied the uptake of HIV testing in six clinics in remote Aboriginal communities following the introduction of voluntary confidential testing to assess the impact of the intervention and to determine if the program was reaching people most at risk of HIV infection and transmission. The study was conducted by Nganampa Health Council, an Aboriginal-controlled health service on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in the far north-west of South Australia. Since the introduction of confidential coded testing in August 1994 the number of HIV tests provided through the remote clinics has increased from 83 tests/year to 592 tests/year. In the 12-month audit period (August 1, 1995, to July 31, 1996) 62.7% of women aged 20-24 years, 44.6% of people aged 12-40 years and 24% of the total population had an HIV test. Fifty per cent of tests were accounted for by the 15-25 year age groups and 60% of tests related to an STD consult. This study shows that a high uptake of HIV testing in high-risk groups can be achieved in remote Aboriginal communities where a high level of confidentiality is maintained.

Creating a Community of Practice to Prevent Suicide Through Multiple Channels: Describing the Theoretical Foundations and Structured Learning of PC CARES.

PubMed

Wexler, Lisa; McEachern, Diane; DiFulvio, Gloria; Smith, Cristine; Graham, Louis F; Dombrowski, Kirk

2016-01-01

It is critical to develop practical, effective, ecological, and decolonizing approaches to indigenous suicide prevention and health promotion for the North American communities. The youth suicide rates in predominantly indigenous small, rural, and remote Northern communities are unacceptably high. This health disparity, however, is fairly recent, occurring over the last 50 to 100 years as communities experienced forced social, economic, and political change and intergenerational trauma. These conditions increase suicide risk and can reduce people's access to shared protective factors and processes. In this context, it is imperative that suicide prevention includes--at its heart--decolonization, while also utilizing the "best practices" from research to effectively address the issue from multiple levels. This article describes such an approach: Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES). PC CARES uses popular education strategies to build a "community of practice" among local and regional service providers, friends, and families that fosters personal and collective learning about suicide prevention in order to spur practical action on multiple levels to prevent suicide and promote health. This article will discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the community intervention and describe the form that PC CARES takes to structure ongoing dialogue, learning, solidarity, and multilevel mobilization for suicide prevention. © The Author(s) 2016.

Creating a Community of Practice to Prevent Suicide Through Multiple Channels: Describing the Theoretical Foundations and Structured Learning of PC CARES

PubMed Central

Wexler, Lisa; McEachern, Diane; DiFulvio, Gloria; Smith, Cristine; Graham, Louis F.; Dombrowski, Kirk

2016-01-01

It is critical to develop practical, effective, ecological, and decolonizing approaches to indigenous suicide prevention and health promotion for the North American communities. The youth suicide rates in predominantly indigenous small, rural, and remote Northern communities are unacceptably high. This health disparity, however, is fairly recent, occurring over the last 50 to 100 years as communities experienced forced social, economic, and political change and intergenerational trauma. These conditions increase suicide risk and can reduce people’s access to shared protective factors and processes. In this context, it is imperative that suicide prevention includes—at its heart—decolonization, while also utilizing the “best practices” from research to effectively address the issue from multiple levels. This article describes such an approach: Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES). PC CARES uses popular education strategies to build a “community of practice” among local and regional service providers, friends, and families that fosters personal and collective learning about suicide prevention in order to spur practical action on multiple levels to prevent suicide and promote health. This article will discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the community intervention and describe the form that PC CARES takes to structure ongoing dialogue, learning, solidarity, and multilevel mobilization for suicide prevention. PMID:26880738

Information content of in situ and remotely sensed chlorophyll-a: Learning from size-structured phytoplankton model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laiolo, Leonardo; Matear, Richard; Baird, Mark E.; Soja-Woźniak, Monika; Doblin, Martina A.

2018-07-01

Chlorophyll-a measurements in the form of in situ observations and satellite ocean colour products are commonly used in data assimilation to calibrate marine biogeochemical models. Here, a two size-class phytoplankton biogeochemical model, with a 0D configuration, was used to simulate the surface chlorophyll-a dynamics (simulated surface Chl-a) for cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies off East Australia. An optical model was then used to calculate the inherent optical properties from the simulation and convert them into remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs). Subsequently, Rrs was used to produce a satellite-like estimate of the simulated surface Chl-a concentrations through the MODIS OC3M algorithm (simulated OC3M Chl-a). Identical parameter optimisation experiments were performed through the assimilation of the two separate datasets (simulated surface Chl-a and simulated OC3M Chl-a), with the purpose of investigating the contrasting information content of simulated surface Chl-a and remotely-sensed data sources. The results we present are based on the analysis of the distribution of a cost function, varying four parameters of the biogeochemical model. In our idealized experiments the simulated OC3M Chl-a product is a poor proxy for the total simulated surface Chl-a concentration. Furthermore, our result show the OC3M algorithm can underestimate the simulated chlorophyll-a concentration in offshore eddies off East Australia (Case I waters), because of the weak relationship between large-sized phytoplankton and remote-sensing reflectance. Although Case I waters are usually characteristic of oligotrophic environments, with a photosynthetic community typically represented by relatively small-sized phytoplankton, mesoscale features such as eddies can generate seasonally favourable conditions for a photosynthetic community with a greater proportion of large phytoplankton cells. Furthermore, our results show that in mesoscale features such as eddies, in situ chlorophyll-a observations and the ocean colour products can carry different information related to phytoplankton sizes. Assimilating both remote-sensing reflectance and measurements of in situ chlorophyll-a concentration reduces the uncertainty of the parameter values more than either data set alone, thus reducing the spread of acceptable solutions, giving an improved simulation of the natural environment.

Optical Remote Sensing Algorithm Validation using High-Frequency Underway Biogeochemical Measurements in Three Large Global River Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhn, C.; Richey, J. E.; Striegl, R. G.; Ward, N.; Sawakuchi, H. O.; Crawford, J.; Loken, L. C.; Stadler, P.; Dornblaser, M.; Butman, D. E.

2017-12-01

More than 93% of the world's river-water volume occurs in basins impacted by large dams and about 43% of river water discharge is impacted by flow regulation. Human land use also alters nutrient and carbon cycling and the emission of carbon dioxide from inland reservoirs. Increased water residence times and warmer temperatures in reservoirs fundamentally alter the physical settings for biogeochemical processing in large rivers, yet river biogeochemistry for many large systems remains undersampled. Satellite remote sensing holds promise as a methodology for responsive regional and global water resources management. Decades of ocean optics research has laid the foundation for the use of remote sensing reflectance in optical wavelengths (400 - 700 nm) to produce satellite-derived, near-surface estimates of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration. Significant improvements between successive generations of ocean color sensors have enabled the scientific community to document changes in global ocean productivity (NPP) and estimate ocean biomass with increasing accuracy. Despite large advances in ocean optics, application of optical methods to inland waters has been limited to date due to their optical complexity and small spatial scale. To test this frontier, we present a study evaluating the accuracy and suitability of empirical inversion approaches for estimating chlorophyll-a, turbidity and temperature for the Amazon, Columbia and Mississippi rivers using satellite remote sensing. We demonstrate how riverine biogeochemical measurements collected at high frequencies from underway vessels can be used as in situ matchups to evaluate remotely-sensed, near-surface temperature, turbidity, chlorophyll-a derived from the Landsat 8 (NASA) and Sentinel 2 (ESA) satellites. We investigate the use of remote sensing water reflectance to infer trophic status as well as tributary influences on the optical characteristics of the Amazon, Mississippi and Columbia rivers.

Respiratory isolation for tuberculosis: the experience of Indigenous peoples on the Canadian prairies.

PubMed

Mayan, M; Robinson, T; Gokiert, R; Tremblay, M; Abonyi, S; Long, R

2017-12-21

Setting: The Prairie provinces of Canada. Objective: To understand how Indigenous peoples with infectious pulmonary tuberculosis living in different community settings in the Prairie provinces of Canada experience respiratory isolation. Design: Using an exploratory qualitative approach, we interviewed participants living in urban centres, non-remote reserve settings and remote and isolated reserve settings. Results: Through qualitative content analysis of 48 interviews, we determined that participants experienced feelings of confinement regardless of the community setting in which they lived. Participants also experienced family and social disconnect, but the experience was more potent for the remote and isolated reserve participants, who were required to be flown out of their home communities to receive treatment, and for those urban centre and non-remote reserve participants who lacked social connections. The roles of past experiences with sanitoria and of family in providing social support are discussed. Conclusions: The conclusions of this study focus on examining isolation policies and improving the hospital isolation experience.

Measurement and Data Transmission Validity of a Multi-Biosensor System for Real-Time Remote Exercise Monitoring Among Cardiac Patients.

PubMed

Rawstorn, Jonathan C; Gant, Nicholas; Warren, Ian; Doughty, Robert Neil; Lever, Nigel; Poppe, Katrina K; Maddison, Ralph

2015-03-20

Remote telemonitoring holds great potential to augment management of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) by enabling regular physiological monitoring during physical activity. Remote physiological monitoring may improve home and community exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (exCR) programs and could improve assessment of the impact and management of pharmacological interventions for heart rate control in individuals with AF. Our aim was to evaluate the measurement validity and data transmission reliability of a remote telemonitoring system comprising a wireless multi-parameter physiological sensor, custom mobile app, and middleware platform, among individuals in sinus rhythm and AF. Participants in sinus rhythm and with AF undertook simulated daily activities, low, moderate, and/or high intensity exercise. Remote monitoring system heart rate and respiratory rate were compared to reference measures (12-lead ECG and indirect calorimeter). Wireless data transmission loss was calculated between the sensor, mobile app, and remote Internet server. Median heart rate (-0.30 to 1.10 b∙min -1 ) and respiratory rate (-1.25 to 0.39 br∙min -1 ) measurement biases were small, yet statistically significant (all P≤.003) due to the large number of observations. Measurement reliability was generally excellent (rho=.87-.97, all P<.001; intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=.94-.98, all P<.001; coefficient of variation [CV]=2.24-7.94%), although respiratory rate measurement reliability was poor among AF participants (rho=.43, P<.001; ICC=.55, P<.001; CV=16.61%). Data loss was minimal (<5%) when all system components were active; however, instability of the network hosting the remote data capture server resulted in data loss at the remote Internet server during some trials. System validity was sufficient for remote monitoring of heart and respiratory rates across a range of exercise intensities. Remote exercise monitoring has potential to augment current exCR and heart rate control management approaches by enabling the provision of individually tailored care to individuals outside traditional clinical environments. ©Jonathan C Rawstorn, Nicholas Gant, Ian Warren, Robert Neil Doughty, Nigel Lever, Katrina K Poppe, Ralph Maddison. Originally published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (http://rehab.jmir.org), 20.03.2015.

Developing a School-Based Preventive Life Skills Program for Youth in a Remote Indigenous Community in North Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Gary; Leckning, Bernard; Midford, Richard; Harper, Helen; Silburn, Sven; Gannaway, Jess; Dolan, Kylie; Delphine, Tim; Hayes, Craig

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of development and the pilot implementation of a preventive life skills curriculum for Indigenous middle school students in a very remote community college in the West Arnhem region of North Australia. The curriculum integrates proven educational and psychological techniques with…

Mobile Devices for Tertiary Study--Philosophy Meets Pragmatics for Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townsend, Philip

2015-01-01

This paper outlines PhD research which suggests mobile learning fits the cultural philosophies and roles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are preservice teachers in the very remote Australian communities where the research was conducted. The problem which the research addresses is the low completion rates for two community-based…

A Corporate Responsibility? The Constitution of Fly-in, Fly-out Mining Companies as Governance Partners in Remote, Mine-Affected Localities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheshire, Lynda

2010-01-01

In some remote parts of Australia, mining companies have positioned themselves as central actors in governing nearby affected communities by espousing notions of "voluntary partnerships for sustainability" between business, government and community. It is argued in this paper that the nature and extent of mining company interventions in…

The role of remote community stores in reducing the harm resulting from tobacco to Aboriginal people.

PubMed

Ivers, Rowena G; Castro, Anthony; Parfitt, David; Bailie, Ross S; Richmond, Robyn L; D'Abbs, Peter H

2006-05-01

The objective of this study was to assess the potential for reducing the harm resulting from tobacco use through health promotion programmes run in community stores in remote Aboriginal communities. The Tobacco Project utilised data from 111 stakeholder interviews (72 at baseline and 71 at follow-up after 12 months) assessing presence of sales to minors, tobacco advertising, labelling and pricing. It also involved the assessment of observational data from community stores and comments obtained from 29 tobacco vendors derived from community surveys. Sales of tobacco to minors were not reported in community stores and all stores complied with requirements to display the legislated signage. However, tobacco was accessible to minors through a vending machine and through independent vendors. Only one store displayed tobacco advertising; all stores had displayed anti-tobacco health promotion posters or pamphlets. Pricing policies in two stores may have meant that food items effectively subsidised the cost of tobacco. All stores had unofficial no-smoking policies in accessible parts of the store. Remote community stores complied with existing legislation, aside from allowing access of minors to vending machines. There may still be potential for proactive tobacco education campaigns run through community stores and for a trial assessing the effect of changes in tobacco prices on tobacco consumption.

Remote identification of individual volunteer cotton plants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although airborne multispectral remote sensing can identify fields of small cotton plants, improvements to detection sensitivity are needed to identify individual or small clusters of plants that can similarly provide habitat for boll weevils. However, when consumer-grade cameras are used, each pix...

Short-stay rural and remote placements in dental education, an effective model for rural exposure: a review of eight-year experience in Western Australia.

PubMed

Kruger, Estie; Tennant, Marc

2010-08-01

The increase in demand for dental care over the next 10 years is expected to outstrip the supply of dental visits in Australia, resulting in an ongoing shortage of dental practitioners. As trends in medicine have shown, the greatest effect will be felt in rural and remote regions, where an undersupply of dentists already exists. It is clearly evident that it is important to provide strategies that will increase the recruitment and retention of practitioners in rural and remote areas. Previous research suggested an increased likelihood for health graduates to choose rural practice if they have a rural background, or were exposed to rural practice during their education. Short-stay (three to four weeks) placements for final-year dental students has been part of dental education in Western Australia for near on a decade. This paper reflects on the experiences gained from managing this placement program. Short-stay placements are a quality learning initiative but need a high level of planning and a clear vision to be effective. The key factors in ensuring sustainable, student centred learning is driven through a small core group of staff who have strong direct links with rural and remote communities, students and support providers. The integration of service, education and research goals have played a critical role in sustaining placements. The philosophy underpinning the rural placements needs to be clearly articulated and applied effectively in each step of their implementation and a highly focused customer-service driven implementation is required to make short-stay rural and remote placements effective.

Supporting Shared Resource Usage for a Diverse User Community: the OSG Experience and Lessons Learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garzoglio, Gabriele; Levshina, Tanya; Rynge, Mats; Sehgal, Chander; Slyz, Marko

2012-12-01

The Open Science Grid (OSG) supports a diverse community of new and existing users in adopting and making effective use of the Distributed High Throughput Computing (DHTC) model. The LHC user community has deep local support within the experiments. For other smaller communities and individual users the OSG provides consulting and technical services through the User Support area. We describe these sometimes successful and sometimes not so successful experiences and analyze lessons learned that are helping us improve our services. The services offered include forums to enable shared learning and mutual support, tutorials and documentation for new technology, and troubleshooting of problematic or systemic failure modes. For new communities and users, we bootstrap their use of the distributed high throughput computing technologies and resources available on the OSG by following a phased approach. We first adapt the application and run a small production campaign on a subset of “friendly” sites. Only then do we move the user to run full production campaigns across the many remote sites on the OSG, adding to the community resources up to hundreds of thousands of CPU hours per day. This scaling up generates new challenges - like no determinism in the time to job completion, and diverse errors due to the heterogeneity of the configurations and environments - so some attention is needed to get good results. We cover recent experiences with image simulation for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), small-file large volume data movement for the Dark Energy Survey (DES), civil engineering simulation with the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), and accelerator modeling with the Electron Ion Collider group at BNL. We will categorize and analyze the use cases and describe how our processes are evolving based on lessons learned.

Aboriginal Community Education Officers' Border Work: Culturally Safe Practices for Supporting Migrating Indigenous Students from Country into Urban and Semi-Rural Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacGill, Bindi

2012-01-01

Since 2001 there has been an increase in migration patterns by Indigenous families from remote communities to urban and semi-rural locations. Indigenous student emigration from remote Indigenous schools to urban and semi-rural schools is an emerging crisis as there are routinely inadequate service providers for Indigenous emigres. Migration away…

Post-Secondary Distance Education in a Contemporary Colonial Context: Experiences of Students in a Rural First Nation in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, Jesse; Burton, Kevin; Lockhart, Emily; O'Donnell, Susan

2014-01-01

Post-secondary distance education gives students and their families living in remote and rural regions the option to stay in their communities while they study instead of moving closer to the universities in cities. Post-secondary distance education is an option in many rural and remote First Nation (Indigenous) communities in Canada; however…

Use of remote sensing for land use policy formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Progress in studies for using remotely sensed data for assessing crop stress and in crop estimation is reported. The estimation of acreage of small forested areas in the southern lower peninsula of Michigan using LANDSAT data is evaluated. Damage to small grains caused by the cereal leaf beetle was assessed through remote sensing. The remote detection of X-disease of peach and cherry trees and of fire blight of pear and apple trees was investigated. The reliability of improving on standard methods of crop production estimation was demonstrated. Areas of virus infestation in vineyards and blueberry fields in western and southwestern Michigan were identified. The installation and systems integration of a microcomputer system for processing and making available remotely sensed data are described.

Remote sensing of vegetation fires and its contribution to a fire management information system

Treesearch

Stephane P. Flasse; Simon N. Trigg; Pietro N. Ceccato; Anita H. Perryman; Andrew T. Hudak; Mark W. Thompson; Bruce H. Brockett; Moussa Drame; Tim Ntabeni; Philip E. Frost; Tobias Landmann; Johan L. le Roux

2004-01-01

In the last decade, research has proven that remote sensing can provide very useful support to fire managers. This chapter provides an overview of the types of information remote sensing can provide to the fire community. First, it considers fire management information needs in the context of a fire management information system. An introduction to remote sensing then...

Small Body Science via Swarms of Nano-Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernst, Sebastian M.; Lewis, John S.

2015-04-01

Imagine you had a fleet of nano-satellites deployed around an asteroid or comet, or directly on its surface. What things could you do with it that you could not do any other way? Missions which transport a number of small spacecraft and deploy it near small bodes, moons or planets are becoming ever more feasible and realistic. While constellations of nano-satellites already carry a significant weight in terrestrial remote sensing, the potential of similar concepts for planetary science missions has not yet been extensively explored. There have been proposals for such scenarios for the past decades, though only now is there the technology to make them happen. Multiple types of sensor networks can be deployed around planetary bodies or onto their surface while they can interact with each other if required. Furthermore, individual spacecraft become expendable. We wish to call attention to all the research in this field which has been conducted so far and inspire the planetary science community to further investigate the possibies of such mission architechtures.

Testing a small UAS for mapping artisanal diamond mining sites in Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Malpeli, Katherine C.; Chirico, Peter G.

2015-01-01

Remote sensing technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. At the forefront of the new technological developments are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The advent of small, lightweight, low-cost, and user-friendly UAS is greatly expanding the potential applications of remote sensing technology and improving the set of tools available to researchers seeking to map and monitor terrain from above. In this article, we explore the applications of a small UAS for mapping informal diamond mining sites in Africa. We found that this technology provides aerial imagery of unparalleled resolution in a data-sparse, difficult to access, and remote terrain.

Motivation Matters: Lessons for REDD+ Participatory Measurement, Reporting and Verification from Three Decades of Child Health Participatory Monitoring in Indonesia.

PubMed

Ekowati, Dian; Hofstee, Carola; Praputra, Andhika Vega; Sheil, Douglas

2016-01-01

Participatory Measurement, Reporting and Verification (PMRV), in the context of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation with its co-benefits (REDD+) requires sustained monitoring and reporting by community members. This requirement appears challenging and has yet to be achieved. Other successful, long established, community self-monitoring and reporting systems may provide valuable lessons. The Indonesian integrated village healthcare program (Posyandu) was initiated in the 1980s and still provides effective and successful participatory measurement and reporting of child health status across the diverse, and often remote, communities of Indonesia. Posyandu activities focus on the growth and development of children under the age of five by recording their height and weight and reporting these monthly to the Ministry of Health. Here we focus on the local Posyandu personnel (kaders) and their motivations and incentives for contributing. While Posyandu and REDD+ measurement and reporting activities differ, there are sufficient commonalities to draw useful lessons. We find that the Posyandu kaders are motivated by their interests in health care, by their belief that it benefits the community, and by encouragement by local leaders. Recognition from the community, status within the system, training opportunities, competition among communities, and small payments provide incentives to sustain participation. We examine these lessons in the context of REDD+.

Modeling plant composition as community continua in a forest landscape with LiDAR and hyperspectral remote sensing.

PubMed

Hakkenberg, C R; Peet, R K; Urban, D L; Song, C

2018-01-01

In light of the need to operationalize the mapping of forest composition at landscape scales, this study uses multi-scale nested vegetation sampling in conjunction with LiDAR-hyperspectral remotely sensed data from the G-LiHT airborne sensor to map vascular plant compositional turnover in a compositionally and structurally complex North Carolina Piedmont forest. Reflecting a shift in emphasis from remotely sensing individual crowns to detecting aggregate optical-structural properties of forest stands, predictive maps reflect the composition of entire vascular plant communities, inclusive of those species smaller than the resolution of the remotely sensed imagery, intertwined with proximate taxa, or otherwise obscured from optical sensors by dense upper canopies. Stand-scale vascular plant composition is modeled as community continua: where discrete community-unit classes at different compositional resolutions provide interpretable context for continuous gradient maps that depict n-dimensional compositional complexity as a single, consistent RGB color combination. In total, derived remotely sensed predictors explain 71%, 54%, and 48% of the variation in the first three components of vascular plant composition, respectively. Among all remotely sensed environmental gradients, topography derived from LiDAR ground returns, forest structure estimated from LiDAR all returns, and morphological-biochemical traits determined from hyperspectral imagery each significantly correspond to the three primary axes of floristic composition in the study site. Results confirm the complementarity of LiDAR and hyperspectral sensors for modeling the environmental gradients constraining landscape turnover in vascular plant composition and hold promise for predictive mapping applications spanning local land management to global ecosystem modeling. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Is previous disaster experience a good predictor for disaster preparedness in extreme poverty households in remote Muslim minority based community in China?

PubMed

Chan, Emily Y Y; Kim, Jean H; Lin, Cherry; Cheung, Eliza Y L; Lee, Polly P Y

2014-06-01

Disaster preparedness is an important preventive strategy for protecting health and mitigating adverse health effects of unforeseen disasters. A multi-site based ethnic minority project (2009-2015) is set up to examine health and disaster preparedness related issues in remote, rural, disaster prone communities in China. The primary objective of this reported study is to examine if previous disaster experience significantly increases household disaster preparedness levels in remote villages in China. A cross-sectional, household survey was conducted in January 2011 in Gansu Province, in a predominately Hui minority-based village. Factors related to disaster preparedness were explored using quantitative methods. Two focus groups were also conducted to provide additional contextual explanations to the quantitative findings of this study. The village household response rate was 62.4 % (n = 133). Although previous disaster exposure was significantly associated with perception of living in a high disaster risk area (OR = 6.16), only 10.7 % households possessed a disaster emergency kit. Of note, for households with members who had non-communicable diseases, 9.6 % had prepared extra medications to sustain clinical management of their chronic conditions. This is the first study that examined disaster preparedness in an ethnic minority population in remote communities in rural China. Our results indicate the need of disaster mitigation education to promote preparedness in remote, resource-poor communities.

Detection of potato beetle damage using remote sensing from small unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has potential applications in agriculture because low flight altitudes allow image acquisition at very high spatial resolution. We set up experiments at the Oregon State University Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC...

Paperbark and pinard: A historical account of maternity care in one remote Australian Aboriginal town.

PubMed

Ireland, Sarah; Belton, Suzanne; McGrath, Ann; Saggers, Sherry; Narjic, Concepta Wulili

2015-12-01

Maternity care in remote areas of the Australian Northern Territory is restricted to antenatal and postnatal care only, with women routinely evacuated to give birth in hospital. Using one remote Aboriginal community as a case study, our aim with this research was to document and explore the major changes to the provision of remote maternity care over the period spanning pre-European colonisation to 1996. Our research methods included historical ethnographic fieldwork (2007-2013); interviews with Aboriginal women, Aboriginal health workers, religious and non-religious non-Aboriginal health workers and past residents; and archival review of historical documents. We identified four distinct eras of maternity care. Maternity care staffed by nuns who were trained in nursing and midwifery serviced childbirth in the local community. Support for community childbirth was incrementally withdrawn over a period, until the government eventually assumed responsibility for all health care. The introduction of Western maternity care colonised Aboriginal birth practices and midwifery practice. Historical population statistics suggest that access to local Western maternity care may have contributed to a significant population increase. Despite population growth and higher demand for maternity services, local maternity services declined significantly. The rationale for removing childbirth services from the community was never explicitly addressed in any known written policy directive. Declining maternity services led to the de-skilling of many Aboriginal health workers and the significant community loss of future career pathways for Aboriginal midwives. This has contributed to the current status quo, with very few female Aboriginal health workers actively providing remote maternity care. Copyright © 2015 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Culture shock and healthcare workers in remote Indigenous communities of Australia: what do we know and how can we measure it?

PubMed

Muecke, A; Lenthall, S; Lindeman, M

2011-01-01

Culture shock or cultural adaptation is a significant issue confronting non-Indigenous health professionals working in remote Indigenous communities in Australia. This article is presented in two parts. The first part provides a thorough background in the theory of culture shock and cultural adaptation, and a comprehensive analysis of the consequences, causes, and current issues around the phenomenon in the remote Australian healthcare context. Second, the article presents the results of a comprehensive literature review undertaken to determine if existing studies provide tools which may measure the cultural adaptation of remote health professionals. A comprehensive literature review was conducted utilising the meta-databases CINAHL and Ovid Medline. While there is a plethora of descriptive literature about culture shock and cultural adaptation, empirical evidence is lacking. In particular, no empirical evidence was found relating to the cultural adaptation of non-Indigenous health professionals working in Indigenous communities in Australia. In all, 15 international articles were found that provided empirical evidence to support the concept of culture shock. Of these, only 2 articles contained tools that met the pre-determined selection criteria to measure the stages of culture shock. The 2 instruments identified were the Culture Shock Profile (CSP) by Zapf and the Culture Shock Adaptation Inventory (CSAI) by Juffer. There is sufficient evidence to determine that culture shock is a significant issue for non-Indigenous health professionals working in Indigenous communities in Australia. However, further research in this area is needed. The available empirical evidence indicates that a measurement tool is possible but needs further development to be suitable for use in remote Indigenous communities in Australia.

Small wind systems application analysis. Executive summary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1981-06-01

The potential market for SWECS, or wind machines smaller than 100 kW for five selected applications was estimated. The goals of the study were to aid manufacturers in attaining financing by convincing venture capital investors of the potential of SWECS and to aid government planners in allocating R and D expenditures that will effectively advance SWECS commercialization. The five applications were selected through an initial screening and priority-ranking analysis. The year of analysis was 1985, but all dollar amounts, such as fuel costs, are expressed in 1980 dollars. The five SWECS applications investigated were farm residences, non-farm residences rural electric cooperatives, feed grinders, and remote communities.

Impact of increasing market access on a tropical small-scale fishery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, Kara; Irwin, Brian J.; Kramer, Daniel; Urquhart, Gerald

2014-01-01

Small-scale fisheries have historically been marginalized in management and policy investments, and they often remain under-reported in national economic and fisheries statistics. Even so, small-scale fisheries are not entirely buffered from the impacts of globalization, such as the introduction and expansion of markets. This study measures the long-term impact of market-access on a coastal fishery on Nicaragua׳s remote Atlantic Coast from approximately the time when fishermen had access to stable and predictable local markets until the present, when the region has been transformed by road connection. In the last four years, fisheries trade has expanded as road connection has facilitated export to distant markets. Fishery-independent surveys were used to measure changes in indicators of fish-community status such as length-frequency, mean trophic level, and relative biomass. Species-level changes in relative biomass of common snook Centropomus undecimalis and gafftopsail catfish Bagre marinus were also evaluated since these species are the most economically valuable and likely account for the most fish biomass in the system. Using historical records, reports, current observations and interviews, changes in indicators of fishing intensity and market access over the past 17 years were assessed. From 1994 to 2011, community and species-specific metrics of the lagoon fishery declined significantly across all indicators examined. The potential social and economic outcomes of the decline in the fishery are far-reaching for the region, because this tropical fishery comprises the main source of protein and income for residents of twelve indigenous and Afro-descendent communities.

High Resolution Mapping of Drought Impacts on Small Waterbodies using Sentinel 1 SAR and Landsat Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slinski, K.; Hogue, T. S.; McCray, J. E.

2017-12-01

Drought in semi-arid areas can have substantial impact on ephemeral and small water bodies, which provide critical ecological habitat and have important socio-economic value. This is particularly true in the pastoral areas of East Africa, where these ecosystems provide local communities with water for human and animal consumption and pasture for livestock. However, monitoring the impact of drought on ephemeral and small water bodies in East Africa is challenging because of sparse in situ observational systems. Satellite remote sensing observations have been shown to be a viable option for monitoring surface water change in data-poor regions. Landsat data is widely used to detect open water, but the use of Landsat data in small waterbody studies is limited by its 30-meter spatial resolution. New remote sensing-based tools are necessary to better understand the vulnerability of ephemeral and small waterbodies in semi-arid areas to drought and to monitor drought impacts. This study combines Landsat and Sentinel 1 SAR observations to create a series of monthly waterbody maps over the Awash River basin in Ethiopia depicting the change in surface water from October 2014 to March 2017. The study time period corresponds with a major drought event in the area. Waterbody maps were generated using a 10-meter resolution and utilized to monitor drought impacts on ephemeral and small waterbodies in the Awash River basin over the course of the drought event. Initial results show that surface waterbodies in the lower catchments of the Awash basin were more severely impacted by the drought event than the upper catchments. It is anticipated that the new information provided by this tool will inform decisions affecting the water, energy, agriculture and other sectors in East Africa reliant on water resources, enabling water authorities to better manage future drought events.

Applying Various Methods of Communicating Science for Community Decision-Making and Public Awareness: A NASA DEVELOP National Program Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, T. N.; Brumbaugh, E. J.; Barker, M.; Ly, V.; Schick, R.; Rogers, L.

2015-12-01

The NASA DEVELOP National Program conducts over eighty Earth science projects every year. Each project applies NASA Earth observations to impact decision-making related to a local or regional community concern. Small, interdisciplinary teams create a methodology to address the specific issue, and then pass on the results to partner organizations, as well as providing them with instruction to continue using remote sensing for future decisions. Many different methods are used by individual teams, and the program as a whole, to communicate results and research accomplishments to decision-makers, stakeholders, alumni, and the general public. These methods vary in scope from formal publications to more informal venues, such as social media. This presentation will highlight the communication techniques used by the DEVELOP program. Audiences, strategies, and outlets will be discussed, including a newsletter, microjournal, video contest, and several others.

Hillslope characterization: Identifying key controls on local-scale plant communities' distribution using remote sensing and subsurface data fusion.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falco, N.; Wainwright, H. M.; Dafflon, B.; Leger, E.; Peterson, J.; Steltzer, H.; Wilmer, C.; Williams, K. H.; Hubbard, S. S.

2017-12-01

Mountainous watershed systems are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in hydrological and pedological properties that influence biotic activities, plant communities and their dynamics. To gain predictive understanding of how ecosystem and watershed system evolve under climate change, it is critical to capture such heterogeneity and to quantify the effect of key environmental variables such as topography, and soil properties. In this study, we exploit advanced geophysical and remote sensing techniques - coupled with machine learning - to better characterize and quantify the interactions between plant communities' distribution and subsurface properties. First, we have developed a remote sensing data fusion framework based on the random forest (RF) classification algorithm to estimate the spatial distribution of plant communities. The framework allows the integration of both plant spectral and structural information, which are derived from multispectral satellite images and airborne LiDAR data. We then use the RF method to evaluate the estimated plant community map, exploiting the subsurface properties (such as bedrock depth, soil moisture and other properties) and geomorphological parameters (such as slope, curvature) as predictors. Datasets include high-resolution geophysical data (electrical resistivity tomography) and LiDAR digital elevation maps. We demonstrate our approach on a mountain hillslope and meadow within the East River watershed in Colorado, which is considered to be a representative headwater catchment in the Upper Colorado Basin. The obtained results show the existence of co-evolution between above and below-ground processes; in particular, dominant shrub communities in wet and flat areas. We show that successful integration of remote sensing data with geophysical measurements allows identifying and quantifying the key environmental controls on plant communities' distribution, and provides insights into their potential changes in the future climate conditions.

Insect detection and nitrogen management for irrigated potatoes using remote sensing from small unmanned aircraft systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing with small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has potential applications in agriculture because low flight altitudes allow image acquisition at very high spatial resolution. We set up experiments at the Oregon State University Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center with d...

Change in residential remoteness during the first 5 years of life in an Australian cerebral palsy cohort.

PubMed

DeLacy, Michael J; Louca, Christalla; Smithers-Sheedy, Hayley; McIntyre, Sarah

2016-02-01

To determine if families of children with cerebral palsy living in Australia move to less remote areas between birth and 5 years. Children on the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register (n=3399) born 1996 to 2005, were assigned a remoteness value for family residence at birth and 5 years using a modification of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. Each value at birth was subtracted from the value at 5 years yielding a positive difference if they moved more remotely, negative difference if they moved less remotely and a value of zero if they did not move or moved to an equally remote residence. The small net increase in remoteness across this cohort was non-significant (p=0.43). Fifty-seven per cent of families changed postcode but only 20% changed remoteness, 11% more remotely, and 9% less remotely. There was a small trend for families with a child with more impaired gross motor function (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels IV and V) to move to a less remote area. This cohort of families with children with cerebral palsy did not appear to move to less remote areas by age 5 years. Remoteness at birth and level of gross motor function seem to have little effect. © 2016 The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2016 Mac Keith Press.

Trachoma, cataracts and uncorrected refractive error are still important contributors to visual morbidity in two remote indigenous communities of the Northern Territory, Australia.

PubMed

Wright, Heathcote R; Keeffe, Jill E; Taylor, Hugh R

2009-08-01

To assess the contribution of trachoma, cataract and refractive error to visual morbidity among Indigenous adults living in two remote communities of the Northern Territory. Cross-sectional survey of all adults aged 40 and over within a desert and coastal community. Visual acuity, clinical signs of trachoma using the simplified WHO grading system and assessment of cataract through a non-dilated pupil. Two hundred and sixty individuals over the age of 40 years participated in the study. The prevalence of visual impairment (<6/12) was 17%. The prevalence of blindness (<3/60) was 2%, 40-fold higher than seen in an urban Australian population when adjusted for age. In total, 78% of adults who grew up in a desert community had trachomatous scarring compared with 26% of those who grew up in a coastal community (P < or = 0.001). In the desert community the prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis was 10% and corneal opacity was 6%. No trachomatous trichiasis or corneal opacity was seen in the coastal community. Trachoma, cataract and uncorrected refractive error remain significant contributors to visual morbidity in at least two remote indigenous communities. A wider survey is required to determine if these findings represent a more widespread pattern and existing eye care services may need to be re-assessed to determine the cause of this unmet need.

Safety and community: the maternity care needs of rural parturient women.

PubMed

Kornelsen, Jude; Grzybowski, Stefan

2005-06-01

To investigate rural parturient women's experiences of obstetric care in the context of the social and economic realities of life in rural, remote, and small urban communities. Data collection for this exploratory qualitative study was carried out in 7 rural communities chosen to represent diversity of size, distance to hospital with Caesarean section capability and distance to secondary hospital, usual conditions for transport and access, and cultural and ethnic subpopulations. We interviewed 44 women who had given birth up to 24 months before the study began. When asked about their experiences of giving birth in rural communities, many participants spoke of unmet needs and their associated anxieties. Self-identified needs were largely congruent with the deficit categories of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which recognizes the contingency and interdependence of physiological needs, the need for safety and security, the need for community and belonging, self-esteem needs, and the need for self-actualization. For many women, community was critical to meeting psychosocial needs, and women from communities that currently have (or have recently had) access to local maternity care said that being able to give birth in their own community or in a nearby community was necessary if their obstetric needs were to be met. Removing maternity care from a community creates significant psychosocial consequences that are imperfectly understood but that probably have physiological implications for women, babies, and families. Further research into rural women's maternity care that considers the loss of local maternity care from multiple perspectives is needed.

Boyfriends, Babies and Basketball: Present Lives and Future Aspirations of Young Women in a Remote Australian Aboriginal Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senior, Kate A.; Chenhall, Richard D.

2012-01-01

This paper explores the aspirations of a group of young women in a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia. It examines how their hopes and expectations are influenced by the reality of their everyday lives and the extent to which they are able to influence the course of their lives and become agents for change in their…

Remote Rural Students' Perceptions of Their Collegiate Transition Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rains, Linda Marie Peterson

2009-01-01

This research project focused on the perceptions of students from remote rural communities as they told of their transition experiences to a mid-size, research-intensive university. During the spring of 2008, thirteen students from North Dakota remote rural counties agreed to be interviewed for this study. Ten females and three males from seven…

Healthcare Supported by Data Mule Networks in Remote Communities of the Amazon Region

PubMed Central

Coutinho, Mauro Margalho; Efrat, Alon; Richa, Andrea

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the feasibility of using boats as data mule nodes, carrying medical ultrasound videos from remote and isolated communities in the Amazon region in Brazil, to the main city of that area. The videos will be used by physicians to perform remote analysis and follow-up routine of prenatal examinations of pregnant women. Two open source simulators (the ONE and NS-2) were used to evaluate the results obtained utilizing a CoDPON (continuous displacement plan oriented network). The simulations took into account the connection times between the network nodes (boats) and the number of nodes on each boat route. PMID:27433519

Feasibility of a novel participatory multi-sector continuous improvement approach to enhance food security in remote Indigenous Australian communities.

PubMed

Brimblecombe, J; Bailie, R; van den Boogaard, C; Wood, B; Liberato, S C; Ferguson, M; Coveney, J; Jaenke, R; Ritchie, J

2017-12-01

Food insecurity underlies and compounds many of the development issues faced by remote Indigenous communities in Australia. Multi-sector approaches offer promise to improve food security. We assessed the feasibility of a novel multi-sector approach to enhance community food security in remote Indigenous Australia. A longitudinal comparative multi-site case study, the Good Food Systems Good Food for All Project, was conducted (2009-2013) with four Aboriginal communities. Continuous improvement meetings were held in each community. Data from project documents and store sales were used to assess feasibility according to engagement, uptake and sustainability of action, and impact on community diet, as well as identifying conditions facilitating or hindering these. Engagement was established where: the community perceived a need for the approach; where trust was developed between the community and facilitators; where there was community stability; and where flexibility was applied in the timing of meetings. The approach enabled stakeholders in each community to collectively appraise the community food system and plan action. Actions that could be directly implemented within available resources resulted from developing collaborative capacity. Actions requiring advocacy, multi-sectoral involvement, commitment or further resources were less frequently used. Positive shifts in community diet were associated with key areas where actions were implemented. A multi-sector participatory approach seeking continuous improvement engaged committed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders and was shown to have potential to shift community diet. Provision of clear mechanisms to link this approach with higher level policy and decision-making structures, clarity of roles and responsibilities, and processes to prioritise and communicate actions across sectors should further strengthen capacity for food security improvement. Integrating this approach enabling local decision-making into community governance structures with adequate resourcing is an imperative.

Challenges in preventing pyelonephritis in pregnant women in Indigenous communities.

PubMed

Bookallil, M; Chalmers, E; Andrew, B

2005-01-01

To measure the quality of antenatal care in rural and remote regions of the Northern Territory, using asymptomatic bacteruria as an indicator. Indigenous Australian women and their babies have a greater frequency of adverse outcomes in pregnancy than their non-Indigenous counterparts. It is well established that asymptomatic bacteriuria may have serious outcomes in pregnancy, including an increased risk of pyelonephritis and a strong association with preterm and low birth weight delivery. Ensuring good quality antenatal care can reduce the individual risks of pregnancy for mothers and their babies. In the Northern Territory there are well established guidelines for antenatal care in rural and remote Indigenous communities. These are documented in the Women's Business Manual. Audit and feedback is one method that has been shown to have a small to moderate effect in changing clinician behaviour, in this case improving compliance with guidelines. A retrospective chart audit of antenatal clients was conducted at 10 rural and remote primary health care clinics in the Northern Territory, Australia. The audit reviewed all the available charts (n = 268) of pregnant women, from the participating communities, who gave birth in 2002 or 2003. The diagnosis and management of asymptomatic bacteriuria was chosen as the indicator of quality antenatal care, as it is one of five areas of antenatal care where there is evidence that appropriate management improves outcomes. The quality of care was measured against the local guidelines, the Women's Business Manual. Women frequently had urine tests with where the dipstick showed an abnormal result, with 75% (95% CI [0.70,0.80]) of women having at least one episode of abnormal urinalysis during pregnancy. Six hundred and twenty episodes of abnormal urinalysis in pregnancy were identified. The incidence of bacteriuria at first visit was 16%, (95%-confidence interval = 95% CI [0.10, 0.21]). Compliance with the guidelines was poor. Fifty-six percent (95% CI [0.52,0.60]) of those samples testing positive on urinalysis were not sent to pathology for microscopy and culture, as recommended in the guidelines. Of those with a positive culture, 32% (95% CI 0.28,0.39) were appropriately treated with antibiotics. When antibiotics were given, good compliance of 82% (95% CI 0.76,0.87) with antibiotic guidelines was demonstrated. The positive predictive value of dipstick urinalysis in diagnosing asymptomatic bacteriuria was low in this study at 33.5%. There were 13 episodes of confirmed or probable pyelonephritis. No women with recurrent urinary tract infections were followed up according to protocol. Aboriginal women have worse pregnancy outcomes than the non-Indigenous population of Australia. Pyelonephritis is a preventable condition in pregnancy. In these rural and remote communities, pyelonephritis has not been prevented due, in part, to a failure to follow the local guidelines. Structural problems were identified and need to be addressed in order to improve compliance with guidelines and hence pregnancy outcomes for rural and remote Indigenous women.

Job location decisions of pharmacy graduates in British Columbia.

PubMed

Pearson, Marion L; Andres, Lesley

2010-05-12

To determine the factors influencing pharmacy graduates' selection of their first professional job location. A survey was conducted of the 2007 graduating class of the University of British Columbia, examining hometown location, community and workplace factors, personal relationships, financial factors, and leisure activities. Responses were analyzed to determine whether community size or demographic characteristics affected the degree to which each factor influenced the job location decision. The majority of graduates moved from their hometowns to larger communities, mainly to the largest city in British Columbia. Most of those taking jobs in rural and remote communities grew up in or near those communities, and were more influenced by community size and anticipated working conditions, and less influenced by access to cultural and social activities, than their urban counterparts. The admission of students from rural and remote communities is modestly effective in ensuring a supply of pharmacists for these areas.

Water safety in the bush: strategies for addressing training needs in remote areas.

PubMed

Beattie, N; Shaw, P; Larson, A

2008-01-01

This article describes a unique, remote, water safety-training program delivered to 11 remote Australian communities during 2006-2007. The program, known as 'Water Safety in the Bush', was developed by Combined Universities Centre for Rural Health in Geraldton Western Australia in consultation with the Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Ageing, and the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia. Drowning and near drowning are major causes of childhood death and injury in rural and remote Australia, making improved water safety awareness and skills a public health priority. Water Safety in the Bush employed a flexible, community development model to meet the special requirements of remote and isolated communities. The model had three elements: coordination by a local organisation; a water safety instruction program based on a Royal Life Saving Society of Australia curriculum adapted to meet local priorities; and strategies for sustainability. In the delivery of the program a total of 873 children and 219 adults received swimming and water safety instruction; 47 adults and older children received first-aid training; and 38 community members became AUSTAWIM (the Australian Council for the Teaching of Swimming and Water Safety) accredited instructors. Project evaluation showed parents and community organisations were very satisfied with the program which met a real need. Parents and instructors gave evidence of children's increased skills in water safety, swimming ability, life-saving and water confidence. Training programs with greater contact hours showed greater skill gains. Sustainability strategies included accreditation of local AUSTSWIM instructors, the erection of water safety signs, sourcing of continuing funding, and the introduction of water safety theory into the school curriculum. Flexibility was the major success factor. Within the parameters of minimum guidelines, communities were encouraged to choose the timing, venue and delivery mode of the training to ensure the program was best suited to the local community. Community ownership was achieved by requiring that local organisations design and implement the projects. Designing programs that addressed local constraints ensured high participation rates. A number of challenges were also identified. Not all community organisations had the capacity to take on the coordinating role, and struggled to effectively deliver a sustainable program. Other models may be needed for these communities. Accessing appropriately qualified water safety instructors in local areas also proved difficult at several of the sites. Further, designing standardised outcome evaluation strategies that could be implemented across all participating sites was problematic. Remote and isolated communities have a pressing need to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for water safety and survival. Standard training programs, which in the case of swimming and water safety instruction are generally run in two-week blocks, are often not feasible. Models for delivering training, which give resources and power to local organisations to find innovative ways to meet their priorities, build capacity and ensure high participation rates.

What older people want: evidence from a study of remote Scottish communities.

PubMed

King, Gerry; Farmer, Jane

2009-01-01

The growing proportions of older people in rural areas have implications for the provision of health and social care services. Older people are more likely to have complex health needs compared with other age groups, requiring a full range of primary, community and acute hospital services. The provision of services to older people in rural areas is challenged by diseconomies of scale, travel costs and difficulties in attracting staff. Policy-makers are requested to include the 'voice' of older people to help provide services that match needs and context. In spite of this, what older people want from health and social care services is a neglected area of investigation. The reported study was conducted in 2005/2006 as part of a European Union Northern Periphery Programme (EU NPP) project called Our Life as Elderly. Its aims were to explore the views of those aged 55 years and over and living in remote communities about current and future health and social care service provision for older people. Evidence was to be collected that could inform policy-makers about changing or improving service delivery. This article summarises emergent themes and considers their implications. The study selected two small remote mainland Scottish Highland communities for in-depth case study. Semi-structured interviews (n = 23), 10 'informal conversations' and 4 focus groups were held with community members aged 55 years and over, in order to provide different types of qualitative data and 'layers' of data to allow reflection. Data analysis was assisted by computerised data management software and performed using the 'framework analysis' approach. Participants did not consider themselves 'old' and expressed the need for independence in older age to be supported by services. Several aspects of services that were undergoing change or restructuring were identified, including arrangements for home care services, meals provision and technological support. Participants valued elements of the traditional model of care they had been receiving: these were local, personal emphasis and continuity. They were suspicious of new arrangements perceived to emphasise technical efficiency. Health and care services were described as inter-linked with other aspects of rural living, including transport and housing (which might have to be relinquished to pay for care). Proximity to family was desired for social and domestic support only; health and related support should be from generic service providers. Community members were involved in reciprocal help-giving of many types. The findings compare with results of other studies of older rural people internationally, and generic 'principles' of service derived could guide restructuring. There may be systemic challenges to empowering older people's 'voice' in designing sustainable rural services that stem from society's views of older people, attitudes of communities to collective roles and responsibilities, and the fragmented ways that services are sometimes provided.

Spectral Imaging from Uavs Under Varying Illumination Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakala, T.; Honkavaara, E.; Saari, H.; Mäkynen, J.; Kaivosoja, J.; Pesonen, L.; Pölönen, I.

2013-08-01

Rapidly developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have provided the remote sensing community with a new rapidly deployable tool for small area monitoring. The progress of small payload UAVs has introduced greater demand for light weight aerial payloads. For applications requiring aerial images, a simple consumer camera provides acceptable data. For applications requiring more detailed spectral information about the surface, a new Fabry-Perot interferometer based spectral imaging technology has been developed. This new technology produces tens of successive images of the scene at different wavelength bands in very short time. These images can be assembled in spectral data cubes with stereoscopic overlaps. On field the weather conditions vary and the UAV operator often has to decide between flight in sub optimal conditions and no flight. Our objective was to investigate methods for quantitative radiometric processing of images taken under varying illumination conditions, thus expanding the range of weather conditions during which successful imaging flights can be made. A new method that is based on insitu measurement of irradiance either in UAV platform or in ground was developed. We tested the methods in a precision agriculture application using realistic data collected in difficult illumination conditions. Internal homogeneity of the original image data (average coefficient of variation in overlapping images) was 0.14-0.18. In the corrected data, the homogeneity was 0.10-0.12 with a correction based on broadband irradiance measured in UAV, 0.07-0.09 with a correction based on spectral irradiance measurement on ground, and 0.05-0.08 with a radiometric block adjustment based on image data. Our results were very promising, indicating that quantitative UAV based remote sensing could be operational in diverse conditions, which is prerequisite for many environmental remote sensing applications.

Niyith NiyithWatmam [corrected] (the quiet story): exploring the experiences of Aboriginal women who give birth in their remote community.

PubMed

Ireland, Sarah; Wulili Narjic, Concepta; Belton, Suzanne; Kildea, Sue

2011-10-01

to investigate the beliefs and practices of Aboriginal women who decline transfer to urban hospitals and remain in their remote community to give birth. an ethnographic approach was used which included: the collection of birth histories and narratives, observation and participation in the community for 24 months, field notes, training and employment of an Aboriginal co-researcher, and consultation with and advice from a local reference group. a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, Australia. narratives were collected from seven Aboriginal women and five family members. findings showed that women, through their previous experiences of standard care, appeared to make conscious decisions and choices about managing their subsequent pregnancies and births. Women took into account their health, the baby's health, the care of their other children, and designated men with a helping role. narratives described a breakdown of traditional birthing practices and high levels of non-compliance with health-system-recommended care. standard care provided for women relocating for birth must be improved, and the provision of a primary maternity service in this particular community may allow Aboriginal Women's Business roles and cultural obligations to be recognised and invigorated. International examples of primary birthing services in remote areas demonstrate that they can be safe alternatives to urban transfer for childbirth. A primary maternity service would provide a safer environment for the women who choose to avoid standard care. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An approach for detecting five typical vegetation types on the Chinese Loess Plateau using Landsat TM data.

PubMed

Wang, Zhi-Jie; Jiao, Ju-Ying; Lei, Bo; Su, Yuan

2015-09-01

Remote sensing can provide large-scale spatial data for the detection of vegetation types. In this study, two shortwave infrared spectral bands (TM5 and TM7) and one visible spectral band (TM3) of Landsat 5 TM data were used to detect five typical vegetation types (communities dominated by Bothriochloa ischaemum, Artemisia gmelinii, Hippophae rhamnoides, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Quercus liaotungensis) using 270 field survey data in the Yanhe watershed on the Loess Plateau. The relationships between 200 field data points and their corresponding radiance reflectance were analyzed, and the equation termed the vegetation type index (VTI) was generated. The VTI values of five vegetation types were calculated, and the accuracy was tested using the remaining 70 field data points. The applicability of VTI was also tested by the distribution of vegetation type of two small watersheds in the Yanhe watershed and field sample data collected from other regions (Ziwuling Region, Huangling County, and Luochuan County) on the Loess Plateau. The results showed that the VTI can effectively detect the five vegetation types with an average accuracy exceeding 80 % and a representativeness above 85 %. As a new approach for monitoring vegetation types using remote sensing at a larger regional scale, VTI can play an important role in the assessment of vegetation restoration and in the investigation of the spatial distribution and community diversity of vegetation on the Loess Plateau.

Bringing Together Users and Developers of Forest Biomass Maps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.; Macauley, Molly

2011-01-01

Forests store carbon and thus represent important sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Reducing uncertainty in current estimates of the amount of carbon in standing forests will improve precision of estimates of anthropogenic contributions to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to deforestation. Although satellite remote sensing has long been an important tool for mapping land cover, until recently aboveground forest biomass estimates have relied mostly on systematic ground sampling of forests. In alignment with fiscal year 2010 congressional direction, NASA has initiated work toward a carbon monitoring system (CMS) that includes both maps of forest biomass and total carbon flux estimates. A goal of the project is to ensure that the products are useful to a wide community of scientists, managers, and policy makers, as well as to carbon cycle scientists. Understanding the needs and requirements of these data users is helpful not just to the NASA CMS program but also to the entire community working on carbon-related activities. To that end, this meeting brought together a small group of natural resource managers and policy makers who use information on forests in their work with NASA scientists who are working to create aboveground forest biomass maps. These maps, derived from combining remote sensing and ground plots, aim to be more accurate than current inventory approaches when applied at local and regional scales.

Characterization of the visibility of wildfire smoke clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vries, Jan S.; den Breejen, Eric

1993-09-01

In order to investigate the smoke cloud visibility of small wildfires a series of controlled biomass burning experiments has been carried out to investigate the characteristics of smoke clouds using various remote sensing techniques. These techniques include simultaneous scattering and transmission measurements in four wavelength bands, near-, mid-, and far- infrared video imagery, high resolution Fourier spectrometry, and particle size distribution measurements. The characterization and, in particular, knowledge on the contrast of smoke from small, beginning wildfires against a vegetation background is required in order to predict the performance of autonomous surveillance systems. This paper describes the preliminary analysis of experiments which have been carried out in Ypenburg (the Netherlands) in 1992. The results of these experiments are used to estimate the wildfire detection efficiency of a demonstration sensor which is being developed in a project financed by the Commission of the European Communities and by Bosschap. The autonomous wildfire detection sensor is described.

REMOTE HIGH SCHOOLS--THE REALITIES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FORD, PAUL; AND OTHERS

THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT TWO URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS AND THREE SMALL, REMOTE HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AN EFFORT TO INVESTIGATE STUDENT-TEACHER ACTIVITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS, AND TO EXPLORE, IN DEPTH, ANY EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES AND/OR DISADVANTAGES ACCRUING TO THE SMALL HIGH SCHOOL. GENERAL FINDINGS OF THE STUDY INDICATED THAT THERE…

Overcoming the challenges of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) sampling in remote localities: a comparison of CO2 attractants on mosquito communities in three tropical forest habitats.

PubMed

Steiger, D B Meyer; Ritchie, S A; Laurance, S G W

2014-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases are on the rise with future outbreaks predicted to occur in frontier regions of tropical countries. Disease surveillance in these hotspots is challenging because sampling techniques often rely on vector attractants that are either unavailable in remote localities or difficult to transport. We examined whether a novel method for producing CO2 from yeast and sugar produces similar mosquito species captures compared with a standard attractant such as dry ice. Across three different vegetation communities, we found traps baited with dry ice frequently captured more mosquitoes than yeast-baited traps; however, there was little effect on mosquito community composition. Based on our preliminary experiments, we find that this method of producing CO2 is a realistic alternative to dry ice and would be highly suitable for remote field work.

Minority stress and community connectedness among gay, lesbian and bisexual Australians: a comparison of rural and metropolitan localities.

PubMed

Morandini, James S; Blaszczynski, Alexander; Dar-Nimrod, Ilan; Ross, Michael W

2015-06-01

To determine whether lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) Australians residing in rural-remote and other non-inner metropolitan localities experience increased levels of minority stress and reduced social support relative to their inner metropolitan counterparts. A convenience sample of (n=1306) LGB Australians completed an online survey that assessed minority stressors, level of connection with other LGB individuals and social isolation. Postcodes provided were coded into three metropolitan and two rural zones. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were undertaken to examine the effect of locality on minority stress and social support independent of sex, age, ethnicity, education and income. Those residing in rural-remote localities reported significantly increased concealment of sexuality from friends, more concern regarding disclosure of sexuality, less LGB community involvement, fewer friendships with other LGB people and, among men, higher levels of internalised homophobia than those residing in inner metropolitan areas. Unexpectedly, those residing in outer metropolitan areas of major cities experienced comparable levels of minority stress and LGB disconnection to those in rural and remote Australia. LGB individuals in rural-remote and outer metropolitan areas of major cities face increased exposure to a number of minority stressors and less LGB community connectedness. These are risk factors associated with psychiatric morbidity in LGB populations. Health promotion targeted at reducing homophobia and discrimination in rural-remote and outer metropolitan communities and additional services to assist LGB Australians struggling with stigma and isolation in non-inner city areas may help mitigate the disadvantages faced by these LGB populations. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

[Establishment and application effect of fall prevention and control information system in elderly community].

PubMed

Zhao, Ting; Pi, Hong-Ying; Ku, Hong-An; Pan, Li; Gong, Zhu-Yun

2018-02-08

To investigate establishing, applying and evaluating the fall prevention and control information system in elderly community. Relying on internet technology and informatization means, the fall comprehensive prevention and control strategy of elderly was guided into online from offline. The fall prevention and control information system which was a collection of risk assessment, remote education and feedback was established. One hundred and twenty-six elderly (over 60 years old) in community were screened in this study and 84 high-risk elders who were involved in the remote continuous comprehensive intervention were screened out. Intervening measures included distributing propaganda album, making mission slides and video used to play with the interpretation remotely. Then fall related situation before and after intervention was analyzed and the effectiveness of system evaluated. After remote intervention, the fall incidence of high-risk group decreased from 21.43% to 4.76%( P <0.01). The body balance and gait stability improved clearly( P <0. 01). The rate of taking proper prevention and control behavior significantly improved( P <0.01). They believed in themselves not to fall down with more confidence when taking complex behaviors( P <0.01). The security of environment at home significantly enhanced( P <0. 01). Fall prevention and control information system in elderly community was innovative and convenient. The system could roundly assess the status related to fall and accurately screen out high-risk group. The system could implement the remote continuous comprehensive intervention so that the incident of fall was decrease. In conclusion, the system is stable and effective, can be further popularization and application as a successful pilot.

Towards a Good Education in Very Remote Australia: Is it Just a Case of Moving the Desks Around?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guenther, John; Bat, Melodie

2013-01-01

The education system, as it relates to very remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, faces challenges. While considerable resources have been applied to very remote schools, results in terms of enrollments, attendance and learning outcomes have changed little, despite the effort applied. The Cooperative Research…

VET Retention in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Good Practice Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2017

2017-01-01

This good practice guide is based on the research project "Enhancing training advantage for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners" by John Guenther et al. on behalf of Ninti One Limited. The project examines five unique and successful vocational education and training (VET) programs in remote areas and identifies how…

Comparative phylogeography of oceanic archipelagos: Hotspots for inferences of evolutionary process

PubMed Central

Shaw, Kerry L.; Gillespie, Rosemary G.

2016-01-01

Remote island archipelagos offer superb opportunities to study the evolution of community assembly because of their relatively young and simple communities where speciation contributes to the origin and evolution of community structure. There is great potential for common phylogeographic patterns among remote archipelagos that originate through hotspot volcanism, particularly when the islands formed are spatially isolated and linearly arranged. The progression rule is characterized by a phylogeographic concordance between island age and lineage age in a species radiation. Progression is most likely to arise when a species radiation begins on an older island before the emergence of younger islands of a hotspot archipelago. In the simplest form of progression, colonization of younger islands as they emerge and offer appropriate habitat, is coincident with cladogenesis. In this paper, we review recent discoveries of the progression rule on seven hotspot archipelagos. We then discuss advantages that progression offers to the study of community assembly, and insights that community dynamics may offer toward understanding the evolution of progression. We describe results from two compelling cases of progression where the mosaic genome may offer insights into contrasting demographic histories that shed light on mechanisms of speciation and progression on remote archipelagos. PMID:27432948

Migration to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala: Why place matters.

PubMed

Carr, David L

2008-01-01

Virtually all migration research examines international migration or urbanization. Yet understudied rural migrants are of critical concern for environmental conservation and rural sustainable development. Despite the fact that a relatively small number of all migrants settle remote rural frontiers, these are the agents responsible for perhaps most of the tropical deforestation on the planet. Further, rural migrants are among the most destitute people worldwide in terms of economic and human development. While a host of research has investigated deforestation resulting from frontier migration, and a modest literature has emerged on frontier development, this article explores the necessary antecedent to tropical deforestation and poverty along agricultural frontiers: out-migration from origin areas. The data come from a 2000 survey with community leaders and key informants in 16 municipios of migrant origin to the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Petén, Guatemala. A common denominator among communities of migration origin to the Petén frontier was unequal resource access, usually land. Nevertheless, the factors driving resource scarcity were widely variable. Land degradation, land consolidation, and population growth prevailed in some communities but not in others. Despite similar exposure to community and regional level push factors, most people in the sampled communities did not out-migrate, suggesting that any one or combination of factors is not necessarily sufficient for out-migration.

Migration to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala: Why place matters

PubMed Central

Carr, David L.

2009-01-01

Virtually all migration research examines international migration or urbanization. Yet understudied rural migrants are of critical concern for environmental conservation and rural sustainable development. Despite the fact that a relatively small number of all migrants settle remote rural frontiers, these are the agents responsible for perhaps most of the tropical deforestation on the planet. Further, rural migrants are among the most destitute people worldwide in terms of economic and human development. While a host of research has investigated deforestation resulting from frontier migration, and a modest literature has emerged on frontier development, this article explores the necessary antecedent to tropical deforestation and poverty along agricultural frontiers: out-migration from origin areas. The data come from a 2000 survey with community leaders and key informants in 16 municipios of migrant origin to the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Petén, Guatemala. A common denominator among communities of migration origin to the Petén frontier was unequal resource access, usually land. Nevertheless, the factors driving resource scarcity were widely variable. Land degradation, land consolidation, and population growth prevailed in some communities but not in others. Despite similar exposure to community and regional level push factors, most people in the sampled communities did not out-migrate, suggesting that any one or combination of factors is not necessarily sufficient for out-migration. PMID:19657470

Risk factors for dental caries in small rural and regional Australian communities.

PubMed

Zander, Alexis; Sivaneswaran, Shanti; Skinner, John; Byun, Roy; Jalaludin, Bin

2013-01-01

Dental decay (caries) can cause pain, infection and tooth loss, negatively affecting eating, speaking and general health. People living in rural and regional Australian communities have more caries, more severe caries and more untreated caries than those in the city. The unique environmental conditions and population groups in these communities may contribute to the higher caries burden. In particular, some towns lack community water fluoridation, and some have a high proportion of Aboriginal people, who have significantly worse oral health than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Because of these and other unique circumstances, mainstream research on caries risk factors may not apply in these settings. This study aimed to gather contemporary oral health data from small rural or regional Australian communities, and investigate caries risk factors in these communities. A cross-sectional survey consisting of a standardized dental examination and questionnaire was used to measure the oral health of 434 children (32% Aboriginal) aged 3-12 years in three small rural or regional areas. Oral health was determined as the deciduous and permanent decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft/DMFT), and the proportion of children without caries. Risk factors were investigated by logistic regression. The dmft/DMFT for children in this study was 1.5 for 5-6 year olds and 1.0 for 11-12 year olds (index groups reported). Independent predictors of having caries (Yes/No) were age group, holding a concession card (OR=2.45, 95%CI=1.58-3.80) and tooth-brushing less than twice per day (OR=2.11, 95% CI=1.34-3.34). Aboriginal status also became a significant variable under sensitivity analyses (OR 1.9, CI 1.12-3.24) when the tooth-brushing variable was removed. Gender, water fluoridation and parental education were not significant predictors of caries in these communities. The rural/remote children in this study had worse oral health than either state or national average in both the 5-6 year old and 11-12 year age group. Socioeconomic status, tooth-brushing and Aboriginal status were significantly associated with caries in these communities. To close the substantial gap in oral health outcomes between rural and metropolitan residents, approaches that target rural areas, Aboriginal people and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds are needed.

Australian rural, remote and urban community nurses' health promotion role and function.

PubMed

Roden, Janet; Jarvis, Lynda; Campbell-Crofts, Sandra; Whitehead, Dean

2016-09-01

Community nurses have often been 'touted' as potential major contributors to health promotion. Critical literature, however, often states that this has not been the case. Furthermore, most studies examining nurses' role and function have occurred mainly in hospital settings. This is a sequential mixed-methods study of two groups of community nurses from a Sydney urban area (n = 100) and from rural and remote areas (n = 49) within New South Wales, Australia. A piloted questionnaire survey was developed based on the five action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Following this, 10 qualitative interviews were conducted for both groups, plus a focus group to support or refute survey results. Findings showed that rural and remote nurses had more positive attitudes towards health promotion and its clinical implementation. Survey and interview data confirmed that urban community nurses had a narrower focus on caring for individuals rather than groups, agreeing that time constraints impacted on their limited health promotion role. There was agreement about lack of resources (material and people) to update health promotion knowledge and skills. Rural and remote nurses were more likely to have limited educational opportunities. All nurses undertook more development of personal skills (DPS, health education) than any other action area. The findings highlight the need for more education and resources for community nurses to assist their understanding of health promotion concepts. It is hoped that community nurse leaders will collectively become more effective health promoters and contribute to healthy reform in primary health care sectors. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Approaches to dog health education programs in Australian rural and remote Indigenous communities: four case studies.

PubMed

Constable, S E; Dixon, R M; Dixon, R J; Toribio, J-A

2013-09-01

Dog health in rural and remote Australian Indigenous communities is below urban averages in numerous respects. Many Indigenous communities have called for knowledge sharing in this area. However, dog health education programs are in their infancy, and lack data on effective practices. Without this core knowledge, health promotion efforts cannot progress effectively. This paper discusses a strategy that draws from successful approaches in human health and indigenous education, such as dadirri, and culturally respectful community engagement and development. Negotiating an appropriate education program is explored in its practical application through four case studies. Though each case was unique, the comparison of the four illustrated the importance of listening (community consultation), developing and maintaining relationships, community involvement and employment. The most successful case studies were those that could fully implement all four areas. Outcomes included improved local dog health capacity, local employment and engagement with the program and significantly improved dog health.

Index-based Crop Insurance for Climate Adaptation in the Developing World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, M. E.; Osgood, D. E.; Carriquiry, M. A.

2011-12-01

Weather has always presented a challenge to small-scale farmers, particularly in regions where poverty and lack of infrastructure has restricted the development of financial instruments to limit risk. New 'index' insurance innovations in agriculture are beginning to enable even the poorest farmers to unlock major productivity gains (e.g. insuring loans for improved seeds). Although index insurance has the potential to greatly improve productivity in developing country agriculture, the principal technical challenge to up-scaling this product is "data poverty," the absence of weather data in low-income areas needed to design robust and affordable insurance products. Earth science, particularly remote sensing, has the potential to ameliorate data poverty. However, raw use of earth science model output leads to non-optimal indexes and many obstacles remain to transform earth science products into insurance solutions. Estimation uncertainty, limited availability of consistent time series, and difficulties of predicting loses based on remote observations are reviewed in this article. The importance of multidisciplinary approaches addressing the needs of stakeholders in simple to understand indexes is highlighted. The successful use of Earth science data to support the index insurance industry in currently poor and isolated communities in the developing world would transform the ability of small farmers to increase yields, household incomes and regional economies, if the growing gap between earth science and index insurance can be closed.

Exploring the Potential for Technology-Based Nutrition Education Among WIC Recipients in Remote Alaska Native Communities.

PubMed

Power, Julianne M; Braun, Kathryn L; Bersamin, Andrea

Estimate media technology use in Alaska Native communities to inform the feasibility of technology-based nutrition education. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a random selection of about 50% of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) authorized representatives in remote Alaska Native communities (n = 975). Media technology use, interest in media technology-based nutrition education, and potential barriers were assessed. Chi-square tests were used to investigate associations among technology use, age, and education. Technology use was common among respondents (n = 368); use was significantly more common among younger age groups and participants with a higher level of education. Smartphone (78.8%) and Facebook (95.8%) use was comparable to national averages, but having a computer at home (38.4%) was much less likely. Less than 50% of participants have Internet access at home. Findings shed light on new opportunities for WIC and other programs to deliver nutrition education to Alaska Native people in remote communities. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Conceptual Approach to Assimilating Remote Sensing Data to Improve Soil Moisture Profile Estimates in a Surface Flux/Hydrology Model. 3; Disaggregation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caulfield, John; Crosson, William L.; Inguva, Ramarao; Laymon, Charles A.; Schamschula, Marius

1998-01-01

This is a followup on the preceding presentation by Crosson and Schamschula. The grid size for remote microwave measurements is much coarser than the hydrological model computational grids. To validate the hydrological models with measurements we propose mechanisms to disaggregate the microwave measurements to allow comparison with outputs from the hydrological models. Weighted interpolation and Bayesian methods are proposed to facilitate the comparison. While remote measurements occur at a large scale, they reflect underlying small-scale features. We can give continuing estimates of the small scale features by correcting the simple 0th-order, starting with each small-scale model with each large-scale measurement using a straightforward method based on Kalman filtering.

Role of art centres for Aboriginal Australians living with dementia in remote communities.

PubMed

Lindeman, Melissa; Mackell, Paulene; Lin, Xiaoping; Farthing, Annie; Jensen, Heather; Meredith, Maree; Haralambous, Betty

2017-06-01

To explore the role art centres in remote communities play for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians living with dementia. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken, with no restrictions on articles regarding year of publication. Art programmes have been found to be of benefit to both people living with dementia and their carers, particularly when programmes are administered in environments that are culturally revered. Findings indicate remote art centres play a key role in maintaining traditions, culture and practices unique to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, but there is a gap in knowledge regarding how they cater for the needs of people with dementia. Addressing this gap will be helpful in remote areas where prevalence of dementia is up to five times that of non-Aboriginal people, and there are limited health and support services. Further research is required to explore strengths and gaps of current practices. © 2017 AJA Inc.

The distribution of maternity services across rural and remote Australia: does it reflect population need?

PubMed

Rolfe, Margaret I; Donoghue, Deborah Anne; Longman, Jo M; Pilcher, Jennifer; Kildea, Sue; Kruske, Sue; Kornelsen, Jude; Grzybowski, Stefan; Barclay, Lesley; Morgan, Geoffrey Gerard

2017-02-23

Australia has a universal health care system and a comprehensive safety net. Despite this, outcomes for Australians living in rural and remote areas are worse than those living in cities. This study will examine the current state of equity of access to birthing services for women living in small communities in rural and remote Australia from a population perspective and investigates whether services are distributed according to need. Health facilities in Australia were identified and a service catchment was determined around each using a one-hour road travel time from that facility. Catchment exclusions: metropolitan areas, populations above 25,000 or below 1,000, and a non-birthing facility within the catchment of one with birthing. Catchments were attributed with population-based characteristics representing need: population size, births, demographic factors, socio-economic status, and a proxy for isolation - the time to the nearest facility providing a caesarean section (C-section). Facilities were dichotomised by service level - those providing birthing services (birthing) or not (no birthing). Birthing services were then divided by C-section provision (C-section vs no C-section birthing). Analysis used two-stage univariable and multivariable logistic regression. There were 259 health facilities identified after exclusions. Comparing services with birthing to no birthing, a population is more likely to have a birthing service if they have more births, (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 1.50 for every 10 births, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [1.33-1.69]), and a service offering C-sections 1 to 2 h drive away (aOR: 28.7, 95% CI [5.59-148]). Comparing the birthing services categorised by C-section vs no C-section, the likelihood of a facility having a C-section was again positively associated with increasing catchment births and with travel time to another service offering C-sections. Both models demonstrated significant associations with jurisdiction but not socio-economic status. Our investigation of current birthing services in rural and remote Australia identified disparities in their distribution. Population factors relating to vulnerability and isolation did not increase the likelihood of a local birthing facility, and very remote communities were less likely to have any service. In addition, services are influenced by jurisdictions.

Remote Sensing as a Demonstration of Applied Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colwell, Robert N.

1980-01-01

Provides information about the field of remote sensing, including discussions of geo-synchronous and sun-synchronous remote-sensing platforms, the actual physical processes and equipment involved in sensing, the analysis of images by humans and machines, and inexpensive, small scale methods, including aerial photography. (CS)

Beasts of burden or organised cooperation: the story of a mental health team in remote, Indigenous Australia.

PubMed

Hunter, Ernest; Onnis, Leigh-Ann; Santhanam-Martin, Radhika; Skalicky, Judy; Gynther, Bruce; Dyer, Geraldine

2013-12-01

This paper aims to describe the growth of a regionally-based mental health team providing services to remote Indigenous communities in far north Queensland. By drawing on their experience, the authors are able to identify factors supporting the development and sustained capacity of integrated mental health teams, working in challenging remote settings.

Engaging Young People as a Community Development Strategy in the Wisconsin Northwoods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andresen, William; Dallapiazza, Margaret; Calvert, Matthew

2013-01-01

This chapter focuses on two remote rural communities that engaged young people in meaningful community development efforts to build social capital. One community connected youth to the assets of the community and created opportunities for young adults to strengthen social networks. The other created partnerships and networks to build…

Community health workers in rural India: analysing the opportunities and challenges Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) face in realising their multiple roles.

PubMed

Saprii, Lipekho; Richards, Esther; Kokho, Puni; Theobald, Sally

2015-12-09

Globally, there is increasing interest in community health worker's (CHW) performance; however, there are gaps in the evidence with respect to CHWs' role in community participation and empowerment. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), whose roles include social activism, are the key cadre in India's CHW programme which is designed to improve maternal and child health. In a diverse country like India, there is a need to understand how the ASHA programme operates in different underserved Indian contexts, such as rural Manipur. We undertook qualitative research to explore stakeholders' perceptions and experiences of the ASHA scheme in strengthening maternal health and uncover the opportunities and challenges ASHAs face in realising their multiple roles in rural Manipur, India. Data was collected through in-depth interviews (n = 18) and focus group discussions (n = 3 FGDs, 18 participants). Participants included ASHAs, key stakeholders and community members. They were purposively sampled based on remoteness of villages and primary health centres to capture diverse and relevant constituencies, as we believed experiences of ASHAs can be shaped by remoteness. Data were analysed using the thematic framework approach. Findings suggested that ASHAs are mostly understood as link workers. ASHA's ability to address the immediate needs of rural and marginalised communities meant that they were valued as service providers. The programme is perceived to be beneficial as it improves awareness and behaviour change towards maternal care. However, there are a number of challenges; the selection of ASHAs is influenced by power structures and poor community sensitisation of the ASHA programme presents a major risk to success and sustainability. The primary health centres which ASHAs link to are ill-equipped. Thus, ASHAs experience adverse consequences in their ability to inspire trust and credibility in the community. Small and irregular monetary incentives demotivate ASHAs. Finally, ASHAs had limited knowledge about their role as an 'activist' and how to realise this. ASHAs are valued for their contribution towards maternal health education and for their ability to provide basic biomedical care, but their role as social activists is much less visible as envisioned in the ASHA operational guideline. Access by ASHAs to fair monetary incentives commensurate with effort coupled with the poor functionality of the health system are critical elements limiting the role of ASHAs both within the health system and within communities in rural Manipur.

Telemedicine delivery of patient education in remote Ontario communities: feasibility of an Advanced Clinician Practitioner in Arthritis Care (ACPAC)-led inflammatory arthritis education program.

PubMed

Warmington, Kelly; Flewelling, Carol; Kennedy, Carol A; Shupak, Rachel; Papachristos, Angelo; Jones, Caroline; Linton, Denise; Beaton, Dorcas E; Lineker, Sydney

2017-01-01

Telemedicine-based approaches to health care service delivery improve access to care. It was recognized that adults with inflammatory arthritis (IA) living in remote areas had limited access to patient education and could benefit from the 1-day Prescription for Education (RxEd) program. The program was delivered by extended role practitioners with advanced training in arthritis care. Normally offered at one urban center, RxEd was adapted for videoconference delivery through two educator development workshops that addressed telemedicine and adult education best practices. This study explores the feasibility of and participant satisfaction with telemedicine delivery of the RxEd program in remote communities. Participants included adults with IA attending the RxEd program at one of six rural sites. They completed post-course program evaluations and follow-up interviews. Educators provided post-course feedback to identify program improvements that were later implemented. In total, 123 people (36 in-person and 87 remote, across 6 sites) participated, attending one of three RxEd sessions. Remote participants were satisfied with the quality of the video-conference (% agree/strongly agree): could hear the presenter (92.9%) and discussion between sites (82.4%); could see who was speaking at other remote sites (85.7%); could see the slides (95.3%); and interaction between sites adequately facilitated (94.0%). Educator and participant feedback were consistent. Suggested improvements included: use of two screens (speaker and slides); frontal camera angles; equal interaction with remote sites; and slide modifications to improve the readability on screen. Interview data included similar constructive feedback but highlighted the educational and social benefits of the program, which participants noted would have been inaccessible if not offered via telemedicine. Study findings confirm the feasibility of delivering the RxEd program to remote communities by using telemedicine. Future research with a focus on the sustainability of this and other models of technology-supported patient education for adults with IA across Ontario is warranted.

Multi- and hyperspectral geologic remote sensing: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Meer, Freek D.; van der Werff, Harald M. A.; van Ruitenbeek, Frank J. A.; Hecker, Chris A.; Bakker, Wim H.; Noomen, Marleen F.; van der Meijde, Mark; Carranza, E. John M.; Smeth, J. Boudewijn de; Woldai, Tsehaie

2012-02-01

Geologists have used remote sensing data since the advent of the technology for regional mapping, structural interpretation and to aid in prospecting for ores and hydrocarbons. This paper provides a review of multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing data, products and applications in geology. During the early days of Landsat Multispectral scanner and Thematic Mapper, geologists developed band ratio techniques and selective principal component analysis to produce iron oxide and hydroxyl images that could be related to hydrothermal alteration. The advent of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER) with six channels in the shortwave infrared and five channels in the thermal region allowed to produce qualitative surface mineral maps of clay minerals (kaolinite, illite), sulfate minerals (alunite), carbonate minerals (calcite, dolomite), iron oxides (hematite, goethite), and silica (quartz) which allowed to map alteration facies (propylitic, argillic etc.). The step toward quantitative and validated (subpixel) surface mineralogic mapping was made with the advent of high spectral resolution hyperspectral remote sensing. This led to a wealth of techniques to match image pixel spectra to library and field spectra and to unravel mixed pixel spectra to pure endmember spectra to derive subpixel surface compositional information. These products have found their way to the mining industry and are to a lesser extent taken up by the oil and gas sector. The main threat for geologic remote sensing lies in the lack of (satellite) data continuity. There is however a unique opportunity to develop standardized protocols leading to validated and reproducible products from satellite remote sensing for the geology community. By focusing on geologic mapping products such as mineral and lithologic maps, geochemistry, P-T paths, fluid pathways etc. the geologic remote sensing community can bridge the gap with the geosciences community. Increasingly workflows should be multidisciplinary and remote sensing data should be integrated with field observations and subsurface geophysical data to monitor and understand geologic processes.

The community satellite 1. [social implications of ATS 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

NASA's Applications Technology Satellite-6 is being used to test a variety of new space communications concepts requiring the use of a geosynchronous-orbit spacecraft. These include broadcast of health and education television programs to small, low-cost ground receiving units in remote regions. Other studies to be conducted are related to aeronautical and maritime communications, position-location, and traffic-control techniques. Questions concerning spacecraft tracking and data relay are also investigated. The 1,402 kg spacecraft consists essentially of an Earth Viewing Module connected to a deployable reflector antenna. Details regarding the planned experiments and the spacecraft design are discussed and a brief history of the ATS program is presented.

Motivation Matters: Lessons for REDD+ Participatory Measurement, Reporting and Verification from Three Decades of Child Health Participatory Monitoring in Indonesia

PubMed Central

Ekowati, Dian; Hofstee, Carola; Praputra, Andhika Vega; Sheil, Douglas

2016-01-01

Participatory Measurement, Reporting and Verification (PMRV), in the context of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation with its co-benefits (REDD+) requires sustained monitoring and reporting by community members. This requirement appears challenging and has yet to be achieved. Other successful, long established, community self-monitoring and reporting systems may provide valuable lessons. The Indonesian integrated village healthcare program (Posyandu) was initiated in the 1980s and still provides effective and successful participatory measurement and reporting of child health status across the diverse, and often remote, communities of Indonesia. Posyandu activities focus on the growth and development of children under the age of five by recording their height and weight and reporting these monthly to the Ministry of Health. Here we focus on the local Posyandu personnel (kaders) and their motivations and incentives for contributing. While Posyandu and REDD+ measurement and reporting activities differ, there are sufficient commonalities to draw useful lessons. We find that the Posyandu kaders are motivated by their interests in health care, by their belief that it benefits the community, and by encouragement by local leaders. Recognition from the community, status within the system, training opportunities, competition among communities, and small payments provide incentives to sustain participation. We examine these lessons in the context of REDD+. PMID:27806053

Power management of remote microgrids considering battery lifetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalise, Santosh

Currently, 20% (1.3 billion) of the world's population still lacks access to electricity and many live in remote areas where connection to the grid is not economical or practical. Remote microgrids could be the solution to the problem because they are designed to provide power for small communities within clearly defined electrical boundaries. Reducing the cost of electricity for remote microgrids can help to increase access to electricity for populations in remote areas and developing countries. The integration of renewable energy and batteries in diesel based microgrids has shown to be effective in reducing fuel consumption. However, the operational cost remains high due to the low lifetime of batteries, which are heavily used to improve the system's efficiency. In microgrid operation, a battery can act as a source to augment the generator or a load to ensure full load operation. In addition, a battery increases the utilization of PV by storing extra energy. However, the battery has a limited energy throughput. Therefore, it is required to provide balance between fuel consumption and battery lifetime throughput in order to lower the cost of operation. This work presents a two-layer power management system for remote microgrids. First layer is day ahead scheduling, where power set points of dispatchable resources were calculated. Second layer is real time dispatch, where schedule set points from the first layer are accepted and resources are dispatched accordingly. A novel scheduling algorithm is proposed for a dispatch layer, which considers the battery lifetime in optimization and is expected to reduce the operational cost of the microgrid. This method is based on a goal programming approach which has the fuel and the battery wear cost as two objectives to achieve. The effectiveness of this method was evaluated through a simulation study of a PV-diesel hybrid microgrid using deterministic and stochastic approach of optimization.

First year of practical experiences of the new Arctic AWIPEV-COSYNA cabled Underwater Observatory in Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Philipp; Schwanitz, Max; Loth, Reiner; Posner, Uwe; Brand, Markus; Schröder, Friedhelm

2017-04-01

A combined year-round assessment of selected oceanographic data and a macrobiotic community assessment was performed from October 2013 to November 2014 in the littoral zone of the Kongsfjorden polar fjord system on the western coast of Svalbard (Norway). State of the art remote controlled cabled underwater observatory technology was used for daily vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and turbidity together with a stereo-optical assessment of the macrobiotic community, including fish. The results reveal a distinct seasonal cycle in total species abundances, with a significantly higher total abundance and species richness during the polar winter when no light is available underwater compared to the summer months when 24 h light is available. During the winter months, a temporally highly segmented community was observed with respect to species occurrence, with single species dominating the winter community for restricted times. In contrast, the summer community showed an overall lower total abundance as well as a significantly lower number of species. The study clearly demonstrates the high potential of cable connected remote controlled digital sampling devices, especially in remote areas, such as polar fjord systems, with harsh environmental conditions and limited accessibility. A smart combination of such new digital sampling methods with classic sampling procedures can provide a possibility to significantly extend the sampling time and frequency, especially in remote and difficult to access areas. This can help to provide a sufficient data density and therefore statistical power for a sound scientific analysis without increasing the invasive sampling pressure in ecologically sensitive environments.

Promoting women's health in remote Aboriginal settings: Midwifery students' insights for practice.

PubMed

Thackrah, Rosalie D; Thompson, Sandra C; Durey, Angela

2015-12-01

To describe midwifery students' insights on promoting health to Aboriginal women in remote Australia following a supervised clinical placement. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with all midwifery students who undertook the placement between 2010 and 2013. Aboriginal communities on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, Western Australia. Undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery students from a Western Australian university. Remote cultural immersion clinical placement. Student learning related to culturally respectful health care delivery and promotion of health. Students observed that, despite vast distances, high rates of participation in a breast screening program were achieved due to the informal provision of culturally relevant information and support. Opportunistic encounters in communities also enabled sexual health messages to be delivered more widely and in less formal settings. The role played by Aboriginal Health Workers and female family members was vital. The importance of culturally respectful approaches to sensitive women's business, including discretion, the use of local language and pictorial representations of information, was recognised as was the socio-cultural context and its impact on the health and well-being of the community. Although short in duration, the Ngaanyatjarra Lands clinical placement provided midwifery students with a rare opportunity to observe the importance of local contexts and cultural protocols in Aboriginal communities, and to adapt health promotion strategies to meet local needs and ways of doing things. These strategies embraced the strengths, assets and capacities of communities, yet students also witnessed challenges associated with access, delivery and acceptance of health care in remote settings. © 2015 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Implementation of a community greenhouse in a remote, sub-Arctic First Nations community in Ontario, Canada: a descriptive case study.

PubMed

Skinner, K; Hanning, R M; Metatawabin, J; Tsuji, L J S

2014-01-01

Food insecurity is prevalent in northern communities in Canada and there is a movement to improve food security through both the re-vitalization of traditional harvesting practices as well as through sustainable agriculture initiatives. Gardening in northern communities can be difficult and may be aided by a community greenhouse. The objective of this project was to conduct a descriptive case study of the context and process surrounding the implementation of a community greenhouse in a remote, sub-Arctic First Nations community in Ontario, Canada. Data sources included semi-directed interviews with a purposive and snowball sample of key informants (n=14), direct observations (n=32 days), written documentation (n=107), and photo-documentation (n=621 total). Digital photographs were taken by both a university investigator during community visits and a community investigator throughout the entire project. The case study was carried out over 33 months; from early 2009 until October of 2011. Thematic data analyses were conducted and followed a categorical aggregation approach. Categories emerging from the data were appointed gardening-related themes: seasons, fertile ground, sustainability, gardeners, ownership, participant growth, and sunshine. Local champions were critical to project success. Uncertainty was expressed by several participants regarding ownership of the greenhouse; the local community members who championed the project had to emphasize, repeatedly, that it was community owned. Positive outcomes included the involvement of many community members, a host of related activities, and that the greenhouse has been a learning opportunity to gain knowledge about growing plants in a northern greenhouse setting. A strength of the project was that many children participated in greenhouse activities. Community and school greenhouse projects require local champions to be successful. It is important to establish guidelines around ownership of a greenhouse and suitable procedures for making the building accessible to everyone without compromising security. Implementing a greenhouse project can engage community members, including children, and provide a great learning opportunity for gardeners in a remote, northern community.

A Reassessment of Risk Factors and Frequency of Suicide Ideation Among U.S. Air Force Remote Warriors

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-01-30

AFRL-SA-WP-TR-2018-0006 A Reassessment of Risk Factors and Frequency of Suicide Ideation Among U.S. Air Force Remote Warriors...SUBTITLE A Reassessment of Risk Factors and Frequency of Suicide Ideation among U.S. Air Force Remote Warriors 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT...unlimited. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Cleared, SAF/PA, Case # 2018-0305, 30 Apr 2018. 14. ABSTRACT The U.S. Air Force remote warrior community

Remote sensing program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Philipson, W. R. (Principal Investigator)

1983-01-01

Built on Cornell's thirty years of experience in aerial photographic studies, the NASA-sponsored remote sensing program strengthened instruction and research in remote sensing, established communication links within and beyond the university community, and conducted research projects for or with town, county, state, federal, and private organizations in New York State. The 43 completed applied research projects are listed as well as 13 spinoff grants/contracts. The curriculum offered, consultations provided, and data processing facilities available are described. Publications engendered are listed including the thesis of graduates in the remote sensing program.

Satellite Remote Sensing for Monitoring and Assessment

EPA Science Inventory

Remote sensing technology has the potential to enhance the engagement of communities and managers in the implementation and performance of best management practices. This presentation will use examples from U.S. numeric criteria development and state water quality monitoring prog...

Linking local knowledge and satellite-derived land-use/land-cover change information in Krabi province, Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peneva-Reed, Elitsa I.

This study was designed to gain an understanding of the linkage between development and sustainability of mangrove forest conversion in three coastal communities in Thailand. It presents a methodology that could potentially aid coastal communities in determining sustainable land use conversion approaches by considering the viewpoint of villagers. A remote sensing analysis of Landsat satellite images from 1989, 2001 and 2007 showed the results of a moderate, but sustained shrimp farming industry that only partially exploited mangrove forests. The three villages experienced a range of changes in mangrove forest area. The villagers' perceptions (collected through field surveys) did not match the results from the remote sensing analysis and varied significantly. A logit multiple regression model was utilized to study the factors influencing whether villagers' estimates agreed or disagreed with the remote sensing analysis. Results showed that the only variables statistically significant at the 0.10 level were age, occupation, and proximity to the mangrove resource. There is a widespread belief that one of the main negative effects of the development of shrimp farms is the pollution of water and, as a consequence, the reduction of wild catch. In this study, a majority of fishing households reported a reduction in wild catch, with nearly all attributing it to shrimp farms. A relatively small number of households noted positive effects from shrimp farming and listed these as an increase of income as a result of working at shrimp farms. The most common negative effects identified by the locals were water pollution, followed by a decrease in wild catch, and an increase in the number of mosquitoes. Although shrimp farm developers promised many benefits from this enterprise, very few were realized by the villagers. Integrating information from household surveys with data on land-cover change derived from remote sensing improves our understanding of the causes and processes of land cover change, and the perceptions of such changes. Integrating these two data sources illustrated that while shrimp farms did not have very many positive effects on the villagers, they were not as directly harmful to the mangrove forests as many believed.

Mapping vegetation communities using statistical data fusion in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chastain, R.A.; Struckhoff, M.A.; He, H.S.; Larsen, D.R.

2008-01-01

A vegetation community map was produced for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways consistent with the association level of the National Vegetation Classification System. Vegetation communities were differentiated using a large array of variables derived from remote sensing and topographic data, which were fused into independent mathematical functions using a discriminant analysis classification approach. Remote sensing data provided variables that discriminated vegetation communities based on differences in color, spectral reflectance, greenness, brightness, and texture. Topographic data facilitated differentiation of vegetation communities based on indirect gradients (e.g., landform position, slope, aspect), which relate to variations in resource and disturbance gradients. Variables derived from these data sources represent both actual and potential vegetation community patterns on the landscape. A hybrid combination of statistical and photointerpretation methods was used to obtain an overall accuracy of 63 percent for a map with 49 vegetation community and land-cover classes, and 78 percent for a 33-class map of the study area.

Applications of remote sensing to watershed management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rango, A.

1975-01-01

Aircraft and satellite remote sensing systems which are capable of contributing to watershed management are described and include: the multispectral scanner subsystem on LANDSAT and the basic multispectral camera array flown on high altitude aircraft such as the U-2. Various aspects of watershed management investigated by remote sensing systems are discussed. Major areas included are: snow mapping, surface water inventories, flood management, hydrologic land use monitoring, and watershed modeling. It is indicated that technological advances in remote sensing of hydrological data must be coupled with an expansion of awareness and training in remote sensing techniques of the watershed management community.

The availability of conventional forms of remotely sensed data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sturdevant, James A.; Holm, Thomas M.

1982-01-01

For decades Federal and State agencies have been collecting aerial photographs of various film types and scales over parts of the United States. More recently, worldwide Earth resources data acquired by orbiting satellites have inundated the remote sensing community. Determining the types of remotely sensed data that are publicly available can be confusing to the land-resource manager, planner, and scientist. This paper is a summary of the more commonly used types of remotely sensed data (aircraft and satellite) and their public availability. Special emphasis is placed on the National High-Altitude Photography (NHAP) program and future remote-sensing satellites.

Supporting Remote Sensing Research with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, R. C.; Shanks, P. C.; Kritis, L. A.; Trani, M. G.

2014-11-01

We describe several remote sensing research projects supported with small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) operated by the NGA Basic and Applied Research Office. These sUAS collections provide data supporting Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), NGA University Research Initiative (NURI), and Cooperative Research And Development Agreements (CRADA) efforts in addition to inhouse research. Some preliminary results related to 3D electro-optical point clouds are presented, and some research goals discussed. Additional details related to the autonomous operational mode of both our multi-rotor and fixed wing small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) platforms are presented.

Leading a Small Remote School: In the Face of a Culture of Acceptance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wildy, Helen; Clarke, Simon

2012-01-01

This article presents a case study of one very small school in a remote location of Western Australia. The study is part of a larger programme, International Study of Principal Preparation, investigating the challenges facing novice principals in the first 3 years of appointment and the extent to which they felt they were adequately prepared to…

Community, Diversity and Innovation in Rural and Remote Education and Training. Proceedings of the National Rural Education Conference of the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (22nd, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, July 2006)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boylan, Colin, Ed.

2006-01-01

The papers contained in this document represent the keynote addresses, refereed and non-refereed conference papers from the 22nd National Conference of Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA). The theme for this national conference was: Community Diversity and Innovation in Rural and Remote Education and Training. Keynote…

Knowledge and anticipated attitudes of the community about bird flu outbreak in Turkey, 2007-2008: a survey-based descriptive study.

PubMed

Edirne, Tamer; Avci, Dilek Kusaslan; Dagkara, Burçak; Aslan, Muslum

2011-04-01

To determine factors associated with knowledge and anticipated attitudes to a foreseen avian influenza outbreak in a high-risk population from a Turkish remote region. A random, cross-sectional face-to-face survey of 1,046 Turkish adults. The proportion of participants concerned about contracting the virus was significantly lower amongst the less educated and rural located respondents. Significantly more rural than urban located participants declared not complying with quarantine policies and not handing out their poultry in case of an influenza outbreak. Factors associated with protective behaviours were higher level of education, urban location, not performing backyard farming of poultry, and preferring ready-to-eat products. Preparedness against bird flu endemic in remote regions could be hindered by factors, such as low levels of education and economic dependence on small-scale backyard farming. The baseline data collected in this survey will be useful in monitoring changes over time in the population's perceptions of threat, and its attitude towards compliance with specific public health recommendations.

Infrastructure for Reaching Disadvantaged Consumers

PubMed Central

Hovenga, Evelyn J. S.; Hovel, Joe; Klotz, Jeanette; Robins, Patricia

1998-01-01

Both consumers and health service providers need access to up-to-date information, including patient and practice guidelines, that allows them to make decisions in partnership about individual and public health in line with the primary health care model of health service delivery. Only then is it possible for patient preferences to be considered while the health of the general population is improved. The Commonwealth Government of Australia has allocated $250 million over five years, starting July 1, 1997, to support activities and projects designed to meet a range of telecommunication needs in regional, rural, and remote Australia. This paper defines rural and remote communities, then reviews rural and remote health services, information, and telecommunication technology infrastructures and their use in Australia to establish the current state of access to information tools by rural and remote communities and rural health workers in Australia today. It is argued that a suitable telecommunication infrastructure is needed to reach disadvantaged persons in extremely remote areas and that intersectoral support is essential to build this infrastructure. In addition, education will make its utilization possible. PMID:9609497

Extreme Heat and Health: Perspectives from Health Service Providers in Rural and Remote Communities in South Australia

PubMed Central

Williams, Susan; Bi, Peng; Newbury, Jonathan; Robinson, Guy; Pisaniello, Dino; Saniotis, Arthur; Hansen, Alana

2013-01-01

Among the challenges for rural communities and health services in Australia, climate change and increasing extreme heat are emerging as additional stressors. Effective public health responses to extreme heat require an understanding of the impact on health and well-being, and the risk or protective factors within communities. This study draws on lived experiences to explore these issues in eleven rural and remote communities across South Australia, framing these within a socio-ecological model. Semi-structured interviews with health service providers (n = 13), and a thematic analysis of these data, has identified particular challenges for rural communities and their health services during extreme heat. The findings draw attention to the social impacts of extreme heat in rural communities, the protective factors (independence, social support, education, community safety), and challenges for adaptation (vulnerabilities, infrastructure, community demographics, housing and local industries). With temperatures increasing across South Australia, there is a need for local planning and low-cost strategies to address heat-exacerbating factors in rural communities, to minimise the impact of extreme heat in the future. PMID:24173140

Evaluating a small footprint, waveform-resolving lidar over coastal vegetation communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nayegandhl, A.; Brock, J.C.; Wright, C.W.; O'Connell, M. J.

2006-01-01

NASA's Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) is a raster-scanning, waveform-resolving, green-wavelength (532 nm) lidar designed to map near-shore bathymetry, topography, and vegetation structure simultaneously. The EAARL sensor records the time history of the return waveform within a small footprint (20 cm diameter) for each laser pulse, enabling characterization of vegetation canopy structure and "bare earth" topography under a variety of vegetation types. A collection of individual waveforms combined within a synthesized large footprint was used to define three metrics: canopy height (CH), canopy reflection ratio (CRR), and height of median energy (HOME). Bare Earth Elevation (BEE) metric was derived using the individual small-footprint waveforms. All four metrics were tested for reproducibility, which resulted in an average of 95 percent correspondence within two standard deviations of the mean. CH and BEE values were also tested for accuracy using ground-truth data. The results presented in this paper show that combining several individual small-footprint laser pulses to define a composite "large-footprint" waveform is a possible method to depict the vertical structure of a vegetation canopy. ?? 2006 American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

Establishment of an innovative specialist cardiac indigenous outreach service in rural and remote Queensland.

PubMed

Tibby, David; Corpus, Rohan; Walters, Darren L

2010-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in Indigenous Australians. Indigneous Australians present at a younger age and have a greater incidence of cardiac risk including smoking and diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians. Access to specialist health services is an important determinant of health care outcomes for these patients. We describe an innovative and successful for model for providing Outreach Cardiac Specialist services to Indigenous communities in rural and remote locations. The approach involves a step-wise process of a) community engagement, b) delivering recovery interventions to improve health outcomes, c) building community capacity to self manage chronic illness and promoting health and well being with the aim of d) community self governance of chronic disease and health promotion. Key elements to this process are community participation in the program, disease self-management led by local health care workers, open access that is all-inclusive utilising community-generated referral, and the translation of scientific knowledge of disease processes into community understanding and making culturally relevant connections. Specialist cardiac services and point of care diagnostics have been provided to 18 sites across rural and remote Queensland. More than 1400 episodes of care have been provided to Indigenous Australians with rheumatic heart disease, ischaemic heart disease and congenital heart conditions. Traditional values can work harmoniously with an inclusive medical approach in this relational model. Crown Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Teaching mathematics remotely: changed practices in distance education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lowrie, Tom; Jorgensen, Robyn

2012-09-01

This investigation explored the challenges of creating meaningful mathematics practices for a community engaged in Distance Education (DE). Specifically, the study maps the influence of new technologies on the practices of a learning community where mathematics was taught remotely. The theoretical framework of this study utilised Bourdieu's work on practice to consider the changed nature of the field, in this case, remote education provision, over time. By using Bourdieu's notion of field, we are better able to understand the ways in which practices and discourses shape particular ways of working in rural education provision. The results of the study show that Field 1 was innovative and beyond the non-school world, while Field 2 lagged behind the technological resources of the non-school world.

Alvin expeditionary hotline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

This note is call for dive requests, coordinated to the extent practical, from those scientists interested in opportunities for an Alvin/Atlantis II expedition to some remote area. In an effort to facilitate planning for Alvin and to help focus the attention of investigators with diverse scientific interests in remote areas, Feenan Jennings of Texas A & M University, College Station, who chairs the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System's (UNOLS') Alvin Review Committee (ARC), has announced establishment of an Alvin planning bulletin board on electronic mail. The bulletin board, ALVIN.PLANNING, is to help inform potential users of community interest in conducting Alvin/Atlantis II research projects, especially those involving expeditions to remote areas. ALVIN.PLANNING will be implemented early in 1990. Notice and further details will be broadcast throughout the ocean community.

The Impacts of Water Quality and Food Availability on Children's Health in West Africa: A Spatial Analysis Using Remotely Sensed Data and Small-Scale Water Quality Data and Country-level Health Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frederick, L.; Grace, K.; Lloyd, B.

2014-12-01

As the global climate changes and the populations of many African countries grow, ensuring clean drinking water and food has become a pressing concern. Because of their vulnerability to malnutrition and food insecurity, children face the greatest risk for adverse health outcomes related to climate change. Vulnerability, however, is highly variable, with some children in food insecure communities showing healthy growth, while some children in food secure communities show signs of malnutrition. In West Africa, Burkina Faso faces high levels of child malnutrition, loses to farmland and a large share of the population have no access to clean water. Because the overwhelming majority of children rely on locally grown, rainfed agriculture and well/surface water, the combined impact of climate change and population growth decreases water availability and farmland per person. However, there is notable community and individual variation in malnutrition levels suggesting that there are important coping strategies that vulnerable families may use to secure their children's health. No spatially relevant analysis of water and food insecurity and children's health exists for Burkina Faso. The goal of this research is to identify and quantify the combined and inter-related impact of unsafe drinking water and community-level food availability on the physical health outcomes of Burkinabe children under five years of age. To accomplish this goal we rely on a publically available highly detailed, geo-referenced data set (Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)) to provide information on measures of childhood malnutrition and details on parental characteristics related to children's health. Information on water source (covered/uncovered well, piped water, etc.) and water quality (measures of arsenic and pollution) comes from DHS along with a recently collected geo-referenced US Agency for International Development (USAID) data set. Critical information on food production, environmental characteristics and population density come from high resolution remotely sensed data.

The Impacts of Water Quality and Food Availability on Children's Health in West Africa: A Spatial Analysis Using Remotely Sensed Data and Small-Scale Water Quality Data and Country-level Health Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frederick, L.; Grace, K.; Lloyd, B.

2015-12-01

As the global climate changes and the populations of many African countries grow, ensuring clean drinking water and food has become a pressing concern. Because of their vulnerability to malnutrition and food insecurity, children face the greatest risk for adverse health outcomes related to climate change. Vulnerability, however, is highly variable, with some children in food insecure communities showing healthy growth, while some children in food secure communities show signs of malnutrition. In West Africa, Burkina Faso faces high levels of child malnutrition, loses to farmland and a large share of the population have no access to clean water. Because the overwhelming majority of children rely on locally grown, rainfed agriculture and well/surface water, the combined impact of climate change and population growth decreases water availability and farmland per person. However, there is notable community and individual variation in malnutrition levels suggesting that there are important coping strategies that vulnerable families may use to secure their children's health. No spatially relevant analysis of water and food insecurity and children's health exists for Burkina Faso. The goal of this research is to identify and quantify the combined and inter-related impact of unsafe drinking water and community-level food availability on the physical health outcomes of Burkinabe children under five years of age. To accomplish this goal we rely on a publically available highly detailed, geo-referenced data set (Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)) to provide information on measures of childhood malnutrition and details on parental characteristics related to children's health. Information on water source (covered/uncovered well, piped water, etc.) and water quality (measures of arsenic and pollution) comes from DHS along with a recently collected geo-referenced US Agency for International Development (USAID) data set. Critical information on food production, environmental characteristics and population density come from high resolution remotely sensed data.

Validation of adipose lipid content as a body condition index for polar bears

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKinney, Melissa A.; Atwood, Todd C.; Dietz, Rune; Sonne, Christian; Iverson, Sara J.; Peacock, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Body condition is a key indicator of individual and population health. Yet, there is little consensus as to the most appropriate condition index (CI), and most of the currently used CIs have not been thoroughly validated and are logistically challenging. Adipose samples from large datasets of capture biopsied, remote biopsied, and harvested polar bears were used to validate adipose lipid content as a CI via tests of accuracy, precision, sensitivity, biopsy depth, and storage conditions and comparisons to established CIs, to measures of health and to demographic and ecological parameters. The lipid content analyses of even very small biopsy samples were highly accurate and precise, but results were influenced by tissue depth at which the sample was taken. Lipid content of capture biopsies and samples from harvested adult females was correlated with established CIs and/or conformed to expected biological variation and ecological changes. However, lipid content of remote biopsies was lower than capture biopsies and harvested samples, possibly due to lipid loss during dart retrieval. Lipid content CI is a biologically relevant, relatively inexpensive and rapidly assessed CI and can be determined routinely for individuals and populations in order to infer large-scale spatial and long-term temporal trends. As it is possible to collect samples during routine harvesting or remotely using biopsy darts, monitoring and assessment of body condition can be accomplished without capture and handling procedures or noninvasively, which are methods that are preferred by local communities. However, further work is needed to apply the method to remote biopsies.

Validation of adipose lipid content as a body condition index for polar bears

PubMed Central

McKinney, Melissa A; Atwood, Todd; Dietz, Rune; Sonne, Christian; Iverson, Sara J; Peacock, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Body condition is a key indicator of individual and population health. Yet, there is little consensus as to the most appropriate condition index (CI), and most of the currently used CIs have not been thoroughly validated and are logistically challenging. Adipose samples from large datasets of capture biopsied, remote biopsied, and harvested polar bears were used to validate adipose lipid content as a CI via tests of accuracy, precision, sensitivity, biopsy depth, and storage conditions and comparisons to established CIs, to measures of health and to demographic and ecological parameters. The lipid content analyses of even very small biopsy samples were highly accurate and precise, but results were influenced by tissue depth at which the sample was taken. Lipid content of capture biopsies and samples from harvested adult females was correlated with established CIs and/or conformed to expected biological variation and ecological changes. However, lipid content of remote biopsies was lower than capture biopsies and harvested samples, possibly due to lipid loss during dart retrieval. Lipid content CI is a biologically relevant, relatively inexpensive and rapidly assessed CI and can be determined routinely for individuals and populations in order to infer large-scale spatial and long-term temporal trends. As it is possible to collect samples during routine harvesting or remotely using biopsy darts, monitoring and assessment of body condition can be accomplished without capture and handling procedures or noninvasively, which are methods that are preferred by local communities. However, further work is needed to apply the method to remote biopsies. PMID:24634735

Canada's northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation.

PubMed

Galloway, Tracey

2017-01-01

Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a retail subsidy program implemented in 2012 and designed to reduce the cost of nutritious food for residents living in Canada's remote, northern communities. The present study evaluates the extent to which NNC provides access to perishable, nutritious food for residents of remote northern communities. Program documents, including fiscal and food cost reports for the period 2011-2015, retailer compliance reports, audits of the program, and the program's performance measurement strategy are examined for evidence that the subsidy is meeting its objectives in a manner both comprehensive and equitable across regions and communities. NNC lacks price caps or other means of ensuring food is affordable and equitably priced in communities. Gaps in food cost reporting constrain the program's accountability. From 2011-15, no adjustments were made to community eligibility, subsidy rates, or the list of eligible foods in response to information provided by community members, critics, the Auditor General of Canada, and the program's own Advisory Board. Measures to increase program accountability, such as increasing subsidy information on point-of-sale receipts, make NNC more visible but do nothing to address underlying accountability issues Conclusions: The current structure and regulatory framework of NNC are insufficient to ensure the program meets its goal. Both the volume and cost of nutritious food delivered to communities is highly variable and dependent on factors such as retailers' pricing practices, over which the program has no control. It may be necessary to consider alternative forms of policy in order to produce sustainable improvements to food security in remote, northern communities.

'Sly grog' and 'homebrew': a qualitative examination of illicit alcohol and some of its impacts on Indigenous communities with alcohol restrictions in regional and remote Queensland (Australia).

PubMed

Fitts, Michelle S; Robertson, Jan; Towle, Simon; Doran, Chris M; McDermott, Robyn; Miller, Adrian; Margolis, Stephen; Ypinazar, Valmae; Clough, Alan R

2017-08-01

Indigenous communities in Queensland (Australia) have been subject to Alcohol Management Plans since 2002/03, with significant penalties for breaching restrictions. 'Sly grog' and 'homebrew' provide access to alcohol despite restrictions. This paper describes how this alcohol is made available and the risks and impacts involved. In affected towns and communities across a large area of rural and remote Queensland, interviews and focus groups documented experiences and views of 255 long-standing community members and service providers. Using an inductive framework, transcribed interviews were analysed to identify supply mechanisms, community and service provider responses and impacts experienced. 'Homebrew' was reportedly manufactured in just a few localities, in locally-specific forms bringing locally-specific harms. However, 'sly grog' sourced from licensed premises located long distances from communities, is a widespread concern across the region. 'Sly grog' sellers circumvent retailers' takeaway liquor license conditions, stockpile alcohol outside restricted areas, send hoax messages to divert enforcement and take extraordinary risks to avoid apprehension. Police face significant challenges to enforce restrictions. On-selling of 'sly grog' appears more common in remote communities with total prohibition. Despite different motives for involvement in an illicit trade 'sly grog' consumers and sellers receive similar penalties. There is a need for: (a) a more sophisticated regional approach to managing takeaway alcohol sales from licensed suppliers, (b) targeted penalties for 'sly grog' sellers that reflect its significant community impact, (c) strategies to reduce the demand for alcohol and (d) research to assess the effects of these strategies in reducing harms.

Interventions to encourage smoke-free homes in remote indigenous Australian communities: a study protocol to evaluate the effects of a community-inspired awareness-raising and motivational enhancement strategy

PubMed Central

Clough, Alan R; Grant, Kristy; Robertson, Jan; Wrigley, Matthew; Nichols, Nina; Fitzgibbon, Tracey

2018-01-01

Introduction Rates of secondhand smoke exposure are currently significantly higher among remote indigenous communities in the top end of Australia. By implementing a ‘smoke-free home’ rule, secondhand smoke exposure can be reduced. Smoke-free homes encourage quit attempts and improve the health of children. The prevalence of indigenous smoking rates in remote, discrete communities in Australia is elevated compared with their non-indigenous counterparts. The primary aim of this project is to examine the feasibility of conducting a health-driven intervention to encourage community members to make their homes a smoke-free zone. Methods and analysis This study uses mixed-methods exploratory evaluation design to obtain data from key informants and community householders to assess their willingness to implement a ‘smoke-free’ rule in their homes. Initial focus groups will provide guidance on intervention content and deliver evaluation procedures and community requirements. A rapid survey will be conducted to ascertain interest from community members in having the project team visit to discuss study objectives further and to have a particle meter (with consent) placed in the house. Focus groups recordings will be transcribed and analysed thematically. Rapid surveys will be analysed using frequency distributions and tabulations of responses. Ethics and dissemination The National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines on ethical research approaches to indigenous studies will be adhered to. The James Cook University Human Research Ethics Committee has provided ethics approval. PMID:29500205

Relationships between dental personnel and non-dental primary health care providers in rural and remote Queensland, Australia: dental perspectives.

PubMed

Stuart, Jackie; Hoang, Ha; Crocombe, Len; Barnett, Tony

2017-06-19

Collaboration between dental practitioners and non-dental primary care providers has the potential to improve oral health care for people in rural and remote communities, where access to oral health services is limited. However, there is limited research on collaboration between these professional disciplines. The purpose of this paper was to explore the relationships between dental practitioners and non-dental primary care providers from rural and remote areas of Queensland and to identify strategies that could improve collaboration between these disciplines from the perspective of dental participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between 2013 and 2015 with visiting, local and regional dental practitioners (n = 12) who had provided dental services to patients from eight rural and remote Queensland communities that did not have a resident dentist. Participants were purposely recruited through a snow ball sampling technique. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis with the assistance of QSR Nvivo v.10. Four major themes emerged from the data: (1) Communication between dental practitioners and rural primary care providers; (2) Relationships between dental and primary care providers; (3) Maintenance of professional dualism; (4) Strategies to improve interprofessional relationships (with subthemes: face to face meetings; utilisation of technology; oral health training for primary care providers; and having a community based oral health contact person). Participants observed that there was a lack of communication between the dental providers who saw patients from these rural communities and the primary care providers who worked in each community. This was attributed to poor communication, the high turnover of staff and the siloed behaviours of some practitioners. Visiting dental practitioners were likely to have stronger professional relationships with hospital nursing, administrative and allied health care staff who were often long term residents of the community. The findings suggest that there was little relationship between the dental personnel and primary care providers. Interprofessional collaboration between dental care providers and non-dental rural primary care providers in the rural and remote communities sampled could be improved by having regular face to face meetings between practitioners from across the health disciplines, providing oral health education to primary care providers, establishing and maintaining effective communication and referral pathways, and exploring a greater role for tele-dentistry.

Developing and Field Testing a Community Based Youth Initiative to Increase Tuberculosis Awareness in Remote Arctic Inuit Communities.

PubMed

Alvarez, Gonzalo G; Van Dyk, Deborah D; Colquhoun, Heather; Moreau, Katherine A; Mulpuru, Sunita; Graham, Ian D

2016-01-01

Inuit in Canada have the highest reported tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate in Canada, even higher than other Canadian Indigenous groups. The aim of this study was to increase TB awareness among Inuit youth and their communities by equipping those who can best reach this population with a community based, youth focused, education initiative built on interventions adapted from a previous TB awareness study. The Taima TB Youth Education Initiative was a field test case study of a knowledge translation (KT) strategy aimed at community members who provide health education in these communities. In the first stage of this study, interventions from a larger TB awareness campaign were adapted to focus on youth living in remote Inuit communities. During the second stage of the study, investigators field tested the initiative in two isolated Inuit communities. It was then applied by local implementation teams in two other communities. Evaluation criteria included feasibility, acceptability, knowledge uptake and health behavior change. Implementation of the adapted KT interventions resulted in participation of a total of 41 youth (19 females, 22 males) with an average age of 16 years (range 12-21 years) in four different communities in Nunavut. Community celebration events were attended by 271 community members where TB messaging were presented and discussed. All of the health care workers and community members surveyed reported that the adapted interventions were acceptable and a useful way of learning to some extent. Knowledge uptake measures indicated an average TB knowledge score of 64 out of 100. Local partners in all four communities indicated that they would use the Taima TB Youth Education Initiative again to raise awareness about TB among youth in their communities. The TB awareness interventions adapted for the Taima TB Youth Education Initiative were acceptable to the Inuit communities involved in the study. They resulted in uptake of knowledge among participants. Implementation by local implementation teams was feasible as evidenced by the participation and attendance of youth and community members in all communities. The ability to implement the interventions by local implementation teams indicates there is potential to scale up in other remote communities in the arctic setting.

How primary health care staff working in rural and remote areas access skill development and expertise to support health promotion practice.

PubMed

McFarlane, Kathryn A; Judd, Jenni; Wapau, Hylda; Nichols, Nina; Watt, Kerrianne; Devine, Sue

2018-05-01

Health promotion is a key component of comprehensive primary health care. Health promotion approaches complement healthcare management by enabling individuals to increase control over their health. Many primary healthcare staff have a role to play in health promotion practice, but their ability to integrate health promotion into practice is influenced by their previous training and experience. For primary healthcare staff working in rural and remote locations, access to professional development can be limited by what is locally available and prohibitive in terms of cost for travel and accommodation. This study provides insight into how staff at a large north Queensland Aboriginal community controlled health service access skill development and health promotion expertise to support their work. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted. Small group and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff at Apunipima Cape York Health Council (n=9). A purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants from a number of primary healthcare teams that were more likely to be involved in health promotion work. Both on-the-ground staff and managers were interviewed. All participants were asked how they access skill development and expertise in health promotion practice and what approaches they prefer for ongoing health promotion support. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. All participants valued access to skill development, advice and support that would assist their health promotion practice. Skill development and expertise in health promotion was accessed from a variety of sources: conferences, workshops, mentoring or shared learning from internal and external colleagues, and access to online information and resources. With limited funds and limited access to professional development locally, participants fostered external and internal organisational relationships to seek in-kind advice and support. Irrespective of where the advice came from, it needed to be applicable to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote communities. To improve health outcomes in rural and remote communities, the focus on health promotion and prevention approaches must be strengthened. Primary healthcare staff require ongoing access to health promotion skill development and expertise to increase their capacity to deliver comprehensive primary health care. Practice-based evidence from staff working in the field provides a greater understanding of how skill development and advice are accessed. Many of these strategies can be formalised through organisational plans and systems, which would ensure that a skilled health promotion workforce is sustained.

Conversations on telemental health: listening to remote and rural First Nations communities.

PubMed

Gibson, Kerri L; Coulson, Heather; Miles, Roseanne; Kakekakekung, Christal; Daniels, Elizabeth; O'Donnell, Susan

2011-01-01

Telemental health involves technologies such as videoconferencing to deliver mental health services and education, and to connect individuals and communities for healing and health. In remote and rural First Nations communities there are often challenges to obtaining mental healthcare in the community and to working with external mental health workers. Telemental health is a service approach and tool that can address some of these challenges and potentially support First Nations communities in their goal of improving mental health and wellbeing. Community members' perspectives on the usefulness and appropriateness of telemental health can greatly influence the level of engagement with the service. It appears that no research or literature exists on First Nations community members' perspectives on telemental health, or even on community perspectives on the broader area of technologies for mental health services. Therefore, this article explores the perspectives on telemental health of community members living in two rural and remote First Nations communities in Ontario, Canada. METHODS; This study was part of the VideoCom project, a collaborative research project exploring how remote and rural First Nations communities are using ICTs. This current exploration was conducted with the support of Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO), our partner in Northwestern Ontario. With the full collaboration of the communities' leadership, a team involving KO staff and VideoCom researchers visited the two communities in the spring of 2010. Using a participatory research design, we interviewed 59 community members, asking about their experiences with and thoughts on using technologies and their attitudes toward telemental health, specifically. A thematic analysis of this qualitative data and a descriptive quantitative analysis of the information revealed the diversity of attitudes among community members. Finally, based on a discussion with the community telehealth staff, a 'ways forward' section was proposed as a way to begin addressing certain issues that were raised by community members. This article explores the continuum of community members' perspectives that range from interest and enthusiasm to hesitancy and concern. One participant reported personal experience with using telemental health and found the approach helpful in increasing her comfort in the therapeutic situation. In addition, concerns relating to appropriateness and safety were voiced. A variety of advantages (eg facilitation of disclosure, increased access to services, usefulness) and disadvantages or concerns (eg interference with capacity building, concerns about privacy) are reported and discussed. Following a coding procedure, a descriptive quantitative analysis demonstrated that 47% of the participants were categorized as having a positive response toward telemental health, 32% as having a negative response, and 21% as being neutral or undecided. Valuing Indigenous knowledge can help us understand community members' experiences of and concerns with telemental health and inform more successful and appropriate initiatives. With the invaluable support of the KO Telemedicine co-authors, we offer ways forward to address concerns identified by the community members. Most importantly, any ways forward for community telemental health initiatives need to be community driven and community led.

Great Times Now and In the Future For Telescopes Afar in Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pennypacker, Carlton

2011-03-01

These are very exciting times in education and astronomy, and our communities have growing capabilities to positively change teachers and students lives through the use of remote telescopes. This has been a long haul, but traction is evident. Over the last 17 years, beginning with researchers and students acquiring and discovering our first automatically requested images of supernovae from UC Berkeley's automated Leuschner Observatory (arguably one of the first successful civilian automated telescopes). we, as other groups, have found extremely high engagement with students of various ages in using remote telescopes, both in real-time and cue-based observing modes. E.G., we currently have a small GHOU network of small telescopes that can intermittently serve our teachers, and eagerly try to use every telescope that might share a few photons with our kids, some living in tough circumstances. (some GHOU students are from very low-economic conditions, but still love the stars, and love to communicate and collaboate with children around the world). Other groups are actively pursuing making such networks succeed, too. The project I work with is called "Global Hands-On Universe" (GHOU). The need for regular and robust remote telescopes could grow to very high levels, if the astronomy community can produce reliable and robust telescope networks. For example, as part of the International Year of Astronomy, I helped in efforts that eventually led to the training (coordinated by Rosa Doran, of Portugal) of 5000 teachers in greater than 90 nations in the use of .fts images, Salsa J image processing, and Stellarium software (both French softwares). We have a particular focus and have found huge resonances for this work in developing nations, including nations in Africa, Asia, and South America. In addition, we have developed good after school programs that teach astronomy and use of real images, again which can benefit by astronomy community cooperation and collaboration. A substantial GHOU program is now being mounted in Chile, for instance, with a 30-teacher workshop held the first week of this January, good participation by Chilean and International Universities, research, and education organizations. Our GHOU educators are selfless and share everything, including curricula, software, training, other materials, and themselves. For example this spring, teachers from France will fly to Paranal with their students, and train Chilean teachers on Black Holes in galaxies and measuring exo-planets, all with real .fts image, on their way to the VLT! Finally, I describe a collaborating group with GHOU, the International Asteroid Search "IASC" (led by GHOU'er Patrick Miller of Hardin Simmons University) -- IASC has found phenomenal success with enabling students to discover asteroids, with approximately 50 to 100 asteroids a year being discovered by this group of international teachers and students.

Exploitation of commercial remote sensing images: reality ignored?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Paul C.

1999-12-01

The remote sensing market is on the verge of being awash in commercial high-resolution images. Market estimates are based on the growing numbers of planned commercial remote sensing electro-optical, radar, and hyperspectral satellites and aircraft. EarthWatch, Space Imaging, SPOT, and RDL among others are all working towards launch and service of one to five meter panchromatic or radar-imaging satellites. Additionally, new advances in digital air surveillance and reconnaissance systems, both manned and unmanned, are also expected to expand the geospatial customer base. Regardless of platform, image type, or location, each system promises images with some combination of increased resolution, greater spectral coverage, reduced turn-around time (request-to- delivery), and/or reduced image cost. For the most part, however, market estimates for these new sources focus on the raw digital images (from collection to the ground station) while ignoring the requirements for a processing and exploitation infrastructure comprised of exploitation tools, exploitation training, library systems, and image management systems. From this it would appear the commercial imaging community has failed to learn the hard lessons of national government experience choosing instead to ignore reality and replicate the bias of collection over processing and exploitation. While this trend may be not impact the small quantity users that exist today it will certainly adversely affect the mid- to large-sized users of the future.

Sustainable Approaches for Materials Management in Remote ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Remote, economically challenged areas in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) and American Samoa in the US Pacific island territories face unique challenges with respect to solid waste management. These islands are remote and isolated, with some islands supporting only small populations, thus limiting options for pooling resources among communities in the form of regional waste management facilities, as is common on the US mainland. This isolation also results in greater costs for waste management compared to those encountered in the mainland US, a consequence of, among other factors, more expensive construction and maintenance costs because of the necessary transport of facility components (e.g., landfill liner materials) and the decreased attractiveness of waste recovery for recycling because of lower commodity prices after off-island transportation. Adding to these economic limitations, the gross domestic product and per capita income of the Pacific territories is less than half what it is in parts of the US. The first section of this report outlines a snapshot of the current state of solid waste management overall in the US Pacific island territories, primarily based on site visits.. Steps involved in this work included a review of selected existing published information related to the subject; site visits to Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Tutuila, and Apia; an assessment of the technical and economic feasibility of different solid waste

Biodiversity promotes primary productivity and growing season lengthening at the landscape scale

PubMed Central

Niklaus, Pascal A.

2017-01-01

Experiments have shown positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships in small plots with model communities established from species pools typically comprising few dozen species. Whether patterns found can be extrapolated to complex, nonexperimental, real-world landscapes that provide ecosystem services to humans remains unclear. Here, we combine species inventories from a large-scale network of 447 1-km2 plots with remotely sensed indices of primary productivity (years 2000–2015). We show that landscape-scale productivity and its temporal stability increase with the diversity of plants and other taxa. Effects of biodiversity indicators on productivity were comparable in size to effects of other important drivers related to climate, topography, and land cover. These effects occurred in plots that integrated different ecosystem types (i.e., metaecosystems) and were consistent over vast environmental and altitudinal gradients. The BEF relations we report are as strong or even exceed the ones found in small-scale experiments, despite different community assembly processes and a species pool comprising nearly 2,000 vascular plant species. Growing season length increased progressively over the observation period, and this shift was accelerated in more diverse plots, suggesting that a large species pool is important for adaption to climate change. Our study further implies that abiotic global-change drivers may mediate ecosystem functioning through biodiversity changes. PMID:28874547

Voices from the bush: remote area nurses prioritise hazards that contribute to violence in their workplace.

PubMed

McCullough, K M; Williams, A M; Lenthall, S

2012-01-01

Remote Area Nurses (RANs) in Australia frequently encounter hazards that contribute to violence in the work place. Resources to deal with this problem are limited. Adopting a risk management approach and using the Delphi method, a panel of expert RANs (n=10) from geographically diverse communities across Australia, identified and prioritised hazards that increase the risk of violence to nurses. This descriptive study found that RANs encounter a wide variety of hazards from a variety of sources. Environmental hazards are complicated by living in remote areas and practicing in different locations. Relationships between the nurse and the community can be complex and lack of experience and organisational support may contribute to an increased risk of violence. Hazards prioritised as 'major' or 'extreme' risks included: clinic maintenance and security features, attending to patients at staff residences, RAN inexperience and lack of knowledge about the community, as well as intoxicated clients with mental health issues. A work culture that accepts verbal abuse as 'part of the job' was identified as a significant organisational risk to RANs. A lack of action from management when hazards are identified by clinic staff and insufficient recognition of the risk of violence by employers were also significant hazards. Further consideration of the hazards described in this study following the risk management process, may provide opportunities to reduce the risk of violence towards RANs. Proposed control measures should be developed in consultation with RANs and the remote communities they work in.

Effect of 25% Sodium Reduction on Sales of a Top-Selling Bread in Remote Indigenous Australian Community Stores: A Controlled Intervention Trial

PubMed Central

McMahon, Emma; Webster, Jacqui; Brimblecombe, Julie

2017-01-01

Reducing sodium in the food supply is key to achieving population salt targets, but maintaining sales is important to ensuring commercial viability and maximising clinical impact. We investigated whether 25% sodium reduction in a top-selling bread affected sales in 26 remote Indigenous community stores. After a 23-week baseline period, 11 control stores received the regular-salt bread (400 mg Na/100 g) and 15 intervention stores received the reduced-salt version (300 mg Na/100 g) for 12-weeks. Sales data were collected to examine difference between groups in change from baseline to follow-up (effect size) in sales (primary outcome) or sodium density, analysed using a mixed model. There was no significant effect on market share (−0.31%; 95% CI −0.68, 0.07; p = 0.11) or weekly dollars ($58; −149, 266; p = 0.58). Sodium density of all purchases was not significantly reduced (−8 mg Na/MJ; −18, 2; p = 0.14), but 25% reduction across all bread could significantly reduce sodium (−12; −23, −1; p = 0.03). We found 25% salt reduction in a top-selling bread did not affect sales in remote Indigenous community stores. If achieved across all breads, estimated salt intake in remote Indigenous Australian communities would be reduced by approximately 15% of the magnitude needed to achieve population salt targets, which could lead to significant health gains at the population-level. PMID:28264485

Conceptualizing and Managing Medical Emergencies Where No Formal Paramedical System Exists: Perspectives from a Remote Indigenous Community in Canada.

PubMed

Curran, Jeffrey; Ritchie, Stephen D; Beardy, Jackson; VanderBurgh, David; Born, Karen; Lewko, John; Orkin, Aaron M

2018-02-04

(1) Background: Remote communities in Canada lack an equitable emergency medical response capacity compared to other communities. Community-based emergency care (CBEC) training for laypeople is a model that has the potential to enhance the medical emergency response capacity in isolated and resource-limited contexts. The purpose of this study was to understand the characteristics of medical emergencies and to conceptualize and present a framework for what a medical emergency is for one remote Indigenous community in northwestern Ontario, in order to inform the development of CBEC training. (2) Methods: This study adhered to the principles of community-based participatory research and realist evaluation; it was an integrated component of the formative evaluation of the second Sachigo Lake Wilderness Emergency Response Education Initiative (SLWEREI) training course in 2012. Twelve members of Sachigo Lake First Nation participated in the training course, along with local nursing staff, police officers, community Elders, and course instructors (n = 24 total), who participated in interviews, focus groups, and a collaborative discussion of local health issues in the development of the SLWEREI. (3) Results: The qualitative results are organized into sections that describe the types of local health emergencies and the informal response system of community members in addressing these emergencies. Prominent themes of health adversity that emerged were an inability to manage chronic conditions and fears of exacerbations, the lack of capacity for addressing mental illness, and the high prevalence of injury for community members. (4) Discussion: A three-point framework of what constitutes local perceptions of an emergency emerged from the findings in this study: (1) a sense of isolation; (2) a condition with a potentially adverse outcome; and (3) a need for help.

Conceptualizing and Managing Medical Emergencies Where No Formal Paramedical System Exists: Perspectives from a Remote Indigenous Community in Canada

PubMed Central

Curran, Jeffrey; Ritchie, Stephen D.; Beardy, Jackson; VanderBurgh, David; Born, Karen; Lewko, John; Orkin, Aaron M.

2018-01-01

(1) Background: Remote communities in Canada lack an equitable emergency medical response capacity compared to other communities. Community-based emergency care (CBEC) training for laypeople is a model that has the potential to enhance the medical emergency response capacity in isolated and resource-limited contexts. The purpose of this study was to understand the characteristics of medical emergencies and to conceptualize and present a framework for what a medical emergency is for one remote Indigenous community in northwestern Ontario, in order to inform the development of CBEC training. (2) Methods: This study adhered to the principles of community-based participatory research and realist evaluation; it was an integrated component of the formative evaluation of the second Sachigo Lake Wilderness Emergency Response Education Initiative (SLWEREI) training course in 2012. Twelve members of Sachigo Lake First Nation participated in the training course, along with local nursing staff, police officers, community Elders, and course instructors (n = 24 total), who participated in interviews, focus groups, and a collaborative discussion of local health issues in the development of the SLWEREI. (3) Results: The qualitative results are organized into sections that describe the types of local health emergencies and the informal response system of community members in addressing these emergencies. Prominent themes of health adversity that emerged were an inability to manage chronic conditions and fears of exacerbations, the lack of capacity for addressing mental illness, and the high prevalence of injury for community members. (4) Discussion: A three-point framework of what constitutes local perceptions of an emergency emerged from the findings in this study: (1) a sense of isolation; (2) a condition with a potentially adverse outcome; and (3) a need for help. PMID:29401706

What Is All That Learning for? Indigenous Adult English Literacy Practices, Training, Community Capacity and Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kral, Inge; Falk, Ian

2004-01-01

In remote Indigenous communities in Australia there are minimal labour market opportunities, with the majority of jobs under the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP), and limited education and training services. Yet Indigenous communities are under increasing pressure from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)…

Community-Based Suicide Prevention Research in Remote On-Reserve First Nations Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaak, Corinne A.; Campeau, Mike; Katz, Laurence Y.; Enns, Murray W.; Elias, Brenda; Sareen, Jitender

2010-01-01

Suicide is a complex problem linked to genetic, environmental, psychological and community factors. For the Aboriginal population more specifically, loss of culture, history of traumatic events, individual, family and community factors may also play a role in suicidal behaviour. Of particular concern is the high rate of suicide among Canadian…

Advances in Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft Communications and Remote Sensing in Maritime Environments including the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGillivary, P. A.; Borges de Sousa, J.; Wackowski, S.; Walker, G.

2011-12-01

Small remotely piloted aircraft have recently been used for maritime remote sensing, including launch and retrieval operations from land, ships and sea ice. Such aircraft can also function to collect and communicate data from other ocean observing system platforms including moorings, tagged animals, drifters, autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), and autonomous underwater vessels (AUVs). The use of small remotely piloted aircraft (or UASs, unmanned aerial systems) with a combination of these capabilities will be required to monitor the vast areas of the open ocean, as well as in harsh high-latitude ecosystems. Indeed, these aircraft are a key component of planned high latitude maritime domain awareness environmental data collection capabilities, including use of visible, IR and hyperspectral sensors, as well as lidar, meteorological sensors, and interferometric synthetic aperture radars (ISARs). We here first describe at-sea demonstrations of improved reliability and bandwidth of communications from ocean sensors on autonomous underwater vehicles to autonomous surface vessels, and then via remotely piloted aircraft to shore, ships and manned aircraft using Delay and Disruption Tolerant (DTN) communication protocols. DTN enables data exchange in communications-challenged environments, such as remote regions of the ocean including high latitudes where low satellite angles and auroral disturbances can be problematic. DTN provides a network architecture and application interface structured around optionally-reliable asynchronous message forwarding, with limited expectations of end-to-end connectivity and node resources. This communications method enables aircraft and surface vessels to function as data mules to move data between physically disparate nodes. We provide examples of the uses of this communication protocol for environmental data collection and data distribution with a variety of different remotely piloted aircraft in a coastal ocean environment. Next, we highlight use in the arctic of two different small remotely piloted aircraft (ScanEagle and RAVEN) for remote sensing of ice and ocean conditions as well as surveys of marine mammals. Finally, we explain how these can be used in future networked environments with DTN support not only for the collection of ocean and ice data for maritime domain awareness, but also for monitoring oil spill dynamics in high latitude environments, including spills in and under sea ice. The networked operation of heterogeneous air and ocean vehicle systems using DTN communications methods can provide unprecedented levels of spatial-temporal sampling resolution important to improving arctic remote sensing and maritime domain awareness capabilities.

Gill bacteria enable a novel digestive strategy in a wood-feeding mollusk.

PubMed

O'Connor, Roberta M; Fung, Jennifer M; Sharp, Koty H; Benner, Jack S; McClung, Colleen; Cushing, Shelley; Lamkin, Elizabeth R; Fomenkov, Alexey I; Henrissat, Bernard; Londer, Yuri Y; Scholz, Matthew B; Posfai, Janos; Malfatti, Stephanie; Tringe, Susannah G; Woyke, Tanja; Malmstrom, Rex R; Coleman-Derr, Devin; Altamia, Marvin A; Dedrick, Sandra; Kaluziak, Stefan T; Haygood, Margo G; Distel, Daniel L

2014-11-25

Bacteria play many important roles in animal digestive systems, including the provision of enzymes critical to digestion. Typically, complex communities of bacteria reside in the gut lumen in direct contact with the ingested materials they help to digest. Here, we demonstrate a previously undescribed digestive strategy in the wood-eating marine bivalve Bankia setacea, wherein digestive bacteria are housed in a location remote from the gut. These bivalves, commonly known as shipworms, lack a resident microbiota in the gut compartment where wood is digested but harbor endosymbiotic bacteria within specialized cells in their gills. We show that this comparatively simple bacterial community produces wood-degrading enzymes that are selectively translocated from gill to gut. These enzymes, which include just a small subset of the predicted wood-degrading enzymes encoded in the endosymbiont genomes, accumulate in the gut to the near exclusion of other endosymbiont-made proteins. This strategy of remote enzyme production provides the shipworm with a mechanism to capture liberated sugars from wood without competition from an endogenous gut microbiota. Because only those proteins required for wood digestion are translocated to the gut, this newly described system reveals which of many possible enzymes and enzyme combinations are minimally required for wood degradation. Thus, although it has historically had negative impacts on human welfare, the shipworm digestive process now has the potential to have a positive impact on industries that convert wood and other plant biomass to renewable fuels, fine chemicals, food, feeds, textiles, and paper products.

Completing the Picture: Importance of Considering Participatory Mapping for REDD+ Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV)

PubMed Central

Rafanoharana, Serge; Boissière, Manuel; Wijaya, Arief; Wardhana, Wahyu

2016-01-01

Remote sensing has been widely used for mapping land cover and is considered key to monitoring changes in forest areas in the REDD+ Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system. But Remote Sensing as a desk study cannot capture the whole picture; it also requires ground checking. Therefore, complementing remote sensing analysis using participatory mapping can help provide information for an initial forest cover assessment, gain better understanding of how local land use might affect changes, and provide a way to engage local communities in REDD+. Our study looked at the potential of participatory mapping in providing complementary information for remotely sensed maps. The research sites were located in different ecological and socio-economic contexts in the provinces of Papua, West Kalimantan and Central Java, Indonesia. Twenty-one maps of land cover and land use were drawn with local community participation during focus group discussions in seven villages. These maps, covering a total of 270,000ha, were used to add information to maps developed using remote sensing, adding 39 land covers to the eight from our initial desk assessment. They also provided additional information on drivers of land use and land cover change, resource areas, territory claims and land status, which we were able to correlate to understand changes in forest cover. Incorporating participatory mapping in the REDD+ MRV protocol would help with initial remotely sensed land classifications, stratify an area for ground checks and measurement plots, and add other valuable social data not visible at the RS scale. Ultimately, it would provide a forum for local communities to discuss REDD+ activities and develop a better understanding of REDD+. PMID:27977685

What core primary health care services should be available to Australians living in rural and remote communities?

PubMed

Thomas, Susan L; Wakerman, John; Humphreys, John S

2014-08-21

Australians living in rural and remote areas experience poorer access to primary health care (PHC) and poorer health outcomes compared to metropolitan populations. Current health reform in Australia aims to ensure all Australians, regardless of where they live, have access to essential PHC services. However, at a national level policy makers and health planners lack an evidence-based set of core PHC services to assist in implementing this goal. A Delphi method was used to reach consensus on an evidence-based list of core PHC services to which all Australians should have access and their necessary support functions. Experts in rural and remote and/or Indigenous PHC, including policy-makers, academics, clinicians and consumers, were invited to consider a list of core services derived from the literature. Thirty nine experts agreed to participate. After three survey rounds there was a strong consensus (≥80% agreement) on core PHC services namely; 'care of the sick and injured', 'mental health', 'maternal/child health', 'allied health', 'sexual/reproductive health', 'rehabilitation', 'oral/dental health' and 'public health/illness prevention'; and on the PHC support functions of; 'management/governance/leadership', 'coordination', 'health infrastructure', 'quality systems', 'data systems', 'professional development' and 'community participation'. Themes emerging from qualitative data included challenges in providing equitable PHC in rural and remote areas, the importance of service coordination and diverse strategies to overcome access barriers. This study identifies a basket of PHC services that consumers in rural and remote communities can expect to access. It provides rigorously derived evidence that will contribute to a more systematic approach to PHC service planning and availability and will assist policy makers in the allocation of scarce resources necessary to improve the health outcomes of residents of rural and remote areas.

Genome-wide inbreeding estimation within Lebanese communities using SNP arrays

PubMed Central

Jalkh, Nadine; Sahbatou, Mourad; Chouery, Eliane; Megarbane, André; Leutenegger, Anne-Louise; Serre, Jean-Louis

2015-01-01

Consanguineous marriages have been widely practiced in several global communities with varying rates depending on religion, culture, and geography. In consanguineous marriages, parents pass to their children autozygous segments known as homozygous by descent segments. In this study, single-nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed in 165 unrelated Lebanese people from Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Shiite and Sunni communities. Runs of homozygosity, total inbreeding levels, remote consanguinity, and population admixture and structure were estimated. The inbreeding coefficient value was estimated to be 1.61% in offspring of unrelated parents over three generations and 8.33% in offspring of first cousins. From these values, remote consanguinity values, resulting from genetic drift or recurrent consanguineous unions, were estimated in offspring of unrelated and first-cousin parents to be 0.61 and 1.2%, respectively. This remote consanguinity value suggests that for any unrelated marriages in Lebanon, the mates could be related as third cousins or as second cousins once removed. Under the assumption that 25% of marriages occur between first cousins, the mean inbreeding value of 2.3% may explain the increased incidence of recessive disease in offspring. Our analysis reveals a common ancestral population in the four Lebanese communities we studied. PMID:25424710

Genome-wide inbreeding estimation within Lebanese communities using SNP arrays.

PubMed

Jalkh, Nadine; Sahbatou, Mourad; Chouery, Eliane; Megarbane, André; Leutenegger, Anne-Louise; Serre, Jean-Louis

2015-10-01

Consanguineous marriages have been widely practiced in several global communities with varying rates depending on religion, culture, and geography. In consanguineous marriages, parents pass to their children autozygous segments known as homozygous by descent segments. In this study, single-nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed in 165 unrelated Lebanese people from Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Shiite and Sunni communities. Runs of homozygosity, total inbreeding levels, remote consanguinity, and population admixture and structure were estimated. The inbreeding coefficient value was estimated to be 1.61% in offspring of unrelated parents over three generations and 8.33% in offspring of first cousins. From these values, remote consanguinity values, resulting from genetic drift or recurrent consanguineous unions, were estimated in offspring of unrelated and first-cousin parents to be 0.61 and 1.2%, respectively. This remote consanguinity value suggests that for any unrelated marriages in Lebanon, the mates could be related as third cousins or as second cousins once removed. Under the assumption that 25% of marriages occur between first cousins, the mean inbreeding value of 2.3% may explain the increased incidence of recessive disease in offspring. Our analysis reveals a common ancestral population in the four Lebanese communities we studied.

Traditional food availability and consumption in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Australia.

PubMed

Ferguson, Megan; Brown, Clare; Georga, Claire; Miles, Edward; Wilson, Alyce; Brimblecombe, Julie

2017-06-01

To explore availability, variety and frequency consumption of traditional foods and their role in alleviating food insecurity in remote Aboriginal Australia. Availability was assessed through repeated semi-structured interviews and consumption via a survey. Quantitative data were described and qualitative data classified. Aboriginal and non-Indigenous key informants (n=30 in 2013; n=19 in 2014) from 20 Northern Territory (NT) communities participated in interviews. Aboriginal primary household shoppers (n=73 in 2014) in five of these communities participated in a survey. Traditional foods were reported to be available year-round in all 20 communities. Most participants (89%) reported consuming a variety of traditional foods at least fortnightly and 71% at least weekly. Seventy-six per cent reported being food insecure, with 40% obtaining traditional food during these times. Traditional food is consumed frequently by Aboriginal people living in remote NT. Implications for public health: Quantifying dietary contribution of traditional food would complement estimated population dietary intake. It would contribute evidence of nutrition transition and differences in intakes across age groups and inform dietary, environmental and social interventions and policy. Designing and conducting assessment of traditional food intake in conjunction with Aboriginal leaders warrants consideration. © 2017 The Authors.

Application of NASA's Advanced Life Support Technologies for Waste Treatment, Water Purification and Recycle, and Food Production in Polar Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David L.; Lewis, Carol E.; Covington, M. Alan (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

NASA's advanced life support technologies are being combined with Arctic science and engineering knowledge to address the unique needs of the remote communities of Alaska through the Advanced Life Systems for Extreme Environments (ALSEE) project. ALSEE is a collaborative effort involving NASA, the State of Alaska, the University of Alaska, the North Slope Borough of Alaska, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The focus is a major issue in the state of Alaska and other areas of the Circumpolar North, the health and welfare of its people, their lives and the subsistence lifestyle in remote communities, economic opportunity, and care for the environment. The project primarily provides treatment and reduction of waste, purification and recycling of water. and production of food. A testbed is being established to demonstrate the technologies which will enable safe, healthy, and autonomous function of remote communities and to establish the base for commercial development of the resulting technology into new industries. The challenge is to implement the technological capabilities in a manner compatible with the social and economic structures of the native communities, the state, and the commercial sector. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

LANDSAT technology transfer to the private and public sectors through community colleges and other locally available institutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, R. H. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

Major first year accomplishments are summarized and plans are provided for the next 12-month period for a program established by NASA with the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan to investigate methods of making LANDSAT technology readily available to a broader set of private sector firms through local community colleges. The program applies a network where the major participants are NASA, university or research institutes, community colleges, and obtain hands-on training in LANDSAT data analysis techniques, using a desk-top, interactive remote analysis station which communicates with a central computing facility via telephone line, and provides for generation of land cover maps and data products via remote command.

An outbreak of acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis in remote Far North Queensland.

PubMed

Scrace, Melania; Koko, Karen

2006-08-01

To observe and record an outbreak of acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) in the Lockhart River community in 2005 and the steps taken by health workers to contain the epidemic. A descriptive study of cases of APSGN and children aged from 2 to 12 years involved in the screening program. A remote indigenous community in Far North Queensland. All children aged from 2 to 12 years in the Lockhart River community. Eighty-seven children were screened. And 46% were found to have infected scabies. There were 11 confirmed cases of APSGN over four months from February to May. Infected scabies was the main preceding finding in these children.

Remote Sensing Information Sciences Research Group, year four

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, John E.; Smith, Terence; Star, Jeffrey L.

1987-01-01

The needs of the remote sensing research and application community which will be served by the Earth Observing System (EOS) and space station, including associated polar and co-orbiting platforms are examined. Research conducted was used to extend and expand existing remote sensing research activities in the areas of georeferenced information systems, machine assisted information extraction from image data, artificial intelligence, and vegetation analysis and modeling. Projects are discussed in detail.

Transposing reform pedagogy into new contexts: complex instruction in remote Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, Peter; Jorgensen, Robyn; Boaler, Jo; Lerman, Steve

2013-03-01

This article draws on the outcomes of a 4-year project where complex instruction was used as the basis for a reform in mathematics teaching in remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. The article describes the overall project in terms of the goals and aspirations for learning mathematics among remote Indigenous Australians. Knowing that the approach had been successful in a diverse setting in California, the project team sought to implement and evaluate the possibilities of such reform in a context in which the need for a culturally responsive pedagogy was critical. Elements of complex instruction offered considerable possibilities in aligning with the cultures of the remote communities, but with recognition of the possibility that some elements may not be workable in these contexts. Complex instruction also valued deep knowledge of mathematics rather than a tokenistic, impoverished mathematics. The strategies within complex instruction allowed for mathematical and cultural scaffolding to promote deep learning in mathematics. Such an approach was in line with current reforms in Indigenous education in Australia where there are high expectations of learners in order to break away from the deficit thinking that has permeated much education in remote Australia. The overall intent is to demonstrate what pedagogies are possible within the constraints of the remote context.

Prevalences of overweight and obesity among children in remote Aboriginal communities in central Australia.

PubMed

Schultz, Rosalie

2012-01-01

The chronic diseases associated with overweight and obesity are major contributors to the excess disease burden of Aboriginal Australians. Surveillance of overweight and obesity is required to monitor these conditions, and to develop and evaluate interventions to improve health and wellbeing. Remote Aboriginal communities in Australia's Northern Territory (NT) are where approximately two-thirds of the NT Aboriginal people live, a proportion which has been stable over many years. However the remote communities suffer significant socioeconomic disadvantage including limited education and employment opportunities, and poor quality and overcrowded housing. Approximately one-third of Aboriginal people in NT live in central Australia, which consists of the Alice Springs and Barkly districts. The Healthy School-Aged Kids Program includes health promotion and child health screening, and is run in remote Aboriginal communities of NT. This report provides estimates of prevalences of overweight and obesity among children in central Australia who participated in health checks as part of Healthy School-Aged Kids Program in 2010. All children in remote central Australian Aboriginal communities were invited to participate in health checks. Children who attended were weighed and measured. Date of birth, sex, height and weight for each child were used to determine prevalence of overweight (≥+1 standard deviation [SD] BMI-for-age) and obesity (≥+2 SD BMI-for-age) according to WHO Growth standards. Differences in proportions of overweight and obesity by age group and sex, and their statistical significance were calculated. Weight, height, sex and age data were available for 996 children from a population of 1764. It was found that 22.1% of girls and 20.7% of boys were overweight; and 5.1% of girls and 5.8% of boys were obese as defined by BMI-for-age. Prevalence of overweight but not obesity increased with age (for overweight z=3.28, p=0.0011; for obesity z=0.68; p=0.50). The prevalences of overweight and obesity as estimated by BMI-for-age among children in remote central Australian Aboriginal communities were compared with those in other Australian surveys. They appear unlikely to reflect future relative risk of the chronic diseases with which overweight and obesity are associated. Routine collection of data on BMI-for-age may not provide adequate estimation of future risk of chronic disease burden attributable to overweight and obesity among these children. Alternative measures for surveillance for overweight such as waist circumference may prove more useful. Appropriate interventions to reduce risk of chronic disease are required, including interventions to reduce prevalences of overweight and obesity.

The Log School: A Case for Appropriate Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnhardt, Ray; Dubbs, Patrick J.

For many remote northern communities, especially Native American communities, school design, construction, and heating would be more culturally and technologically appropriate if local materials and expertise were utilized. Following World War II, the period of the most rapid "de-localization" of northern communities, the allegedly…

Education resources in remote Australian Indigenous community dog health programs: a comparison of community and extra-community-produced resources.

PubMed

Constable, Sophie Elizabeth; Dixon, Roselyn May; Dixon, Robert John

2013-09-01

Commercial dog health programs in Australian Indigenous communities are a relatively recent occurrence. Health promotion for these programs is an even more recent development, and lacks data on effective practices. This paper analyses 38 resources created by veterinary-community partnerships in Indigenous communities, to 71 resources available through local veterinary service providers. On average, community-produced resources used significantly more of the resource area as image, more imagery as communicative rather than decorative images, larger fonts and smaller segments of text and used images of people with a range of skin tones. As well as informal registers of Standard Australian English, community-produced resources used Aboriginal English and/or Creole languages in their text, while extra-community (EC)-produced resources did not. The text of EC resources had Flesh-Kincaid reading grade levels that excluded a large proportion of community recipients. Also, they did not cover some topics of importance in communities, used academic, formal and technical language, and did not depict people of a representative range of skin tones. As such, community-produced resources were more relevant to the unique situations in remote communities, while EC resources were often inappropriate and in some cases could even distance recipients by using inappropriate language, formats and imagery.

Detection of 12.5% and 25% Salt Reduction in Bread in a Remote Indigenous Australian Community

PubMed Central

McMahon, Emma; Clarke, Rozlynne; Jaenke, Rachael; Brimblecombe, Julie

2016-01-01

Food reformulation is an important strategy to reduce the excess salt intake observed in remote Indigenous Australia. We aimed to examine whether 12.5% and 25% salt reduction in bread is detectable, and, if so, whether acceptability is changed, in a sample of adults living in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory of Australia. Convenience samples were recruited for testing of reduced-salt (300 and 350 mg Na/100 g) versus Standard (~400 mg Na/100 g) white and wholemeal breads (n = 62 for white; n = 72 for wholemeal). Triangle testing was used to examine whether participants could detect a difference between the breads. Liking of each bread was also measured; standard consumer acceptability questionnaires were modified to maximise cultural appropriateness and understanding. Participants were unable to detect a difference between Standard and reduced-salt breads (all p values > 0.05 when analysed using binomial probability). Further, as expected, liking of the breads was not changed with salt reduction (all p values > 0.05 when analysed using ANOVA). Reducing salt in products commonly purchased in remote Indigenous communities has potential as an equitable, cost-effective and sustainable strategy to reduce population salt intake and reduce risk of chronic disease, without the barriers associated with strategies that require individual behaviour change. PMID:26999196

Better health outcomes at lower costs: the benefits of primary care utilisation for chronic disease management in remote Indigenous communities in Australia's Northern Territory.

PubMed

Zhao, Yuejen; Thomas, Susan L; Guthridge, Steven L; Wakerman, John

2014-10-04

Indigenous residents living in remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory experience higher rates of preventable chronic disease and have poorer access to appropriate health services compared to other Australians. This study compared health outcomes and costs at different levels of primary care utilisation to determine if primary care represents an efficient use of resources for Indigenous patients with common chronic diseases namely hypertension, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and renal disease. This was an historical cohort study involving a total of 14,184 Indigenous residents, aged 15 years and over, who lived in remote communities and used a remote clinic or public hospital from 2002 to 2011. Individual level demographic and clinical data were drawn from primary care and hospital care information systems using a unique patient identifier. A propensity score was used to improve comparability between high, medium and low primary care utilisation groups. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios and acceptability curves were used to analyse four health outcome measures: total and, avoidable hospital admissions, deaths and years of life lost. Compared to the low utilisation group, medium and high levels of primary care utilisation were associated with decreases in total and avoidable hospitalisations, deaths and years of life lost. Higher levels of primary care utilisation for renal disease reduced avoidable hospitalisations by 82-85%, deaths 72-75%, and years of life lost 78-81%. For patients with ischaemic heart disease, the reduction in avoidable hospitalisations was 63-78%, deaths 63-66% and years of life lost 69-73%. In terms of cost-effectiveness, primary care for renal disease and diabetes ranked as more cost-effective, followed by hypertension and ischaemic heart disease. Primary care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the least cost-effective of the five conditions. Primary care in remote Indigenous communities was shown to be associated with cost-savings to public hospitals and health benefits to individual patients. Investing $1 in primary care in remote Indigenous communities could save $3.95-$11.75 in hospital costs, in addition to health benefits for individual patients. These findings may have wider applicability in strengthening primary care in the face of high chronic disease prevalence globally.

The role of electronic media in the health services of Zambia.

PubMed

Chirwa, B U

1989-01-01

The Zambian government has shifted its emphasis from a hospital-oriented approach to healthcare to a primary health care, community approach. This new approach demands that health education be promoted through mass media and/or interpersonally. The Health Education Unit in Zambia has used television and radio to sensitize individuals and communities to health and health-related problems, as well as to motivate them to initiate activities to solve those problems. 57% of the target population, however, lives in rural areas where they do not have access to television and only poor radio reception, if that. An improved state of television and radio reception in remote areas will go far in disseminating health education to these people in need. For now, the Ministry of Health, together with UNICEF, is undertaking a pilot project on group radio listenership in rural areas to determine the feasibility of small communities coming together and listening to health programs for the purpose of initiating health action in the community. Reception could be improved be either improving transmission facilities at the center or by establishing booster services at each of the six rural provincial headquarters. The latter approach seems the most likely of the two options to provide the desired results.

Papago Indians Light the Way.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Alessandro, Bill

1979-01-01

Describes the world's only solar electric village power system, a photovoltaic conversion installation in a remote Papago Indian Reservation village. Notes comparative costs, electric output, and potential applications of the system, a prototype for remote rural communities and developing nations. Notes outstanding questions and key issues in…

How definition of mental health problems can influence help seeking in rural and remote communities.

PubMed

Fuller, J; Edwards, J; Procter, N; Moss, J

2000-06-01

The present study sought to understand the rural and remote influences on people's identification of, and response to, mental health problems. Twenty-two key informants living in northern and western South Australia were interviewed. They included mental health and generalist health professionals, other human service workers and mental health consumers. Three themes are reported here: reluctance to acknowledge mental health problems and the avoidance of appropriate help; stigma and the avoidance of mental health services; and the influence of rural and remote circumstances. Most informants considered that many mental health problems were amenable to help from generalist workers, with backup support from mental health specialists. Informants thought this intervention to be appropriate because a common view of mental health problems as 'insanity' and a culture of self-reliance created a reluctance to seek help from a mental health specialist. These themes need to be taken into account when designing mental health interventions for rural and remote communities.

Improvement of small intestinal microcirculation by postconditioning after lower limb ischemia.

PubMed

Turóczi, Zsolt; Fülöp, András; Czigány, Zoltán; Varga, Gabriella; Rosero, Oliver; Tökés, Tünde; Kaszaki, József; Lotz, Gábor; Harsányi, László; Szijártó, Attila

2015-03-01

Major lower limb vascular surgeries may result in severe, remote injury of the gastrointestinal system, which has high mortality rates. Postconditioning is a technique with potential capability of reducing remote gastrointestinal complications. Our aim was to assess the remote macro- and micro-hemodynamic changes of the small intestine following an infrarenal aortic occlusion and to evaluate the effects of postconditioning on these alterations. Rats underwent 3h of infrarenal aortic occlusion followed by 4h of reperfusion. In one group, postconditioning was applied. Blood pressure, superior mesenteric artery flow and mucosal microcirculation of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were assessed. Samples were taken from each intestinal segment for histological examinations. Superior mesenteric artery flow, as well as microcirculation of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum showed significant impairment in the IR group, while histological damage was significantly worsened. Postconditioning was able to limit flow reduction in all three small bowel segments and in the superior mesenteric artery, and was able to significantly reduce histological damage. Strong negative correlation was found between microcirculatory values and histological damage. Microcirculatory impairment might be responsible for remote intestinal injury following infrarenal aortic occlusion. Postconditioning was able to reduce this remote intestinal damage. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Otitis Media, Learning and Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McSwan, David; Clinch, Emma; Store, Ron

2001-01-01

A 3-year research project in Queensland (Australia) implemented educational and health strategies to ameliorate effects of otitis media at three schools in remote Aboriginal communities. The interdisciplinary model brought together health and education professionals, teacher aides, and the community, with the school being the lead agency. However,…

Community Capacity Building: Starting with People Not Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Lyn; Wood, Leanne; Daws, Leonie

2003-01-01

A remote Australian town's initiative to develop an Internet cafe was based on a foundation of community empowerment and capacity building. The project's failure illustrates factors that inhibit community control: overstretched local resources, failure to understand impact on existing social infrastructure and social networks, and lack of…

Mining in subarctic Canada: airborne PM2.5 metal concentrations in two remote First Nations communities.

PubMed

Liberda, Eric N; Tsuji, Leonard J S; Peltier, Richard E

2015-11-01

Airborne particulate matter arising from upwind mining activities is a concern for First Nations communities in the western James Bay region of Ontario, Canada. Aerosol chemical components were collected in 2011 from two communities in northern Ontario. The chemical and mass concentration data of particulate matter collected during this study shows a significant difference in PM2.5 in Attawapiskat compared to Fort Albany. Elemental profiles indicate enhanced levels of some tracers thought to arise from mining activities, such as, K, Ni, and crustal materials. Both communities are remote and isolated from urban and industrial pollution sources, however, Attawapiskat First Nation has significantly enhanced levels of particulate matter, and it is likely that some of this arises from upwind mining activities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tools and Techniques to Collaborate and Connect with At-Risk Climate Communities UsingSensors, Remote Sensing Data, and Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drapkin, J. K.; Ramamurthy, P.; Vant-Hull, B.; Yuen, K.; Glenn, A.; Jusino, C.; Corbin, C.; Schuerman, M.; Keefe, J.; Brooke, H.

2016-12-01

Those most at risk during heat waves and floods are often the socio-economically vulnerable. Yet very few studies exist of indoor temperatures during heat waves or of standing water events at the neighborhood level during extreme events. ISeeChange, a community weather and climate journal, is developing tools and testing techniques in a series of community pilots in Harlem and New Orleans to assess if a combination of citizen science, remote sensing, and journalism can bridge the gap. Our consortium of media (WNYC,Adapt NYC, ISeeChange), scientists (CUNY, CoCoRaHS, NASAJPL), and community partners (WE ACT for Environmental Justice, tenant, and neighborhood associations) are collaborating to engage with residents, report radio stories, as well as develop scientifically valuableinformation for decision-making. Community volunteers place temperature and humidity sensors inside residences (Harlem) or photograph standing water using specific methodologies (New Orleans). Sensordata, photographs, and text documenting the impacts of extreme weather on residents are posted on the ISeeChange platform via mobile app or community ambassadors and compared to other remote sensing data products (surface temperature, precipitation, subsidence) Preliminary results of the Harlem pilot show that indoor temperatures are far more stable than outdoor temperatures, so can be both cooler during the day but warmer at night; preliminary work on the New Orleans pilot is set to begin in fall 2016. A full analysis of the Harlem pilot will be presented along with preliminary results of the New Orleans pilot.

Increasing alcohol restrictions and rates of serious injury in four remote Australian Indigenous communities.

PubMed

Margolis, Stephen A; Ypinazar, Valmae A; Muller, Reinhold; Clough, Alan

2011-05-16

To document rates of serious injuries in relation to government alcohol restrictions in remote Australian Indigenous communities. An ecological study using Royal Flying Doctor Service injury retrieval data, before and after changes in legal access to alcohol in four remote Australian Indigenous communities, Queensland, 1 January 1996-31 July 2010. Changes in rates of aeromedical retrievals for serious injury, and proportion of retrievals for serious injury, before and after alcohol restrictions. After alcohol restrictions were introduced in 2002-2003, retrieval rates for serious injury dropped initially, and then increased in the 2 years before further restrictions in 2008 (average increase, 2.34 per 1000 per year). This trend reversed in the 2 years after the 2008 restrictions (average decrease, 7.97 per 1000 per year). There was a statistically significant decreasing time trend in serious-injury retrieval rates in each of the four communities for the period 2 years before the 2002-2003 restrictions, 2 years before the 2008 restrictions, and the final 2 years of observations (2009-2010) (P < 0.001 for all four communities combined). Overall, serious-injury retrieval rates dropped from 30 per 1000 in 2008 to 14 per 1000 in 2010, and the proportions of serious-injury retrievals decreased significantly for all four communities. The absolute and the proportional rates of serious-injury retrievals fell significantly as government restrictions on legal access to alcohol increased; they are now at their lowest recorded level in 15 years.

Avian influenza prevalence among hunter-harvested birds in a remote Canadian First Nation community.

PubMed

Liberda, Eric N; Meldrum, Richard; Charania, Nadia A; Davey, Robert; Tsuji, Leonard Js

2017-01-01

Avian influenza virus (AIV) prevalence has been associated with wild game and other bird species. The contamination of these birds may pose a greater risk to those who regularly hunt and consumed infected species. Due to resident concerns communicated by local Band Council, hunter-harvested birds from a remote First Nation community in subArctic Ontario, Canada were assessed for AIV. Hunters, and especially those who live a subsistence lifestyle, are at higher risk of AIV exposure due to their increased contact with wild birds, which represent an important part of their diet. Cloacal swabs from 304 harvested game birds representing several species of wild birds commonly hunted and consumed in this First Nation community were analyzed for AIV using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Subtyping was performed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Sequences were assembled using Lasergene, and the sequences were compared to Genbank. In total, 16 of the 304 cloacal swab samples were positive for AIV. Of the 16 positive samples, 12 were found in mallard ducks, 3 were found in snow geese (wavies), and 1 positive sample was found in partridge. The AIV samples were subtyped, when possible, and found to be positive for the low pathogenic avian influenza virus subtypes H3 and H4. No samples were positive for subtypes of human concern, namely H5 and H7. This work represents the first AIV monitoring program results of hunter-harvested birds in a remote subsistence First Nation community. Community-level surveillance of AIV in remote subsistence hunting communities may help to identify future risks, while educating those who may have the highest exposure about proper handling of hunted birds. Ultimately, only low pathogenic strains of AIV were found, but monitoring should be continued and expanded to safeguard those with the highest exposure risk to AIV.

Tim Reber | NREL

Science.gov Websites

also leads the Sustainable Energy for Remote Indonesian Grids program, with the aim to increase deployment of clean energy in small, remote grids across Indonesia. Prior to joining NREL, Tim worked as a

Mamow Ki-ken-da-ma-win: A Partnership Approach to Child, Youth, Family and Community Wellbeing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finlay, Judy; Hardy, Micheal; Morris, Donny; Nagy, Anna

2010-01-01

"Mamow-Sha-way-gi-kay-win": North-South Partnership for Children represents a coalition of individuals and organizations from southern Ontario who have partnered with First Nations Chiefs, community leaders, Elders, youth and community members from 30 remote northern communities. The collective goal of the Partnership is to learn from…

Food Price Volatility and Decadal Climate Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, M. E.

2013-12-01

The agriculture system is under pressure to increase production every year as global population expands and more people move from a diet mostly made up of grains, to one with more meat, dairy and processed foods. Weather shocks and large changes in international commodity prices in the last decade have increased pressure on local food prices. This paper will review several studies that link climate variability as measured with satellite remote sensing to food price dynamics in 36 developing countries where local monthly food price data is available. The focus of the research is to understand how weather and climate, as measured by variations in the growing season using satellite remote sensing, has affected agricultural production, food prices and access to food in agricultural societies. Economies are vulnerable to extreme weather at multiple levels. Subsistence small holders who hold livestock and consume much of the food they produce are vulnerable to food production variability. The broader society, however, is also vulnerable to extreme weather because of the secondary effects on market functioning, resource availability, and large-scale impacts on employment in trading, trucking and wage labor that are caused by weather-related shocks. Food price variability captures many of these broad impacts and can be used to diagnose weather-related vulnerability across multiple sectors. The paper will trace these connections using market-level data and analysis. The context of the analysis is the humanitarian aid community, using the guidance of the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network and the United Nation's World Food Program in their response to food security crises. These organizations have worked over the past three decades to provide baseline information on food production through satellite remote sensing data and agricultural yield models, as well as assessments of food access through a food price database. Econometric models and spatial analysis are used to describe the connection between shocks and food prices, and to demonstrate the importance of these metrics in overall outcomes in food-insecure communities.

The U.S. Geological Survey Land Remote Sensing Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2003-01-01

In 2002, the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched a program to enhance the acquisition, preservation, and use of remotely sensed data for USGS science programs, as well as for those of cooperators and customers. Remotely sensed data are fundamental tools for studying the Earth's land surface, including coastal and near-shore environments. For many decades, the USGS has been a leader in providing remotely sensed data to the national and international communities. Acting on its historical topographic mapping mission, the USGS has archived and distributed aerial photographs of the United States for more than half a century. Since 1972, the USGS has acquired, processed, archived, and distributed Landsat and other satellite and airborne remotely sensed data products to users worldwide. Today, the USGS operates and manages the Landsats 5 and 7 missions and cooperates with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to define and implement future satellite missions that will continue and expand the collection of moderate-resolution remotely sensed data. In addition to being a provider of remotely sensed data, the USGS is a user of these data and related remote sensing technology. These data are used in natural resource evaluations for energy and minerals, coastal environmental surveys, assessments of natural hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides), biological surveys and investigations, water resources status and trends analyses and studies, and geographic and cartographic applications, such as wildfire detection and tracking and as a source of information for The National Map. The program furthers these distinct but related roles by leading the USGS activities in providing remotely sensed data while advancing applications of such data for USGS programs and a wider user community.

Diabetes screening of children in a remote First Nations community on the west coast of Canada: challenges and solutions.

PubMed

Panagiotopoulos, C; Rozmus, J; Gagnon, R E; Macnab, A J

2007-01-01

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its precursor, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), are now reaching epidemic proportions among Aboriginal Canadians. Of particular concern is the appearance and increasing prevalence of T2D and IGT among Aboriginal youth. At the request of three communities in the Tsimshian nation on the northern coast of British Columbia (with which the Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, had a pre-existing partnership) a screening program was undertaken to determine the prevalence of T2D and IGT among the children. The long-term goal was the collaborative development of intervention programs for each community. The challenges of meeting this request included the sociological and ethical issues associated with research in First Nations communities, as well as the pragmatic issues of conducting complex research in remote communities. Three separate visits were undertaken to respect the cultural dynamics and capacity of the community to accommodate a project of this magnitude. The process began with dialogue, listening and presentations to the community. Only then began the planning of logistics and application for funding. Next, the team visited the communities to ensure understanding of exactly what was involved for the community, each child and family, and to be certain that consent was fully informed. For the diabetes screening visit, special arrangements including chartering a Beaver float plane were needed for the transport of the five-member team with all the necessary equipment, including a -20(o)C freezer to safeguard the integrity of blood samples. The 100% consent rate, successful conduct of study, and retention of community support achieved by the process, indicate that population-based clinical research is possible in remote First Nations communities. This is best achieved with appropriate dialogue, care, respect and planning to overcome the sociological, ethical and practical challenges.

Remote sensing, land use, and demography - A look at people through their effects on the land

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paul, C. K.; Landini, A. J.

1976-01-01

Relevant causes of failure by the remote sensing community in the urban scene are analyzed. The reasons for the insignificant role of remote sensing in urban land use data collection are called the law of realism, the incompatibility of remote sensing and urban management system data formats is termed the law of nominal/ordinal systems compatibility, and the land use/population correlation dilemma is referred to as the law of missing persons. The study summarizes the three laws of urban land use information for which violations, avoidance, or ignorance have caused the decline of present remote sensing research. Particular attention is given to the rationale for urban land use information and for remote sensing. It is shown that remote sensing of urban land uses compatible with the three laws can be effectively developed by realizing the 10 percent contribution of remote sensing to urban land use planning data collection.

Factors associated with reported service use for mental health problems by residents of rural and remote communities: cross-sectional findings from a baseline survey

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The patterns of health service use by rural and remote residents are poorly understood and under-represented in national surveys. This paper examines professional and non-professional service use for mental health problems in rural and remote communities in Australia. Methods A stratified random sample of adults was drawn from non-metropolitan regions of New South Wales, Australia as part of a longitudinal population-based cohort. One-quarter (27.7%) of the respondents were from remote or very remote regions. The socio-demographic, health status and service utilization (professional and non-professional) characteristics of 2150 community dwelling residents are described. Hierarchical logistic regressions were used to identify cross-sectional associations between socio-demographic, health status and professional and non-professional health service utilization variables. Results The overall rate of professional contacts for mental health problems during the previous 12 months (17%) in this rural population exceeded the national rate (11.9%). Rates for psychologists and psychiatrists were similar but rates for GPs were higher (12% vs. 8.1%). Non-professional contact rates were 12%. Higher levels of help seeking were associated with the absence of a partner, poorer finances, severity of mental health problems, and higher levels of adversity. Remoteness was associated with lower utilization of non-professional support. A Provisional Service Need Index was devised, and it demonstrated a broad dose–response relationship between severity of mental health problems and the likelihood of seeking any professional or non-professional help. Nevertheless, 47% of those with estimated high service need had no contact with professional services. Conclusions An examination of self-reported patterns of professional and non-professional service use for mental health problems in a rural community cohort revealed relatively higher rates of general practitioner attendance for such problems compared with data from metropolitan centres. Using a measure of Provisional Service Need those with greater needs were more likely to access specialist services, even in remote regions, although a substantial proportion of those with the highest service need sought no professional help. Geographic and financial barriers to service use were identified and perception of service adequacy was relatively low, especially among those with the highest levels of distress and greatest adversity. PMID:23631501

Factors associated with reported service use for mental health problems by residents of rural and remote communities: cross-sectional findings from a baseline survey.

PubMed

Perkins, David; Fuller, Jeffrey; Kelly, Brian J; Lewin, Terry J; Fitzgerald, Michael; Coleman, Clare; Inder, Kerry J; Allan, John; Arya, Dinesh; Roberts, Russell; Buss, Richard

2013-04-30

The patterns of health service use by rural and remote residents are poorly understood and under-represented in national surveys. This paper examines professional and non-professional service use for mental health problems in rural and remote communities in Australia. A stratified random sample of adults was drawn from non-metropolitan regions of New South Wales, Australia as part of a longitudinal population-based cohort. One-quarter (27.7%) of the respondents were from remote or very remote regions. The socio-demographic, health status and service utilization (professional and non-professional) characteristics of 2150 community dwelling residents are described. Hierarchical logistic regressions were used to identify cross-sectional associations between socio-demographic, health status and professional and non-professional health service utilization variables. The overall rate of professional contacts for mental health problems during the previous 12 months (17%) in this rural population exceeded the national rate (11.9%). Rates for psychologists and psychiatrists were similar but rates for GPs were higher (12% vs. 8.1%). Non-professional contact rates were 12%. Higher levels of help seeking were associated with the absence of a partner, poorer finances, severity of mental health problems, and higher levels of adversity. Remoteness was associated with lower utilization of non-professional support. A Provisional Service Need Index was devised, and it demonstrated a broad dose-response relationship between severity of mental health problems and the likelihood of seeking any professional or non-professional help. Nevertheless, 47% of those with estimated high service need had no contact with professional services. An examination of self-reported patterns of professional and non-professional service use for mental health problems in a rural community cohort revealed relatively higher rates of general practitioner attendance for such problems compared with data from metropolitan centres. Using a measure of Provisional Service Need those with greater needs were more likely to access specialist services, even in remote regions, although a substantial proportion of those with the highest service need sought no professional help. Geographic and financial barriers to service use were identified and perception of service adequacy was relatively low, especially among those with the highest levels of distress and greatest adversity.

Entropy Masking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Andrew B.; Stone, Leland (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

This paper details two projects that use the World Wide Web (WWW) for dissemination of curricula that focus on remote sensing. 1) Presenting grade-school students with the concepts used in remote sensing involves educating the teacher and then providing the teacher with lesson plans. In a NASA-sponsored project designed to introduce students in grades 4 through 12 to some of the ideas and terminology used in remote sensing, teachers from local grade schools and middle schools were recruited to write lessons about remote sensing concepts they could use in their classrooms. Twenty-two lessons were produced and placed in seven modules that include: the electromagnetic spectrum, two- and three-dimensional perception, maps and topography, scale, remote sensing, biotic and abiotic concepts, and landscape chi rise. Each lesson includes a section that evaluates what students have learned by doing the exercise. The lessons, instead of being published in a workbook and distributed to a limited number of teachers, have been placed on a WWW server, enabling much broader access to the package. This arrangement also allows for the lessons to be modified after feedback from teachers accessing the package. 2) Two-year colleges serve to teach trade skills, prepare students for enrollment in senior institutions of learning, and more and more, retrain students who have college degrees in new technologies and skills. A NASA-sponsored curriculum development project is producing a curriculum using remote sensing analysis an Earth science applications. The project has three major goals. First, it will implement the use of remote sensing data in a broad range of community college courses. Second, it will create curriculum modules and classes that are transportable to other community colleges. Third, the project will be an ongoing source of data and curricular materials to other community colleges. The curriculum will have these course pathways to a certificate; a) a Science emphasis, b) an Arts and Letters emphasis, and c) a Computer Science emphasis Each pathway includes course work in remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), computer science, Earth science, software and technology utilization, and communication. Distribution of products from this project to other two-year colleges will be accomplished using the WWW.

Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation

PubMed Central

Galloway, Tracey

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a retail subsidy program implemented in 2012 and designed to reduce the cost of nutritious food for residents living in Canada’s remote, northern communities. The present study evaluates the extent to which NNC provides access to perishable, nutritious food for residents of remote northern communities. Design: Program documents, including fiscal and food cost reports for the period 2011–2015, retailer compliance reports, audits of the program, and the program’s performance measurement strategy are examined for evidence that the subsidy is meeting its objectives in a manner both comprehensive and equitable across regions and communities. Results: NNC lacks price caps or other means of ensuring food is affordable and equitably priced in communities. Gaps in food cost reporting constrain the program’s accountability. From 2011–15, no adjustments were made to community eligibility, subsidy rates, or the list of eligible foods in response to information provided by community members, critics, the Auditor General of Canada, and the program’s own Advisory Board. Measures to increase program accountability, such as increasing subsidy information on point-of-sale receipts, make NNC more visible but do nothing to address underlying accountability issues Conclusions: The current structure and regulatory framework of NNC are insufficient to ensure the program meets its goal. Both the volume and cost of nutritious food delivered to communities is highly variable and dependent on factors such as retailers’ pricing practices, over which the program has no control. It may be necessary to consider alternative forms of policy in order to produce sustainable improvements to food security in remote, northern communities. PMID:28151097

Interventions to encourage smoke-free homes in remote indigenous Australian communities: a study protocol to evaluate the effects of a community-inspired awareness-raising and motivational enhancement strategy.

PubMed

Clough, Alan R; Grant, Kristy; Robertson, Jan; Wrigley, Matthew; Nichols, Nina; Fitzgibbon, Tracey

2018-03-02

Rates of secondhand smoke exposure are currently significantly higher among remote indigenous communities in the top end of Australia. By implementing a 'smoke-free home' rule, secondhand smoke exposure can be reduced. Smoke-free homes encourage quit attempts and improve the health of children. The prevalence of indigenous smoking rates in remote, discrete communities in Australia is elevated compared with their non-indigenous counterparts. The primary aim of this project is to examine the feasibility of conducting a health-driven intervention to encourage community members to make their homes a smoke-free zone. This study uses mixed-methods exploratory evaluation design to obtain data from key informants and community householders to assess their willingness to implement a 'smoke-free' rule in their homes. Initial focus groups will provide guidance on intervention content and deliver evaluation procedures and community requirements. A rapid survey will be conducted to ascertain interest from community members in having the project team visit to discuss study objectives further and to have a particle meter (with consent) placed in the house. Focus groups recordings will be transcribed and analysed thematically. Rapid surveys will be analysed using frequency distributions and tabulations of responses. The National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines on ethical research approaches to indigenous studies will be adhered to. The James Cook University Human Research Ethics Committee has provided ethics approval. © 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.

Safety and Efficacy of Warfarin Therapy in Remote Communities of the Top End of Northern Australia.

PubMed

Dennis, Jahde; Majoni, William; Tinsley, Jeffrey; Kangaharan, Nadarajah

2017-12-01

Warfarin remains a widely used anticoagulant but application in the remote context is not well documented. This study aimed to assess in more detail whether warfarin is being utilised effectively in Australia's most isolated and remote areas. Retrospective cohort analysis of 2013 captured international normalised ratio (INR) results from people engaged in long term warfarin usage within a number of remote Northern Australian communities. Assessment of monitoring, effectiveness of dosing and complication rates was undertaken. A cohort of 167 patients was established. On average, warfarin was utilised within therapeutic range 52% of the time. Monitoring frequency averaged 16 days. Major bleeding and thrombo-embolism occurred at rates of 5.8 and 4.1 per 100 patient years respectively. Therapeutic utilisation of warfarin in this setting is close to accepted rates but has room for improvement. Monitoring was acceptable and complication rates were not disproportionately high. This study indicates that warfarin is being used with reasonable safety and efficacy in remote regions, but further research is needed. Copyright © 2017 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). All rights reserved.

Getting Involved with the Discovery Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asplund, Shari

2000-01-01

NASA's Discovery Program represents the implementation of NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin's vision of 'faster, better, cheaper' planetary missions; encompasses a series of low-cost solar system exploration missions intended to accomplish high quality, focused planetary science investigations using innovative, streamlined, and efficient approaches to assure the highest science value for the cost; and aims to enhance our understanding of the solar system by exploring the planets, their moons and other small bodies, either by traveling to them or remotely from the vicinity of Earth. The objectives of this program include the following: (1) Provide exciting and important scientific data to the global community; (2) Pursue new and innovative ways of doing business; (3) Encourage technological development by designing and testing new technologies and transferring them to the private sector; (4) Increase public awareness of, and appreciation for, solar system exploration through exciting education and public outreach activities; (5) Support national education initiatives through mission-specific programs; and (6) Ensure participation of small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned businesses, HBCUs, and other minority educational institutions in procurements.

Nurses who work in rural and remote communities in Canada: a national survey.

PubMed

MacLeod, Martha L P; Stewart, Norma J; Kulig, Judith C; Anguish, Penny; Andrews, Mary Ellen; Banner, Davina; Garraway, Leana; Hanlon, Neil; Karunanayake, Chandima; Kilpatrick, Kelley; Koren, Irene; Kosteniuk, Julie; Martin-Misener, Ruth; Mix, Nadine; Moffitt, Pertice; Olynick, Janna; Penz, Kelly; Sluggett, Larine; Van Pelt, Linda; Wilson, Erin; Zimmer, Lela

2017-05-23

In Canada, as in other parts of the world, there is geographic maldistribution of the nursing workforce, and insufficient attention is paid to the strengths and needs of those providing care in rural and remote settings. In order to inform workforce planning, a national study, Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada II, was conducted with the rural and remote regulated nursing workforce (registered nurses, nurse practitioners, licensed or registered practical nurses, and registered psychiatric nurses) with the intent of informing policy and planning about improving nursing services and access to care. In this article, the study methods are described along with an examination of the characteristics of the rural and remote nursing workforce with a focus on important variations among nurse types and regions. A cross-sectional survey used a mailed questionnaire with persistent follow-up to achieve a stratified systematic sample of 3822 regulated nurses from all provinces and territories, living outside of the commuting zones of large urban centers and in the north of Canada. Rural workforce characteristics reported here suggest the persistence of key characteristics noted in a previous Canada-wide survey of rural registered nurses (2001-2002), namely the aging of the rural nursing workforce, the growth in baccalaureate education for registered nurses, and increasing casualization. Two thirds of the nurses grew up in a community of under 10 000 people. While nurses' levels of satisfaction with their nursing practice and community are generally high, significant variations were noted by nurse type. Nurses reported coming to rural communities to work for reasons of location, interest in the practice setting, and income, and staying for similar reasons. Important variations were noted by nurse type and region. The proportion of the rural nursing workforce in Canada is continuing to decline in relation to the proportion of the Canadian population in rural and remote settings. Survey results about the characteristics and practice of the various types of nurses can support workforce planning to improve nursing services and access to care.

Long-term trends in supply and sustainability of the health workforce in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia.

PubMed

Zhao, Yuejen; Russell, Deborah J; Guthridge, Steven; Ramjan, Mark; Jones, Michael P; Humphreys, John S; Carey, Timothy A; Wakerman, John

2017-12-19

International evidence suggests that a key to improving health and attaining more equitable health outcomes for disadvantaged populations is a health system with a strong primary care sector. Longstanding problems with health workforce supply and turnover in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia, jeopardise primary care delivery and the effort to overcome the substantial gaps in health outcomes for this population. This research describes temporal changes in workforce supply in government-operated clinics in remote NT communities through a period in which there has been a substantial increase in health funding. Descriptive and Markov-switching dynamic regression analysis of NT Government Department of Health payroll and financial data for the resident health workforce in 54 remote clinics, 2004-2015. The workforce included registered Remote Area Nurses and Midwives (nurses), Aboriginal Health Practitioners (AHPs) and staff in administrative and logistic roles. total number of unique employees per year; average annual headcounts; average full-time equivalent (FTE) positions; agency employed nurse FTE estimates; high and low supply state estimates. Overall increases in workforce supply occurred between 2004 and 2015, especially for administrative and logistic positions. Supply of nurses and AHPs increased from an average 2.6 to 3.2 FTE per clinic, although supply of AHPs has declined since 2010. Each year almost twice as many individual NT government-employed nurses or AHPs are required for each FTE position. Following funding increases, some clinics doubled their nursing and AHP workforce and achieved relative stability in supply. However, most clinics increased staffing to a much smaller extent or not at all, typically experiencing a "fading" of supply following an initial increase associated with greater funding, and frequently cycling periods of higher and lower staffing levels. Overall increases in workforce supply in remote NT communities between 2004 and 2015 have been affected by continuing very high turnover of nurses and AHPs, and compounded by recent declines in AHP supply. Despite substantial increases in resourcing, an imperative remains to implement more robust health service models which better support the supply and retention of resident health staff.

Retaining older experienced nurses in the Northern Territory of Australia: a qualitative study exploring opportunities for post-retirement contributions.

PubMed

Voit, K; Carson, D B

2012-01-01

Many countries are facing an ageing of the nursing workforce and increasing workforce shortages. This trend is due to members of the 'baby boomer' generation leaving the workforce for retirement and a declining pool of younger people entering the nursing profession. New approaches to engaging older nurses in the workforce are becoming common in nursing globally but have yet to be adapted to remote contexts such as the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. This article reports findings from a qualitative study of 15 participants who explored perceived opportunities for and barriers to implementing flexible strategies to engage older nurses in the NT workforce after they resign from full-time work. The study used a descriptive qualitative design. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with NT nurses approaching retirement (six nurses aged 50 years and over) and their managers (n=9). Clinicians were employed in practice settings that included hospitals, community health and 'Top End' (north of and including the town of Katherine), as well as Central Australian remote area communities. One participant who was employed as primary health centre manager in a remote community also held a clinical role. Managers were employed in both senior and line management positions in community and remote health as well as NT hospitals. Three major themes emerged from the data. First, interview participants identified potential for flexible post-retirement engagement of older nurses and a range of concrete engagement opportunities 'on and off the floor' were identified. Second, the main barriers to post-retirement engagement were an existing focus on the recruitment of younger Australian and overseas-trained nurses, and the remoteness of nursing practice settings from the residential locations of retired nurses. Third, existing informal system of post-retirement working arrangements, characterized by ad hoc agreements between individual nurses and managers, is poorly suited to scaling up. A knowledge and change-management approach is required to change employers' views of the value of older nurses. Better engagement of those nurses may assist the NT Department of Health address the severe nursing workforce shortages and prevent the loss of significant remote area nursing knowledge.

Interplay wellbeing framework: a collaborative methodology 'bringing together stories and numbers' to quantify Aboriginal cultural values in remote Australia.

PubMed

Cairney, Sheree; Abbott, Tammy; Quinn, Stephen; Yamaguchi, Jessica; Wilson, Byron; Wakerman, John

2017-05-03

Wellbeing has been difficult to understand, measure and strengthen for Aboriginal people in remote Australia. Part of the challenge has been genuinely involving community members and incorporating their values and priorities into assessment and policy. Taking a 'shared space' collaborative approach between remote Aboriginal communities, governments and scientists, we merged Aboriginal knowledge with western science - by bringing together stories and numbers. This research aims to statistically validate the holistic Interplay Wellbeing Framework and Survey that bring together Aboriginal-identified priorities of culture, empowerment and community with government priorities including education, employment and health. Quantitative survey data were collected from a cohort of 842 Aboriginal people aged 15-34 years, recruited from four different Aboriginal communities in remote Australia. Aboriginal community researchers designed and administered the survey. Structural equation modeling showed good fit statistics (χ/df = 2.69, CFI = 0.95 and RMSEA = 0.045) confirming the holistic nature of the Interplay Wellbeing Framework. The strongest direct impacts on wellbeing were 'social and emotional wellbeing' (r = 0.23; p < 0.001), 'English literacy and numeracy' (r = 0.15; p < 0.001), 'Aboriginal literacy' (r = 0.14; p < 0.001), 'substances' (lack thereof; r = 0.13; p = 0.003), 'work' (r = 0.12; p = 0.02) and 'community' (r = 0.08; p = 0.05). Correlation analyses suggested cultural factors have indirect impacts on wellbeing, such as through Aboriginal literacy. All cultural variables correlated highly with each other, and with empowerment and community. Empowerment also correlated highly with all education and work variables. 'Substances' (lack thereof) was linked with positive outcomes across culture, education and work. Specific interrelationships will be explored in detail separately. The Interplay Wellbeing Framework and Survey were statistically validated as a collaborative approach to assessing wellbeing that is inclusive of other cultural worldviews, values and practices. New community-derived social and cultural indicators were established, contributing valuable insight to psychometric assessment across cultures. These analyses confirm that culture, empowerment and community play key roles in the interplay with education, employment and health, as part of a holistic and quantifiable system of wellbeing. This research supports the holistic concept of wellbeing confirming that everything is interrelated and needs to be considered at the 'whole of system' level in policy approaches.

Translation of tobacco policy into practice in disadvantaged and marginalized subpopulations: a study of challenges and opportunities in remote Australian Indigenous communities

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background In Australia generally, smoking prevalence more than halved after 1980 and recently commenced to decline among Australia's disadvantaged Indigenous peoples. However, in some remote Indigenous Australian communities in the Northern Territory (NT), extremely high rates of up to 83% have not changed over the past 25 years. The World Health Organisation has called for public health and political leadership to address a global tobacco epidemic. For Indigenous Australians, unprecedented policies aim to overcome disadvantage and close the 'health gap' with reducing tobacco use the top priority. This study identifies challenges and opportunities to implementing these important new tobacco initiatives in remote Indigenous communities. Methods: With little empirical evidence available, we interviewed 82 key stakeholders across the NT representing operational- and management-level service providers, local Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants to identify challenges and opportunities for translating new policies into successful tobacco interventions. Data were analysed using qualitative approaches to identify emergent themes. Results The 20 emergent themes were classified using counts of occasions each theme occurred in the transcribed data as challenge or opportunity. The 'smoke-free policies' theme occurred most frequently as opportunity but infrequently as challenge while 'health workforce capacity' occurred most frequently as challenge but less frequently as opportunity, suggesting that policy implementation is constrained by lack of a skilled workforce. 'Smoking cessation support' occurred frequently as opportunity but also frequently as challenge suggesting that support for individuals requires additional input and attention. Conclusions These results from interviews with local and operational-level participants indicate that current tobacco policies in Australia targeting Indigenous smoking are sound and comprehensive. However, for remote Indigenous Australian communities, local and operational-level participants' views point to an 'implementation gap'. Their views should be heard because they are in a position to provide practical recommendations for effective policy implementation faithful to its design, thereby translating sound policy into meaningful action. Some recommendations may also find a place in culturally diverse low- and middle-income countries. Key words: tobacco policy implementation, challenges, opportunities, remote Indigenous Australian communities. PMID:22839197

Indigenous perspectives on active living in remote Australia: a qualitative exploration of the socio-cultural link between health, the environment and economics.

PubMed

Thompson, Sharon L; Chenhall, Richard D; Brimblecombe, Julie K

2013-05-15

The burden of chronic disease in Indigenous Australia is more than double that of non-Indigenous populations and even higher in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities. Sufficient levels of physical activity are known to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve the health of those already suffering from chronic disease. It has been identified that effective promotion of physical activity in Indigenous settings requires the diverse cultural perspectives and participation of Indigenous people. However, Indigenous concepts of physical activity are not represented in the public health literature and examples of Indigenous involvement in physical activity promotion are scarce. This study aimed to explore and describe local perspectives, experiences and meanings of physical activity in two remote NT Indigenous communities. Qualitative research methods guided by ethnographic and participatory action research principles were used. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 23 purposively selected community members were the main source of data, augmented by five commissioned paintings by community-based artists and observations recorded in a journal by the first author. The findings reveal that in this cultural context the meaning of physical activity is embedded in socially significant and economically necessary physical engagement with the environment. Participants described physical activities associated with Indigenous natural and cultural resource management, customary spaces, seasonal timing and traditional education as creating and protecting health. These activities were viewed not only as culturally appropriate physical activities that contribute to health but as legitimate, physically active forms of social organisation, education and employment that help to build and maintain relationships, wealth, resources and the environment. This different construction of physical activity in remote Indigenous communities highlights the importance of involving Indigenous people in the development and implementation of physical activity promotion. Physical activities associated with traditional Indigenous cultural practices and being active 'on country' need to be viewed as legitimate health promotion activities. Exploring further ways to enable Indigenous people in remote NT to be involved in creating viable active livelihoods on 'traditional country' needs to be considered as imperative to health improvement.

Indigenous perspectives on active living in remote Australia: a qualitative exploration of the socio-cultural link between health, the environment and economics

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The burden of chronic disease in Indigenous Australia is more than double that of non-Indigenous populations and even higher in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities. Sufficient levels of physical activity are known to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve the health of those already suffering from chronic disease. It has been identified that effective promotion of physical activity in Indigenous settings requires the diverse cultural perspectives and participation of Indigenous people. However, Indigenous concepts of physical activity are not represented in the public health literature and examples of Indigenous involvement in physical activity promotion are scarce. This study aimed to explore and describe local perspectives, experiences and meanings of physical activity in two remote NT Indigenous communities. Methods Qualitative research methods guided by ethnographic and participatory action research principles were used. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 23 purposively selected community members were the main source of data, augmented by five commissioned paintings by community-based artists and observations recorded in a journal by the first author. Results The findings reveal that in this cultural context the meaning of physical activity is embedded in socially significant and economically necessary physical engagement with the environment. Participants described physical activities associated with Indigenous natural and cultural resource management, customary spaces, seasonal timing and traditional education as creating and protecting health. These activities were viewed not only as culturally appropriate physical activities that contribute to health but as legitimate, physically active forms of social organisation, education and employment that help to build and maintain relationships, wealth, resources and the environment. Conclusion This different construction of physical activity in remote Indigenous communities highlights the importance of involving Indigenous people in the development and implementation of physical activity promotion. Physical activities associated with traditional Indigenous cultural practices and being active ‘on country’ need to be viewed as legitimate health promotion activities. Exploring further ways to enable Indigenous people in remote NT to be involved in creating viable active livelihoods on ‘traditional country’ needs to be considered as imperative to health improvement. PMID:23672247

Using Information Communication Technologies in Remote School Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lock, Graeme; Forlin, Chris

2006-01-01

In 2003 the authors visited four schools in the Western Australian Department of Education and Training's Kimberley Education District to investigate the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in the curriculum for students who have diverse needs. The visits also provided an opportunity to investigate how teachers in remote school…

Breaking the barriers to adopting satellite remote sensing for water quality management: ?monitoring cyanobacteria blooms

EPA Science Inventory

Remote sensing technology has the potential to inform and accelerate the engagement of communities and managers in the implementation and performance of best management practices. Over the last few decades, satellite technology has allowed measurements on a global scale over long...

Stroke outcomes in Northern Scotland: does rurality really matter?

PubMed

O'Neill, N P; Godden, D J

2003-01-01

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Scotland after coronary heart disease and cancer and is a major cause of long-term disability. There is evidence in other clinical conditions such as asthma, diabetic retinopathy, and cancer that rural residents may have poorer outcomes, due to relative inaccessibility of health-service provision or because the disease is at a more advanced stage at diagnosis. However, the evidence-base for stroke care and outcomes in remote and rural areas is small and the subject matter is under-researched. This study was designed to examine, over a one-year period, the incidence and outcome of stroke occurring in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, a large geographical area with many rural and remote settlements. The study explored whether stroke care and outcome was affected by remoteness and rurality. The study was a prospective, community-based, observational survey. Patients in Highland and the Islands (Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles) suffering first-ever stroke during a 12-month period (from 1 May 2001 to 30 April 2002) were included. All practitioners from health and social care sectors, residential homes, voluntary and charitable organisations were encouraged to notify the researchers of any individual they suspected or knew had a first-ever stroke within the designated time period. Data on 'limitation in activities' (formerly 'level of disability') and service provision were collected using questionnaires and proformas at 1, 3 and 6 months post-stroke from several sources. These included individual patients and carers, health and social care professionals, residential homes, voluntary organisations, and charitable organisations. The analysis focused on location at time of follow up, limitation in activities and service provision. Outcomes were compared across different settlement categories. Settlements were classified as urban/accessible, remote rural and very remote, based on the Scottish Household Survey. In all, 303 patients with a suspected first-ever stroke were notified to the study. The resulting crude incidence of reported stroke was 1.1 per 1000. From the notifications, 239 patients were sent a consent form, of whom 118 agreed to participate in the study. The final dataset, after exclusions for incorrect diagnosis, deaths and other reasons, was derived from 85 patients. Among these, patients from remote rural and very remote settlements were over-represented, when compared to all patients notified. The majority of patients returned home from acute hospitals during the study period and the likelihood of returning home was not related to settlement category. However, a greater proportion of patients in remote rural settlements were admitted to community hospitals and remained there at 6 months. Approximately two-thirds had some degree of disability (or limitation in activities) after their stroke. One-third of patients classed themselves as independent across all time points. Overall, the Barthel Index score increased over time (ie, patients experienced a reduction in disability) with the average score at 1 month post-stroke being 82.5 (range 0-100), at 3 months 85 (range 5-100), and at 6 months 90 (range 5-100). Uptake of services was similar across all settlement categories, with low levels of use at 6-months post-stroke. In particular, few patients used social-support and stroke-specific services, for example Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, and Stroke Nurse services. The proportion of patients using any service at 1, 3 and 6 months did not differ between settlement categories. Rural patients did not therefore appear disadvantaged in service provision. The low incidence of reported stroke may have been due to a number of reasons including: death prior to notification; diagnostic uncertainty; stroke severity--failure to notify very mild or very severe stroke cases; and inadequate reporting of patients managed at home. The greater proportion of patients in remote rural settlements being admitted to community hospitals and remaining there at 6 months may reflect greater availability of community hospital places in this settlement category, but may also be influenced by stroke severity. The low uptake of rehabilitation and support services generally, combined with the relatively poor functional outcome of our patients, suggests that there may be an unmet need for rehabilitation. However, rural patients did not appear specifically disadvantaged. Our study indicates that patients developing a first-time stroke in remote and rural areas of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland are not disadvantaged compared to those in urban/accessible areas, with respect to outcome or to the utilization of health and social care services. However, functional outcomes could be improved for patients in all settlement categories.

Management of infectious diseases in remote northwestern Ontario with telemedicine videoconference consultations.

PubMed

Mashru, Jai; Kirlew, Michael; Saginur, Raphael; Schreiber, Yoko S

2017-01-01

Northwestern Ontario in Canada provides a unique clinical challenge for providing optimal medical care. It is a large geographic area (385,000 km 2 ) and is home to 32 remote First Nations communities, most without road access. These communities suffer a heavy burden of infectious disease and specialist consultations are difficult to obtain. The Division of Infectious Diseases at the Ottawa Hospital and the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre established a telemedicine-based infectious disease consultation service in July 2014. We describe the implementation of this service, types of cases seen and patient satisfaction, as well as some of the challenges encountered. Information on visits was prospectively collected through an administrative database, and patient satisfaction surveys were administered after each initial consultation. During our first year of operation, 191 teleconsultations occurred: 76 initial consultations, 82 follow-up appointments and 33 case conferences. The scope of cases has been broad, mostly involving musculoskeletal infections (26%), followed by skin and soft tissue infections (23%). HCV, acute rheumatic fever, and respiratory infections (including pulmonary tuberculosis) were other diagnoses. Patient satisfaction has been very high and 28 telemedicine patient visits have occurred in their remote home communities, minimizing travel. The infectious disease consulting service and local clinicians have succeeded in addressing needs for care in infectious diseases in northwestern Ontario, where important gaps in service to First Nations' communities continue to exist. Regular scheduled available access to an infectious disease specialist is a well-received advancement of care in this remote region of Canada.

Effect of 25% Sodium Reduction on Sales of   a Top-Selling Bread in Remote Indigenous Australian  Community Stores: A Controlled Intervention Trial.

PubMed

McMahon, Emma; Webster, Jacqui; Brimblecombe, Julie

2017-02-28

Reducing sodium in the food supply is key to achieving population salt targets, but maintaining sales is important to ensuring commercial viability and maximising clinical impact. We investigated whether 25% sodium reduction in a top-selling bread affected sales in 26 remote Indigenous community stores. After a 23-week baseline period, 11 control stores received the regular-salt bread (400 mg Na/100 g) and 15 intervention stores received the reduced-salt version (300 mg Na/100 g) for 12-weeks. Sales data were collected to examine difference between groups in change from baseline to follow-up (effect size) in sales (primary outcome) or sodium density, analysed using a mixed model. There was no significant effect on market share (-0.31%; 95% CI -0.68, 0.07; p = 0.11) or weekly dollars ($58; -149, 266; p = 0.58). Sodium density of all purchases was not significantly reduced (-8 mg Na/MJ; -18, 2; p = 0.14), but 25% reduction across all bread could significantly reduce sodium (-12; -23, -1; p = 0.03). We found 25% salt reduction in a top-selling bread did not affect sales in remote Indigenous community stores. If achieved across all breads, estimated salt intake in remote Indigenous Australian communities would be reduced by approximately 15% of the magnitude needed to achieve population salt targets, which could lead to significant health gains at the population-level.

Global TIE Observatories: Real Time Observational Astronomy Through a Robotic Telescope Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, G.; Mayo, L. A.

2001-12-01

Astronomy in grades K-12 is traditionally taught (if at all) using textbooks and a few simple hands-on activities. Teachers are generally not trained in observational astronomy techniques and are unfamiliar with the most basic astronomical concepts. In addition, most students, by High School graduation, will never have even looked through the eyepiece of a telescope. The problem becomes even more challenging in inner cities, remote rural areas and low socioeconomic communities where educational emphasis on topics in astronomy as well as access to observing facilities is limited or non existent. Access to most optical telescope facilities is limited to monthly observing nights that cater to a small percentage of the general public living near the observatory. Even here, the observing experience is a one-time event detached from the process of scientific enquiry and sustained educational application. Additionally, a number of large, "research grade" observatory facilities are largely unused, partially due to the slow creep of light pollution around the facilities as well as the development of newer, more capable telescopes. Though cutting edge science is often no longer possible at these sights, real research opportunities in astronomy remain numerous for these facilities as educational tools. The possibility now exists to establish a network of research grade telescopes, no longer useful to the professional astronomical community, that can be made accessible through classrooms, after school, and community based programs all across the country through existing IT technologies and applications. These telescopes could provide unparalleled research and educational opportunities for a broad spectrum of students and turns underutilized observatory facilities into valuable, state-of-the-art teaching centers. The NASA sponsored Telescopes In Education project has been wildly successful in engaging the K-12 education community in real-time, hands-on, interactive astronomy activities. Hundreds of schools in the US, Australia, Canada, England, and Japan have participated in the TIE program, remotely controlling the 24-inch telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory from their classrooms. In recent years, several (approximately 20 to date) other telescopes have been, or are in the process of being, outfitted for remote use as TIE affiliates. Global TIE integrates these telescopes seamlessly into one virtual observatory and provides the services required to operate this facility, including a scheduling service, tools for data manipulation, an online proposal review environment, an online "Virtual TIE Student Ap J" for publication of results, and access to related educational materials provided by the TIE community. This presentation describes the Global TIE Observatory data and organizational systems and details the technology, partnerships, operational capabilities, science applications, and learning opportunities that this powerful virtual observatory network will provide.

Implementing the Baby One Program: a qualitative evaluation of family-centred child health promotion in remote Australian Aboriginal communities.

PubMed

Campbell, Sandra; McCalman, Janya; Redman-MacLaren, Michelle; Canuto, Karla; Vine, Kristina; Sewter, Jenny; McDonald, Malcolm

2018-03-24

A healthy start predicts better health in later life. Many remote-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian families lack access to consistent, culturally-safe health services. This paper presents a study of implementation of the Baby One Program (BOP). The BOP was designed as a family-centred, Indigenous Healthworker-led, home-visiting model of care focused on promoting family health to give children the best start to life. It was developed by Aboriginal community-controlled Apunipima Cape York Health Council and delivered in Queensland Cape York remote communities. We aimed to determine how the BOP was implemented, enablers, strategies used and formative implementation outcomes. The qualitative approach utilised theoretical and purposive sampling to explore people's experiences of a program implementation process. Data were generated from semi-structured interviews with four family members enrolled in the BOP and 24 Apunipima staff members. In addition, twenty community members, including two program users, participated in a men's community focus group. The findings are presented according to themes arising from the data. The BOP was rolled out in nine remote Cape York communities between July 2014 and December 2015 and there was high uptake. Indigenous Healthworkers were supported by midwives and maternal and child health nurses to deliver health education to 161 eligible families. The key to effective implementation of family-centred care appeared to be the relationships formed between health practitioners, especially Indigenous Healthworkers, and families. The data revealed the following themes: challenging environments for new families and valuing cultural ways, resourcing program delivery, working towards a team approach, negotiating the cultural interface, engaging families, exchanging knowledge through 'yarning', strengthening the workforce, and seeing health changes in families. Healthworker education and training, and knowledge exchange between Healthworkers, midwives and nurses was critical to program effectiveness. The program continues to grow despite substantial logistic, financial and practical challenges. This study describes an evolving process and explores how health providers connect with families and how the program responds to family and cultural issues. Program development is ongoing; strengthened by more community-level involvement, embedded strategies for ongoing self-evaluation and continuous quality improvements that are responsive to family needs.

Prediction of health levels by remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rush, M.; Vernon, S.

1975-01-01

Measures of the environment derived from remote sensing were compared to census population/housing measures in their ability to discriminate among health status areas in two urban communities. Three hypotheses were developed to explore the relationships between environmental and health data. Univariate and multiple step-wise linear regression analyses were performed on data from two sample areas in Houston and Galveston, Texas. Environmental data gathered by remote sensing were found to equal or surpass census data in predicting rates of health outcomes. Remote sensing offers the advantages of data collection for any chosen area or time interval, flexibilities not allowed by the decennial census.

Giving voice to food insecurity in a remote indigenous community in subarctic Ontario, Canada: traditional ways, ways to cope, ways forward

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Food insecurity is a serious public health issue for Aboriginal people (First Nations [FN], Métis, and Inuit) living in Canada. Food security challenges faced by FN people are unique, especially for those living in remote and isolated communities. Conceptualizations of food insecurity by FN people are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of food insecurity by FN adults living in a remote, on-reserve community in northern Ontario known to have a high prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity. Methods A trained community research assistant conducted semi-directed interviews, and one adult from each household in the community was invited to participate. Questions addressed traditional food, coping strategies, and suggestions to improve community food security and were informed by the literature and a community advisory committee. Thematic data analyses were carried out and followed an inductive, data-driven approach. Results Fifty-one individuals participated, representing 67% of eligible households. The thematic analysis revealed that food sharing, especially with family, was regarded as one of the most significant ways to adapt to food shortages. The majority of participants reported consuming traditional food (wild meats) and suggested that hunting, preserving and storing traditional food has remained very important. However, numerous barriers to traditional food acquisition were mentioned. Other coping strategies included dietary change, rationing and changing food purchasing patterns. In order to improve access to healthy foods, improving income and food affordability, building community capacity and engagement, and community-level initiatives were suggested. Conclusions Findings point to the continued importance of traditional food acquisition and food sharing, as well as community solutions for food systems change. These data highlight that traditional and store-bought food are both part of the strategies and solutions participants suggested for coping with food insecurity. Public health policies to improve food security for FN populations are urgently needed. PMID:23639143

Building School-Community Relationships in Northern Communities: A Sourcebook of Policy Alternatives and Recommendations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingram, E. J.; McIntosh, R. G.

The 3-part companion volume to the final report of the Education North Evaluation Project serves as a policy development resource book for anyone who must address questions of school-community relations. Part I focuses on the educational issues of concern to policy makers and their advisors in very remote, interracial, poor northern communities.…

Ibobbly mobile health intervention for suicide prevention in Australian Indigenous youth: a pilot randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Shand, Fiona; Ridani, Rebecca; Mackinnon, Andrew; De La Mata, Nicole; Christensen, Helen

2017-01-01

Objectives Rates of youth suicide in Australian Indigenous communities are 4 times the national youth average and demand innovative interventions. Historical and persistent disadvantage is coupled with multiple barriers to help seeking. Mobile phone applications offer the opportunity to deliver therapeutic interventions directly to individuals in remote communities. The pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help mobile app (ibobbly) targeting suicidal ideation, depression, psychological distress and impulsivity among Indigenous youth in remote Australia. Setting Remote and very remote communities in the Kimberley region of North Western Australia. Participants Indigenous Australians aged 18–35 years. Interventions 61 participants were recruited and randomised to receive either an app (ibobbly) which delivered acceptance-based therapy over 6 weeks or were waitlisted for 6 weeks and then received the app for the following 6 weeks. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome was the Depressive Symptom Inventory—Suicidality Subscale (DSI-SS) to identify the frequency and intensity of suicidal ideation in the previous weeks. Secondary outcomes were the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11). Results Although preintervention and postintervention changes on the (DSI-SS) were significant in the ibobbly arm (t=2.40; df=58.1; p=0.0195), these differences were not significant compared with the waitlist arm (t=1.05; df=57.8; p=0.2962). However, participants in the ibobbly group showed substantial and statistically significant reductions in PHQ-9 and K10 scores compared with waitlist. No differences were observed in impulsivity. Waitlist participants improved after 6 weeks of app use. Conclusions Apps for suicide prevention reduce distress and depression but do not show significant reductions on suicide ideation or impulsivity. A feasible and acceptable means of lowering symptoms for mental health disorders in remote communities is via appropriately designed self-help apps. Trial registration number ACTRN12613000104752. PMID:28132007

Complex Neurological and Oto-Neurological Remote Care: From Space Station to Clinic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchbanks, Robert J.; Good, Edward F.

2013-02-01

The main aim of this paper is to highlight the synergy between the remote care requirements for NASA and community/rural based medicine. It demonstrates the appropriateness of applying similar health-care models for space-based medicine, as for ‘2020 vision’ community-based medicine, and the common use of screening devices with telemedicine capabilities. There is a requirement to diagnose and manage complex cases remotely and the need to empower on-site medically trained personnel to undertake the physiological measurements and decision-making. For space exploration at greater distances, the telemedicine systems will require additional sophistication to support autonomous crew medical diagnosis and interventions.1 Non-invasive intracranial pressure measurement is a priority both for terrestrial and space medicine. Arguably it is the most important neurological physiological measurement yet to be mastered and to be routinely used.

Distributed observing facility for remote access to multiple telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callegari, Massimo; Panciatici, Antonio; Pasian, Fabio; Pucillo, Mauro; Santin, Paolo; Aro, Simo; Linde, Peter; Duran, Maria A.; Rodriguez, Jose A.; Genova, Francoise; Ochsenbein, Francois; Ponz, J. D.; Talavera, Antonio

2000-06-01

The REMOT (Remote Experiment Monitoring and conTrol) project was financed by 1996 by the European Community in order to investigate the possibility of generalizing the remote access to scientific instruments. After the feasibility of this idea was demonstrated, the DYNACORE (DYNAmically, COnfigurable Remote Experiment monitoring and control) project was initiated as a REMOT follow-up. Its purpose is to develop software technology to support scientists in two different domains, astronomy and plasma physics. The resulting system allows (1) simultaneous multiple user access to different experimental facilities, (2) dynamic adaptability to different kinds of real instruments, (3) exploitation of the communication infrastructures features, (4) ease of use through intuitive graphical interfaces, and (5) additional inter-user communication using off-the-shelf projects such as video-conference tools, chat programs and shared blackboards.

Applications of airborne remote sensing in atmospheric sciences research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Serafin, R. J.; Szejwach, G.; Phillips, B. B.

1984-01-01

This paper explores the potential for airborne remote sensing for atmospheric sciences research. Passive and active techniques from the microwave to visible bands are discussed. It is concluded that technology has progressed sufficiently in several areas that the time is right to develop and operate new remote sensing instruments for use by the community of atmospheric scientists as general purpose tools. Promising candidates include Doppler radar and lidar, infrared short range radiometry, and microwave radiometry.

Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine

PubMed Central

Lamb, Robert W.

2018-01-01

Kelp forests provide important ecosystem services, yet coastal kelp communities are increasingly altered by anthropogenic impacts. Kelp forests in remote, offshore locations may provide an informative contrast due to reduced impacts from local stressors. We tested the hypothesis that shallow kelp assemblages (12–15 m depth) and associated fish and benthic communities in the coastal southwest Gulf of Maine (GOM) differed significantly from sites on Cashes Ledge, 145 km offshore by sampling five coastal and three offshore sites at 43.0 +/- 0.07° N latitude. Offshore sites on Cashes Ledge supported the greatest density (47.8 plants m2) and standing crop biomass (5.5 kg m2 fresh weight) of the foundation species Saccharina latissima kelp at this depth in the Western North Atlantic. Offshore densities of S. latissima were over 150 times greater than at coastal sites, with similar but lower magnitude trends for congeneric S. digitata. Despite these differences, S. latissima underwent a significant 36.2% decrease between 1987 and 2015 on Cashes Ledge, concurrent with a rapid warming of the GOM and invasion by the kelp-encrusting bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. In contrast to kelp, the invasive red alga Dasysiphonia japonica was significantly more abundant at coastal sites, suggesting light or dispersal limitation offshore. Spatial differences in fish abundance mirrored those of kelp, as the average biomass of all fish on Cashes Ledge was 305 times greater than at the coastal sites. Remote video censuses of cod (Gadus morhua), cunner (Tautaogolabrus adspersus), and pollock (Pollachius virens) corroborated these findings. Understory benthic communities also differed between regions, with greater abundance of sessile invertebrates offshore. Populations of kelp-consuming sea urchins Stronglyocentrotus droebachiensis, were virtually absent from Cashes Ledge while small urchins were abundant onshore, suggesting recruitment limitation offshore. Despite widespread warming of the GOM since 1987, extraordinary spatial differences in the abundance of primary producers (kelp), consumers (cod) and benthic communities between coastal and offshore sites have persisted. The shallow kelp forest communities offshore on Cashes Ledge represent an oasis of unusually high kelp and fish abundance in the region, and as such, comprise a persistent abundance hotspot that is functionally significant for sustained biological productivity of offshore regions of the Gulf of Maine. PMID:29298307

Persistent differences between coastal and offshore kelp forest communities in a warming Gulf of Maine.

PubMed

Witman, Jon D; Lamb, Robert W

2018-01-01

Kelp forests provide important ecosystem services, yet coastal kelp communities are increasingly altered by anthropogenic impacts. Kelp forests in remote, offshore locations may provide an informative contrast due to reduced impacts from local stressors. We tested the hypothesis that shallow kelp assemblages (12-15 m depth) and associated fish and benthic communities in the coastal southwest Gulf of Maine (GOM) differed significantly from sites on Cashes Ledge, 145 km offshore by sampling five coastal and three offshore sites at 43.0 +/- 0.07° N latitude. Offshore sites on Cashes Ledge supported the greatest density (47.8 plants m2) and standing crop biomass (5.5 kg m2 fresh weight) of the foundation species Saccharina latissima kelp at this depth in the Western North Atlantic. Offshore densities of S. latissima were over 150 times greater than at coastal sites, with similar but lower magnitude trends for congeneric S. digitata. Despite these differences, S. latissima underwent a significant 36.2% decrease between 1987 and 2015 on Cashes Ledge, concurrent with a rapid warming of the GOM and invasion by the kelp-encrusting bryozoan Membranipora membranacea. In contrast to kelp, the invasive red alga Dasysiphonia japonica was significantly more abundant at coastal sites, suggesting light or dispersal limitation offshore. Spatial differences in fish abundance mirrored those of kelp, as the average biomass of all fish on Cashes Ledge was 305 times greater than at the coastal sites. Remote video censuses of cod (Gadus morhua), cunner (Tautaogolabrus adspersus), and pollock (Pollachius virens) corroborated these findings. Understory benthic communities also differed between regions, with greater abundance of sessile invertebrates offshore. Populations of kelp-consuming sea urchins Stronglyocentrotus droebachiensis, were virtually absent from Cashes Ledge while small urchins were abundant onshore, suggesting recruitment limitation offshore. Despite widespread warming of the GOM since 1987, extraordinary spatial differences in the abundance of primary producers (kelp), consumers (cod) and benthic communities between coastal and offshore sites have persisted. The shallow kelp forest communities offshore on Cashes Ledge represent an oasis of unusually high kelp and fish abundance in the region, and as such, comprise a persistent abundance hotspot that is functionally significant for sustained biological productivity of offshore regions of the Gulf of Maine.

The potential of small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems for the rapid detection of threatened unimproved grassland communities using an Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index.

PubMed

Strong, Conor J; Burnside, Niall G; Llewellyn, Dan

2017-01-01

The loss of unimproved grassland has led to species decline in a wide range of taxonomic groups. Agricultural intensification has resulted in fragmented patches of remnant grassland habitat both across Europe and internationally. The monitoring of remnant patches of this habitat is critically important, however, traditional surveying of large, remote landscapes is a notoriously costly and difficult task. The emergence of small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) equipped with low-cost multi-spectral cameras offer an alternative to traditional grassland survey methods, and have the potential to progress and innovate the monitoring and future conservation of this habitat globally. The aim of this article is to investigate the potential of sUAS for rapid detection of threatened unimproved grassland and to test the use of an Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (ENDVI). A sUAS aerial survey is undertaken at a site nationally recognised as an important location for fragmented unimproved mesotrophic grassland, within the south east of England, UK. A multispectral camera is used to capture imagery in the visible and near-infrared spectrums, and the ENDVI calculated and its discrimination performance compared to a range of more traditional vegetation indices. In order to validate the results of analysis, ground quadrat surveys were carried out to determine the grassland communities present. Quadrat surveys identified three community types within the site; unimproved grassland, improved grassland and rush pasture. All six vegetation indices tested were able to distinguish between the broad habitat types of grassland and rush pasture; whilst only three could differentiate vegetation at a community level. The Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (ENDVI) was the most effective index when differentiating grasslands at the community level. The mechanisms behind the improved performance of the ENDVI are discussed and recommendations are made for areas of future research and study.

The potential of small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems for the rapid detection of threatened unimproved grassland communities using an Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

PubMed Central

Strong, Conor J.; Llewellyn, Dan

2017-01-01

The loss of unimproved grassland has led to species decline in a wide range of taxonomic groups. Agricultural intensification has resulted in fragmented patches of remnant grassland habitat both across Europe and internationally. The monitoring of remnant patches of this habitat is critically important, however, traditional surveying of large, remote landscapes is a notoriously costly and difficult task. The emergence of small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) equipped with low-cost multi-spectral cameras offer an alternative to traditional grassland survey methods, and have the potential to progress and innovate the monitoring and future conservation of this habitat globally. The aim of this article is to investigate the potential of sUAS for rapid detection of threatened unimproved grassland and to test the use of an Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (ENDVI). A sUAS aerial survey is undertaken at a site nationally recognised as an important location for fragmented unimproved mesotrophic grassland, within the south east of England, UK. A multispectral camera is used to capture imagery in the visible and near-infrared spectrums, and the ENDVI calculated and its discrimination performance compared to a range of more traditional vegetation indices. In order to validate the results of analysis, ground quadrat surveys were carried out to determine the grassland communities present. Quadrat surveys identified three community types within the site; unimproved grassland, improved grassland and rush pasture. All six vegetation indices tested were able to distinguish between the broad habitat types of grassland and rush pasture; whilst only three could differentiate vegetation at a community level. The Enhanced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (ENDVI) was the most effective index when differentiating grasslands at the community level. The mechanisms behind the improved performance of the ENDVI are discussed and recommendations are made for areas of future research and study. PMID:29023504

Cooperative remote sensing and actuation using networked unmanned vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Haiyang

This dissertation focuses on how to design and employ networked unmanned vehicles for remote sensing and distributed control purposes in the current information-rich world. The target scenarios are environmental or agricultural applications such as river/reservoir surveillance, wind profiling measurement, and monitoring/control of chemical leaks, etc. AggieAir, a small and low-cost unmanned aircraft system, is designed based on the remote sensing requirements from environmental monitoring missions. The state estimation problem and the advanced lateral flight controller design problem are further attacked focusing on the small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. Then the UAV-based remote sensing problem is focused with further flight test results. Given the measurements from unmanned vehicles, the actuation algorithms are needed for missions like the diffusion control. A consensus-based central Voronoi tessellation (CVT) algorithm is proposed for better control of the diffusion process. Finally, the dissertation conclusion and some new research suggestions are presented.

"We need our own food, to grow our own veggies…" Remote Aboriginal food gardens in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory.

PubMed

Hume, Andrew; O'Dea, Kerin; Brimblecombe, Julie

2013-10-01

Remote Aboriginal community gardens (gardens) frequently operate below their full potential. A set of gardening sustainability principles may improve their planning, operation and long-term sustainability. This paper aims to document the principles of sustainability of non-profit remote Aboriginal community gardens in the Top End of the Northern Territory. Throughout 2011, gardens in the Top End of the Northern Territory were visited. Interviews and observational data were used to explore the principles of garden sustainability with participants. Subsequent iterative thematic analysis informed development of a set of gardening sustainability principles. Principles of sustainability included effective garden planning; community autonomy, consultation and engagement; growing community vetted crops; employing long-term, effective, culturally sensitive managers; long-term, transparent funding organisations and cycles; garden integration into existing food supply chains; culturally appropriate employment arrangements; and physical aspects of successful gardening. This work uniquely consults gardeners, managers and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people of both genders in the largest reported study of its type, resulting in new and expanded findings, particularly including new social factors for gardening success. Expanding the understanding of what makes gardens work to include the important social factors identified here may have merit. © 2013 The Authors. ANZJPH © 2013 Public Health Association of Australia.

Landscape characterization of peridomestic risk for Lyme disease using satellite imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dister, S. W.; Fish, D.; Bros, S. M.; Frank, D. H.; Wood, B. L.

1997-01-01

Remotely sensed characterizations of landscape composition were evaluated for Lyme disease exposure risk on 337 residential properties in two communities of suburban Westchester County, New York. Properties were categorized as no, low, or high risk based on seasonally adjusted densities of Ixodes scapularis nymphs, determined by drag sampling during June and July 1990. Spectral indices based on Landsat Thematic Mapper data provided relative measures of vegetation structure and moisture (wetness), as well as vegetation abundance (greenness). A geographic information system (GIS) was used to spatially quantify and relate the remotely sensed landscape variables to risk category. A comparison of the two communities showed that Chappaqua, which had more high-risk properties (P < 0.001), was significantly greener and wetter than Armonk (P < 0.001). Furthermore, within Chappaqua, high-risk properties were significantly greener and wetter than lower-risk properties in this community (P < 0.01). The high-risk properties appeared to contain a greater proportion of broadleaf trees, while lower-risk properties were interpreted as having a greater proportion of nonvegetative cover and/or open lawn. The ability to distinguish these fine scale differences among communities and individual properties illustrates the efficiency of a remote sensing/GIS-based approach for identifying peridomestic risk of Lyme disease over large geographic areas.

Photosynthetic parameters in the Beaufort Sea in relation to the phytoplankton community structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huot, Y.; Babin, M.; Bruyant, F.

2013-05-01

To model phytoplankton primary production from remotely sensed data, a method to estimate photosynthetic parameters describing the photosynthetic rates per unit biomass is required. Variability in these parameters must be related to environmental variables that are measurable remotely. In the Arctic, a limited number of measurements of photosynthetic parameters have been carried out with the concurrent environmental variables needed. Such measurements and their relationship to environmental variables will be required to improve the accuracy of remotely sensed estimates of phytoplankton primary production and our ability to predict future changes. During the MALINA cruise, a large dataset of these parameters was obtained. Together with previously published datasets, we use environmental and trophic variables to provide functional relationships for these parameters. In particular, we describe several specific aspects: the maximum rate of photosynthesis (Pmaxchl) normalized to chlorophyll decreases with depth and is higher for communities composed of large cells; the saturation parameter (Ek) decreases with depth but is independent of the community structure; and the initial slope of the photosynthesis versus irradiance curve (αchl) normalized to chlorophyll is independent of depth but is higher for communities composed of larger cells. The photosynthetic parameters were not influenced by temperature over the range encountered during the cruise (-2 to 8 °C).

Photosynthetic parameters in the Beaufort Sea in relation to the phytoplankton community structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huot, Y.; Babin, M.; Bruyant, F.

2013-01-01

To model phytoplankton primary production from remotely sensed data a method to estimate photosynthetic parameters describing the photosynthetic rates per unit biomass is required. Variability in these parameters must be related to environmental variables that are measurable remotely. In the Arctic, a limited number of measurements of photosynthetic parameter have been carried out with the concurrent environmental variables needed. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of remote estimates of phytoplankton primary production as well as our ability to predict changes in the future such measurements and relationship to environmental variables are required. During the MALINA cruise, a large dataset of these parameters were obtained. Together with previously published datasets, we use environmental and trophic variables to provide functional relationships for these parameters. In particular, we describe several specific aspects: the maximum rate of photosynthesis (Pmaxchl) normalized to chlorophyll decreases with depth and is higher for communities composed of large cells; the saturation parameter (Ek) decreases with depth but is independent of the community structure; and the initial slope of the photosynthesis versus irradiance curve (αchl) normalized to chlorophyll is independent of depth but is higher for communities composed of larger cells. The photosynthetic parameters were not influenced by temperature over the range encountered during the cruise (-2 to 8 °C).

Computer-Aided Remote Driving

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Brian H.

1994-01-01

System for remote control of robotic land vehicle requires only small radio-communication bandwidth. Twin video cameras on vehicle create stereoscopic images. Operator views cross-polarized images on two cathode-ray tubes through correspondingly polarized spectacles. By use of cursor on frozen image, remote operator designates path. Vehicle proceeds to follow path, by use of limited degree of autonomous control to cope with unexpected conditions. System concept, called "computer-aided remote driving" (CARD), potentially useful in exploration of other planets, military surveillance, firefighting, and clean-up of hazardous materials.

Exploring the mathematical confidence of Indigenous preservice teachers in a remote teacher education program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, Steve; Giles, Wendy; Prescott, Debbie; Rhodes, David

2011-06-01

This paper reports on the efficacy of an accelerated teacher education program ( Growing Our Own) focused in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. The program is a joint initiative of Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory Catholic Education Office, providing an intensive two-year program designed to educate Indigenous Teacher Assistants to full teacher status. We describe the growth in knowledge and confidence that has occurred through the program using the story of one of the students in the project, Philomena, as an evocative representation of the experiences of the participants in the program. This growth is particularly evident in one lesson that Philomena taught towards the end of the program in which she was able to challenge her previously accepted role as subservient to the non-Indigenous teacher. Our discussion highlights some key issues for improving outcomes for Indigenous children, including the potential mismatch between Western and Aboriginal ways of thinking in mathematics and developing the mathematical capacity of Indigenous teacher assistants in remote settings. We suggest that the mutual respect of the participants at various levels of Growing Our Own, the situated and purposeful nature of the learning, and the capacity of students to engage in that learning without abandoning their community responsibilities have been pivotal in enhancing educational outcomes in remote communities and in providing opportunities for Indigenous people.

Factors Influencing the Retention and Attrition of Community Health Aides/Practitioners in Alaska

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landon, Beth; Loudon, Jenny; Selle, Mariko; Doucette, Sanna

2004-01-01

The Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) is a unique program employing local, indigenous peoples as primary care nonphysician providers in extremely remote frontier, tribal Alaskan communities. With attrition rates up to 20%, recommendations for improving retention are necessary to maintain access to health services for Alaska Natives in these…

Remote-site power generation opportunities for Alaska

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

Jones, M.L.

1997-03-01

The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) has been working with the Federal Energy Technology Center in Morgantown, West Virginia, to assess options for small, low-cost, environmental acceptable power generation for application in remote areas of Alaska. The goal of this activity was to reduce the use of fuel in Alaskan villages by developing small, low-cost power generation applications. Because of the abundance of high-quality coal throughout Alaska, emphasis was placed on clean coal applications, but other energy sources, including geothermal, wind, hydro, and coalbed methane, were also considered. The use of indigenous energy sources would provide cheaper cleaner power,more » reduce the need for PCE (Power Cost Equalization program) subsidies, increase self-sufficiency, and retain hard currency in the state while at the same time creating jobs in the region. The introduction of economical, small power generation systems into Alaska by US equipment suppliers and technology developers aided by the EERC would create the opportunities for these companies to learn how to engineer, package, transport, finance, and operate small systems in remote locations. All of this experience would put the US developers and equipment supply companies in an excellent position to export similar types of small power systems to rural areas or developing countries. Thus activities in this task that relate to determining the generic suitability of these technologies for other countries can increase US competitiveness and help US companies sell these technologies in foreign countries, increasing the number of US jobs. The bulk of this report is contained in the two appendices: Small alternative power workshop, topical report and Global market assessment of coalbed methane, fluidized-bed combustion, and coal-fired diesel technologies in remote applications.« less

Outboard Repair.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardway, Jack

This consortium-developed instructor's manual for small engine repair (with focus on outboard motors) consists of the following nine instructional units: electrical remote control assembly, mechanical remote control assembly, tilt assemblies, exhaust housing, propeller and trim tabs, cooling system, mechanical gearcase, electrical gearcase, and…

Renewable energy and sustainable communities: Alaska's wind generator experience.

PubMed

Konkel, R Steven

2013-01-01

In 1984, the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development (DCED) issued the State's first inventory/economic assessment of wind generators, documenting installed wind generator capacity and the economics of replacing diesel-fuel-generated electricity. Alaska's wind generation capacity had grown from hundreds of installed kilowatts to over 15.3 megawatts (MW) by January 2012. This article reviews data and conclusions presented in "Alaska's Wind Energy Systems; Inventory and Economic Assessment" (1). (Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development, S. Konkel, 1984). It provides a foundation and baseline for understanding the development of this renewable energy source. Today's technologies have evolved at an astonishing pace; a typical generator in an Alaska wind farm now is likely rated at 1.5-MW capacity, compared to the single-kilowatt (kW) machines present in 1984. Installed capacity has mushroomed, illustrated by Unalakleet's 600-kW wind farm dwarfing the original three 10-kW machines included in the 1984 inventory. Kodiak Electric had three 1.5-MW turbines installed at Pillar Mountain in 2009, with three additional turbines of 4.5-MW capacity installed in 2012. Utilities now actively plan for wind generation and compete for state funding. State of Alaska energy policy provides the context for energy project decision-making. Substantial renewable energy fund (REF) awards--$202,000,000 to date for 227 REF projects in the first 5 cycles of funding--along with numerous energy conservation programs--are now in place. Increasing investment in wind is driven by multiple factors. Stakeholders have interests both in public policy and meeting private investment objectives. Wind generator investors should consider project economics and potential impacts of energy decisions on human health. Specifically this article considers: changing environmental conditions in remote Alaska villages, impacts associated with climate change on human health, progress in better understanding wind energy potential through resource assessments and new tools for detailed feasibility and project planning, need for comprehensive monitoring and data analysis, and state funding requirements and opportunity costs. The energy policy choices ahead for Alaska will have important implications for Arctic population health, especially for those villages whose relatively small size and remote locations make energy a key component of subsistence lifestyles and community sustainability. Wind generation can contribute to meeting renewable energy goals and is a particularly important resource for rural and remote Alaskan communities currently dependent on diesel fuel for generating electricity and heat.

Field Data Collection: an Essential Element in Remote Sensing Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pettinger, L. R.

1971-01-01

Field data collected in support of remote sensing projects are generally used for the following purposes: (1) calibration of remote sensing systems, (2) evaluation of experimental applications of remote sensing imagery on small test sites, and (3) designing and evaluating operational regional resource studies and inventories which are conducted using the remote sensing imagery obtained. Field data may be used to help develop a technique for a particular application, or to aid in the application of that technique to a resource evaluation or inventory problem for a large area. Scientists at the Forestry Remote Sensing Laboratory have utilized field data for both purposes. How meaningful field data has been collected in each case is discussed.

Lifelong Learning for Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities in Botswana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maruatona, Tonic

2015-01-01

In spite of its overall economic success, most citizens living in the remote areas of Botswana face poverty and are unemployed. The article argues that minority communities in remote areas are excluded because education programs use unfamiliar languages and de-contextualized curricula, there is no national qualifications framework to sufficiently…

Successful Mathematics Lessons in Remote Communities: A Case Study of Balargo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Robyn

2015-01-01

This paper describes the lesson practices at one very remote school that has been highly successful in numeracy. Drawing on a significant body of diverse research that promotes quality teaching and learning, this case study describes the features of the practice that have been implemented across the school. Teachers' voices provide both…

Through Human Eyes: A New Approach to the Problem of Workforces in Remote Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmonds, W. H. C.

The often unstable workforce in remote areas can possibly be strengthened by stabilizing adjacent human settlements with community design which works from the inside out to emphasize the human, social, cultural, and environmental aspects of the settlements. Because stresses resulting from isolation, loss of social relationships, lack of…

Exploring the Mathematical Confidence of Indigenous Preservice Teachers in a Remote Teacher Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornton, Steve; Giles, Wendy; Prescott, Debbie; Rhodes, David

2011-01-01

This paper reports on the efficacy of an accelerated teacher education program ("Growing Our Own") focused in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. The program is a joint initiative of Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory Catholic Education Office, providing an intensive two-year program designed to…

Health Careers Education for Rural Primary Schoolchildren

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorton, Susan M.

2011-01-01

International and national studies have reported that health professionals who grew up in a rural area are more likely to return to work in a rural area than their urban raised counterparts. The chronic severe shortage of health professionals in rural and remote Australia has meant inequitable health care for rural and remote communities and a…

Evaluation of different delivery modes of an interactive e-learning programme for teaching cultural diversity.

PubMed

Hawthorne, Kamila; Prout, Hayley; Kinnersley, Paul; Houston, Helen

2009-01-01

UK medical schools find it challenging to provide standardised teaching to expanding year intakes. In addition, developing and implementing diversity training can cause difficulties. This paper describes the evaluation of an interactive e-learning programme to raise awareness and understanding of communication difficulties in diversity consultations. The programme was part of an undergraduate portfolio-based community module. Three hundred and two students were assigned to one of three delivery methods--a large group setting, small groups with a facilitator, and as part of distance learning while on community placement. The evaluation included analysis of their coursework marks, a self-completed evaluation questionnaire, and small group discussions. Two hundred and twenty-three students took part in the evaluation. They were able to apply the concepts they learnt to clinical examples from their own experiences. Type of delivery did not affect coursework marks, but students tended to prefer the e-learning as part of a distance learning package. They offered helpful suggestions to improve its complexity and range. The acceptability and utility of this e-learning module both in face to face teaching and remote placement has been demonstrated, and evaluation by the students has provided valuable information for its further development. All medical schools should include some diversity training, and further research should concentrate on the effects of this type of learning on longer term outcomes such as attitude and performance tests. Such tools could reduce demands on staff time in facilitation of small groupwork, and their cost effectiveness could be increased by making them available to other medical schools.

Detection of emission sources using passive-remote Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

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

Demirgian, J.C.; Macha, S.M.; Darby, S.M.

1995-12-31

The detection and identification of toxic chemicals released in the environment is important for public safety. Passive-remote Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers can be used to detect these releases. Their primary advantages are their small size and ease of setup and use. Open-path FTIR spectrometers are used to detect concentrations of pollutants from a fixed frame of reference. These instruments detect plumes, but they are too large and difficult to aim to be used to track a plume to its source. Passive remote FTIR spectrometers contain an interferometer, optics, and a detector. They can be used on tripods and inmore » some cases can be hand-held. A telescope can be added to most units. The authors will discuss the capability of passive-remote FTIR spectrometers to detect the origin of plumes. Low concentration plumes were released using a custom-constructed vaporizer. These plumes were detected with different spectrometers from different distances. Passive-remote spectrometers were able to detect small 10 cm on a side chemical releases at concentration-pathlengths at the low parts per million-meter (ppm-m) level.« less

Detection of emission sources using passive-remote Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

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

Demirgian, J.C.; Macha, S.M.; Darby, S.M.

1995-04-01

The detection and identification of toxic chemicals released in the environment is important for public safety. Passive-remote Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers can be used to detect these releases. Their primary advantages are their small size and ease of setup and use. Open-path FTIR spectrometers are used to detect concentrations of pollutants from a fixed frame of reference. These instruments detect plumes, but they are too large and difficult to aim to be used to track a plume to its source. Passive remote FTIR spectrometers contain an interferometer, optics, and a detector. They can be used on tripods and inmore » some cases can be hand-held. A telescope can be added to most units. We will discuss the capability of passive-remote FTIR spectrometers to detect the origin of plumes. Low concentration plumes were released using a custom-constructed vaporizer. These plumes were detected with different spectrometers from different distances. Passive-remote spectrometers were able to detect small 10 cm on a side chemical releases at concentration-pathlengths at the low parts per million-meter (ppm-m) level.« less

Use of Remote Sensing for Decision Support in Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Policelli, Frederick S.

2007-01-01

Over the past 30 years, the scientific community has learned a great deal about the Earth as an integrated system. Much of this research has been enabled by the development of remote sensing technologies and their operation from space. Decision makers in many nations have begun to make use of remote sensing data for resource management, policy making, and sustainable development planning. This paper makes an attempt to provide a survey of the current state of the requirements and use of remote sensing for sustainable development in Africa. This activity has shown that there are not many climate data ready decision support tools already functioning in Africa. There are, however, endusers with known requirements who could benefit from remote sensing data.

Investigation related to multispectral imaging systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nalepka, R. F.; Erickson, J. D.

1974-01-01

A summary of technical progress made during a five year research program directed toward the development of operational information systems based on multispectral sensing and the use of these systems in earth-resource survey applications is presented. Efforts were undertaken during this program to: (1) improve the basic understanding of the many facets of multispectral remote sensing, (2) develop methods for improving the accuracy of information generated by remote sensing systems, (3) improve the efficiency of data processing and information extraction techniques to enhance the cost-effectiveness of remote sensing systems, (4) investigate additional problems having potential remote sensing solutions, and (5) apply the existing and developing technology for specific users and document and transfer that technology to the remote sensing community.

myMoves Program: Feasibility and Acceptability Study of a Remotely Delivered Self-Management Program for Increasing Physical Activity Among Adults With Acquired Brain Injury Living in the Community.

PubMed

Jones, Taryn M; Dear, Blake F; Hush, Julia M; Titov, Nickolai; Dean, Catherine M

2016-12-01

People living with acquired brain injury (ABI) are more likely to be physically inactive and highly sedentary and, therefore, to have increased risks of morbidity and mortality. However, many adults with ABI experience barriers to participation in effective physical activity interventions. Remotely delivered self-management programs focused on teaching patients how to improve and maintain their physical activity levels have the potential to improve the overall health of adults with ABI. The study objective was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a remotely delivered self-management program aimed at increasing physical activity among adults who dwell in the community and have ABI. A single-group design involving comparison of baseline measures with those taken immediately after intervention and at a 3-month follow-up was used in this study. The myMoves Program comprises 6 modules delivered over 8 weeks via email. Participants were provided with regular weekly contact with an experienced physical therapist via email and telephone. The primary outcomes were the feasibility (participation, attrition, clinician time, accessibility, and adverse events) and acceptability (satisfaction, worthiness of time, and recommendation) of the myMoves Program. The secondary outcomes were objective physical activity data collected from accelerometers, physical activity self-efficacy, psychological distress, and participation. Twenty-four participants commenced the program (20 with stroke, 4 with traumatic injury), and outcomes were collected for 23 and 22 participants immediately after the program and at a 3-month follow-up, respectively. The program required very little clinician contact time, with an average of 32.8 minutes (SD=22.8) per participant during the 8-week program. Acceptability was very high, with more than 95% of participants being either very satisfied or satisfied with the myMoves Program and stating that it was worth their time. All participants stated that they would recommend the program to others with ABI. The results were obtained from a small sample; hence, the results may not be generalizable to a larger ABI population. A remotely delivered self-management program aimed at increasing physical activity is feasible and acceptable for adults with ABI. Further large-scale efficacy trials are warranted. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

Building EOS capability for Malaysia - the options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subari, M. D.; Hassan, A.

2014-06-01

Earth observation satellite (EOS) is currently a major tool to monitor earth dynamics and increase human understanding of earth surface process. Since the early 80s, Malaysia has been using EOS images for various applications, such as weather forecasting, land use mapping, agriculture, environment monitoring and others. Until now, all EOS images were obtained from foreign satellite systems. Realising on the strategic need of having its own capability, Malaysia embarked into EOS development programs in the early 90s. Starting with TiungSAT-1, a micro-satellite carrying small camera, then followed by RazakSAT, a small satellite carrying 2.5 m panchromatic (PAN) medium-aperture-camera, the current satellite program development, the RazakSAT-2, designed to carry a 1.0 m high resolution PAN and 4.0m multi-spectral camera, would become a strategic initiative of the government in developing and accelerating the nation's capability in the area of satellite technology and its application. Would this effort continue until all needs of the remote sensing community being fulfilled by its own EOS? This paper will analyze the intention of the Malaysian government through its National Space Policy and other related policy documents, and proposes some policy options on this. Key factors to be considered are specific data need of the EOS community, data availability and the more subjective political motivations such as national pride.

Sea State and Boundary Layer Physics of the Emerging Arctic Ocean

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

meteorological stations; weather observations; upper-air (rawinsondes, balloons and tethered kit); turbulent fluxes; radiation; surface temperature...remote sensing, in-field remote sensing will be employed, using small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), balloons , and manned aircraft (funded by other

Integrated Remote Sensing Modalities for Classification at a Legacy Test Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, D. J.; Anderson, D.; Craven, J.

2016-12-01

Detecting, locating, and characterizing suspected underground nuclear test sites is of interest to the worldwide nonproliferation monitoring community. Remote sensing provides both cultural and surface geological information over a large search area in a non-intrusive manner. We have characterized a legacy nuclear test site at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) using an aerial system based on RGB imagery, light detection and ranging, and hyperspectral imaging. We integrate these different remote sensing modalities to perform pattern recognition and classification tasks on the test site. These tasks include detecting cultural artifacts and exotic materials. We evaluate if the integration of different remote sensing modalities improves classification performance.

Chronic respiratory disease in the regional and remote population of the Northern Territory Top End: A perspective from the specialist respiratory outreach service.

PubMed

Kruavit, Anuk; Fox, Melissa; Pearson, Rebecca; Heraganahally, Subash

2017-10-01

To study the demographic, rates and types of chronic respiratory conditions in Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients in regional and remote communities of Northern Territory Top End, who were referred to the specialist respiratory outreach service. A retrospective, observational study over a 2 years period. Remote community health clinics within the Northern Territory Top End visited by the specialist respiratory outreach team. Only patients referred to respiratory specialist outreach team were included. There were 444 participants, with 210 males and 234 females. In total, 79.3% were Indigenous. The rates of chronic respiratory disease diagnoses and smoking status within the different communities and health district regions. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was the most common primary respiratory condition in our cohort of patients (50.5%) followed by sleep apnoea in (14.2%), bronchiectasis in (11.6%), asthma (11%), interstitial lung disease (2.5%), nodule/cancer (1.8%) sarcoidosis (0.2%) and others (9.2%). COPD, smoking status and bronchiectasis was more frequently noted among the Indigenous patients compared to non-Indigenous patients (56.3% versus 28.3%, P < 0.001), (52.6% versus 25.0%, P < 0.001), and (12.5% versus 3.3%, P = 0.01) respectively. Obstructive sleep apnoea was more commonly diagnosed in non-Indigenous patients. Indigenous patients of the remote and rural communities of the Top End have significantly higher rates of smoking and COPD compared to non-Indigenous patients. Bronchiectasis is also more common among Indigenous patients. Further efforts are warranted to develop strategies to address the disparity and optimise the respiratory outreach service to this population. © 2017 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Fixed-focus camera objective for small remote sensing satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topaz, Jeremy M.; Braun, Ofer; Freiman, Dov

1993-09-01

An athermalized objective has been designed for a compact, lightweight push-broom camera which is under development at El-Op Ltd. for use in small remote-sensing satellites. The high performance objective has a fixed focus setting, but maintains focus passively over the full range of temperatures encountered in small satellites. The lens is an F/5.0, 320 mm focal length Tessar type, operating over the range 0.5 - 0.9 micrometers . It has a 16 degree(s) field of view and accommodates various state-of-the-art silicon detector arrays. The design and performance of the objective is described in this paper.

How the Use of Remote Sensing is Transferred to Diverse User Communities Through Capacity Building at Columbia University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceccato, P.; Bell, M. A.; Mantilla, G.; Thomson, M. C.

2012-12-01

This presentation will provide an overview of capacity-building activities developed by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society to help diverse stakeholder communities use remote sensing to monitor climate and environmental factors that influence public health, natural disasters and food security. Teaching at a graduate level at Columbia University, at summer institutes and in counties, we developed training modules and case studies on how to combine remote sensing data to monitor precipitation, temperature, vegetation, and water bodies with climate information and field data (e.g. fires, infectious disease incidence, Desert Locusts) to 1) understand the relationship between climate, environmental factors and specific challenges to development and 2) provide methodologies and tools to forecast and better manage the problems. At Columbia University, we have developed a graduate course that provides the practical and theoretical foundations for the application of remote sensing techniques to the identification and monitoring of environmental change. We use the IRI Data Library, an online tool, to i) manage diverse data, ii) visualize data, iii) analyze remote sensing images and iii) combine data from different sources (e.g., fires, public health, natural disasters, agriculture). The IRI Data Library tool allows the users to analyze on-line climatic and environmental factors in relation to particular problems at various space and time scales. A Summer Institute on Climate Information for Public Health, first developed in 2008, has brought together experts from the public health and climate communities at the IRI to learn how to integrate climate and environmental factors with public health issues. In countries and regions, we also provide training for climate and public health working professionals in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Colombia and the Mercosur Region (including Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina).

Geographic factors as determinants of food security: a Western Australian food pricing and quality study.

PubMed

Pollard, Christina Mary; Landrigan, Timothy John; Ellies, Pernilla Laila; Kerr, Deborah Anne; Lester, Matthew Langdon Underwood; Goodchild, Stanley Edward

2014-01-01

Food affordability and quality can influence food choice. This research explores the impact of geographic factors on food pricing and quality in Western Australia (WA). A Healthy Food Access Basket (HFAB) was cost and a visual and descriptive quality assessment of 13 commonly consumed fresh produce items was conducted in-store on a representative sample of 144 food grocery stores. The WA retail environment in 2010 had 447 grocery stores servicing 2.9 million people: 38% of stores the two major chains (Coles® Supermarkets Australia and Woolworths ® Limited) in population dense areas, 50% were smaller independently owned stores (Independent Grocers Association®) in regional areas as well, and 12% Indigenous community stores in very remote areas. The HFAB cost 24% (p<0.0001) more in very remote areas than the major city with fruit (32%, p<0.0001), vegetables (26.1%, p<0.0005) and dairy (40%, p<0.0001) higher. Higher price did not correlate with higher quality with only 80% of very remote stores meeting all criteria for fresh produce compared with 93% in Perth. About 30% of very remote stores did not meet quality criteria for bananas, green beans, lettuce, and tomatoes. With increasing geographic isolation, most foods cost more and the quality of fresh produce was lower. Food affordability and quality may deter healthier food choice in geographically isolated communities. Improving affordability and quality of nutritious foods in remote communities may positively impact food choices, improve food security and prevent diet-sensitive chronic disease. Policy makers should consider influencing agriculture, trade, commerce, transport, freight, and modifying local food economies.

Living with diabetes on Baffin Island: Inuit storytellers share their experiences.

PubMed

Bird, Susan M; Wiles, Janine L; Okalik, Looee; Kilabuk, Jonah; Egeland, Grace M

2008-01-01

The prevention and management of Type 2 diabetes mellitus has become a concern in Inuit communities across Canada. Although Inuit living with diabetes in remote Canadian Arctic communities could help guide the development of health services, their voices have not been heard. The experiences and perceptions of Inuit themselves are often overlooked in research. In this study, Inuit living in a small rural Arctic community on Baffin Island were invited to share their experiences of living with diabetes. A qualitative multi-case study approach was taken. In-depth interviews (n=4), field observations, and informal interviews over one month in the community were used to build and contextualize the cases. In-depth interviews were transcribed, and analyzed using holistic thematic analysis and open coding. Accessibility was a concern with respect to foods, health knowledge, language interpretation and health services. In all methods of analysis, the importance of language and effective cross-cultural communication figured prominently. It was also evident that trust and rapport is crucial when discussing diabetes. There was strong interest in promoting diabetes education and prevention within the community. These findings suggest that current health education and services may not be adequate for this setting. The voices of Inuit should be integral in steering the direction of their future diabetes education and health service delivery. Focusing on language barriers may help to improve the accessibility of knowledge about diabetes and nutrition, and enhance relationships between non-Inuit health service providers and Inuit.

Rubbertown NGEM Demonstration Project?Community Update Meeting 2, July 25, 2017

EPA Science Inventory

This is a slide deck for part of a community webinar held by LMAPCD to provide an update on the project. The slides will be delivered by team lead E. Thoma remotely by webinar. A draft version of the QAPP for the project will be provided to the community as part of this communi...

Conceptions of Art Education Programs Held by a Rural and Remote Australian Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Tara

2007-01-01

This article discusses the results of a one-year study in a physically isolated school community in Queensland, Australia. The decision-making processes in the selection of school subjects became the focus for interviews conducted with the school community (students, parents, and teachers) and the vehicle for identifying the held conceptions of…

Talking Books for Children's Home Use in a Minority Indigenous Australian Language Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auld, Glenn

2007-01-01

Members of the Kunibidji community are the traditional owners of the lands and seas around Maningrida, a remote community in Northern Australia. Most of the 200 members of the Kunibidji Community speak Ndjebbana as their first language. This study reports on the complexities of transforming technology to provide Kunibidji children with access to…

Challenges of Communications and Tracking for Solar System Small Body Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rush, John J.; Lichten, Stephen M.; Srinivasan, Jeffrey M.

2011-01-01

This presentation will address: (1) Communications capabilities that will be needed for space missions for Small Planetary Body exploration (2) Utilization of large ground-based radar capabilities for Small Body remote sensing and mission planning

Remote Monitoring of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices.

PubMed

Cheung, Christopher C; Deyell, Marc W

2018-01-08

Over the past decade, technological advancements have transformed the delivery of care for arrhythmia patients. From early transtelephonic monitoring to new devices capable of wireless and cellular transmission, remote monitoring has revolutionized device care. In this article, we review the current evolution and evidence for remote monitoring in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices. From passive transmission of device diagnostics, to active transmission of patient- and device-triggered alerts, remote monitoring can shorten the time to diagnosis and treatment. Studies have shown that remote monitoring can reduce hospitalization and emergency room visits, and improve survival. Remote monitoring can also reduce the health care costs, while providing increased access to patients living in rural or marginalized communities. Unfortunately, as many as two-thirds of patients with remote monitoring-capable devices do not use, or are not offered, this feature. Current guidelines recommend remote monitoring and interrogation, combined with annual in-person evaluation in all cardiac device patients. Remote monitoring should be considered in all eligible device patients and should be considered standard of care. Copyright © 2018 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A study of remote sensing as applied to regional and small watersheds. Volume 1: Summary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambaruch, R.

1974-01-01

The accuracy of remotely sensed measurements to provide inputs to hydrologic models of watersheds is studied. A series of sensitivity analyses on continuous simulation models of three watersheds determined: (1)Optimal values and permissible tolerances of inputs to achieve accurate simulation of streamflow from the watersheds; (2) Which model inputs can be quantified from remote sensing, directly, indirectly or by inference; and (3) How accurate remotely sensed measurements (from spacecraft or aircraft) must be to provide a basis for quantifying model inputs within permissible tolerances.

Mapping Plant Diversity and Composition Across North Carolina Piedmont Forest Landscapes Using Lidar-Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakkenberg, Christopher R.

Forest modification, from local stress to global change, has given rise to efforts to model, map, and monitor critical properties of forest communities like structure, composition, and diversity. Predictive models based on data from spatially-nested field plots and LiDAR-hyperspectral remote sensing systems are one particularly effective means towards the otherwise prohibitively resource-intensive task of consistently characterizing forest community dynamics at landscape scales. However, to date, most predictive models fail to account for actual (rather than idealized) species and community distributions, are unsuccessful in predicting understory components in structurally and taxonomically heterogeneous forests, and may suffer from diminished predictive accuracy due to incongruity in scale and precision between field plot samples, remotely-sensed data, and target biota of varying size and density. This three-part study addresses these and other concerns in the modeling and mapping of emergent properties of forest communities by shifting the scope of prediction from the individual or taxon to the whole stand or community. It is, after all, at the stand scale where emergent properties like functional processes, biodiversity, and habitat aggregate and manifest. In the first study, I explore the relationship between forest structure (a proxy for successional demographics and resource competition) and tree species diversity in the North Carolina Piedmont, highlighting the empirical basis and potential for utilizing forest structure from LiDAR in predictive models of tree species diversity. I then extend these conclusions to map landscape pattern in multi-scale vascular plant diversity as well as turnover in community-continua at varying compositional resolutions in a North Carolina Piedmont landscape using remotely-sensed LiDAR-hyperspectral estimates of topography, canopy structure, and foliar biochemistry. Recognizing that the distinction between correlation and causation mirrors that between knowledge and understanding, all three studies distinguish between prediction of pattern and inference of process. Thus, in addition to advancing mapping methodologies relevant to a range of forest ecosystem management and monitoring applications, all three studies are noteworthy for assessing the ecological relationship between environmental predictors and emergent landscape patterns in plant composition and diversity in North Carolina Piedmont forests.

Great Basin vegetation response to groundwater fluctuation, climate variability, and previous land cultivation: The application of multitemporal measurements from remote sensing data to regional vegetation dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmore, Andrew James

The conversion of large natural basins to managed watersheds for the purpose of providing water to urban centers has had a negative impact on semiarid ecosystems, worldwide. We view semiarid plant communities as being adapted to short, regular periods of drought. However, human induced changes in the water balance often remove these systems from the range of natural variability that has been historically established. This thesis explores vegetation changes over a 13-yr period for Owens Valley, in eastern California. Using remotely sensed measurements of vegetation cover, an extensive vegetation survey, field data and observations, precipitation records, and data on water table depth, I identify the key modes of response of xeric, phreatophytic, and exotic Great Basin plant communities. Three specific advancements were reached as a result of this work. (1) A change classification technique was developed that was used to separate regions of land-cover that were dependent on precipitation from regions dependent on groundwater. This technique utilized Spectral Mixture Analysis of annually acquired Landsat Thematic Mapper remote sensing data, to retrieve regional estimates of percent vegetation cover. (2) A threshold response related to depth-to-water dependence was identified for phreatophytic Alkali Meadow communities. Plant communities that were subject to groundwater depths below this threshold exhibited greater invasion by precipitation sensitive plants. (3) The floristic differences between previously cultivated and uncultivated land were found to account for an increased sensitivity of plant communities to precipitation variability. Through (2) and (3), two human influences (groundwater decline and previous land cultivation) were shown to alter land cover such that the land became more sensitive to precipitation change. Climate change predictions include a component of increased climate variability for the western United States; therefore, these results place serious doubt on the sustainability of human activities in this region. The results from this work broadly cover topics from remote sensing techniques to the ecology of Great Basin plant communities and are applicable wherever large regions of land are being managed in an era of changing environmental conditions.

A Macroecological Analysis of SERA Derived Forest Heights and Implications for Forest Volume Remote Sensing

PubMed Central

Brolly, Matthew; Woodhouse, Iain H.; Niklas, Karl J.; Hammond, Sean T.

2012-01-01

Individual trees have been shown to exhibit strong relationships between DBH, height and volume. Often such studies are cited as justification for forest volume or standing biomass estimation through remote sensing. With resolution of common satellite remote sensing systems generally too low to resolve individuals, and a need for larger coverage, these systems rely on descriptive heights, which account for tree collections in forests. For remote sensing and allometric applications, this height is not entirely understood in terms of its location. Here, a forest growth model (SERA) analyzes forest canopy height relationships with forest wood volume. Maximum height, mean, H100, and Lorey's height are examined for variability under plant number density, resource and species. Our findings, shown to be allometrically consistent with empirical measurements for forested communities world-wide, are analyzed for implications to forest remote sensing techniques such as LiDAR and RADAR. Traditional forestry measures of maximum height, and to a lesser extent H100 and Lorey's, exhibit little consistent correlation with forest volume across modeled conditions. The implication is that using forest height to infer volume or biomass from remote sensing requires species and community behavioral information to infer accurate estimates using height alone. SERA predicts mean height to provide the most consistent relationship with volume of the height classifications studied and overall across forest variations. This prediction agrees with empirical data collected from conifer and angiosperm forests with plant densities ranging between 102–106 plants/hectare and heights 6–49 m. Height classifications investigated are potentially linked to radar scattering centers with implications for allometry. These findings may be used to advance forest biomass estimation accuracy through remote sensing. Furthermore, Lorey's height with its specific relationship to remote sensing physics is recommended as a more universal indicator of volume when using remote sensing than achieved using either maximum height or H100. PMID:22457800

A macroecological analysis of SERA derived forest heights and implications for forest volume remote sensing.

PubMed

Brolly, Matthew; Woodhouse, Iain H; Niklas, Karl J; Hammond, Sean T

2012-01-01

Individual trees have been shown to exhibit strong relationships between DBH, height and volume. Often such studies are cited as justification for forest volume or standing biomass estimation through remote sensing. With resolution of common satellite remote sensing systems generally too low to resolve individuals, and a need for larger coverage, these systems rely on descriptive heights, which account for tree collections in forests. For remote sensing and allometric applications, this height is not entirely understood in terms of its location. Here, a forest growth model (SERA) analyzes forest canopy height relationships with forest wood volume. Maximum height, mean, H₁₀₀, and Lorey's height are examined for variability under plant number density, resource and species. Our findings, shown to be allometrically consistent with empirical measurements for forested communities world-wide, are analyzed for implications to forest remote sensing techniques such as LiDAR and RADAR. Traditional forestry measures of maximum height, and to a lesser extent H₁₀₀ and Lorey's, exhibit little consistent correlation with forest volume across modeled conditions. The implication is that using forest height to infer volume or biomass from remote sensing requires species and community behavioral information to infer accurate estimates using height alone. SERA predicts mean height to provide the most consistent relationship with volume of the height classifications studied and overall across forest variations. This prediction agrees with empirical data collected from conifer and angiosperm forests with plant densities ranging between 10²-10⁶ plants/hectare and heights 6-49 m. Height classifications investigated are potentially linked to radar scattering centers with implications for allometry. These findings may be used to advance forest biomass estimation accuracy through remote sensing. Furthermore, Lorey's height with its specific relationship to remote sensing physics is recommended as a more universal indicator of volume when using remote sensing than achieved using either maximum height or H₁₀₀.

Impact of a regional distributed medical education program on an underserved community: perceptions of community leaders.

PubMed

Toomey, Patricia; Lovato, Chris Y; Hanlon, Neil; Poole, Gary; Bates, Joanna

2013-06-01

To describe community leaders' perceptions regarding the impact of a fully distributed undergraduate medical education program on a small, medically underserved host community. The authors conducted semistructured interviews in 2007 with 23 community leaders representing, collectively, the education, health, economic, media, and political sectors. They reinterviewed six participants from a pilot study (2005) and recruited new participants using purposeful and snowball sampling. The authors employed analytic induction to organize content thematically, using the sectors as a framework, and they used open coding to identify new themes. The authors reanalyzed transcripts to identify program outcomes (e.g., increased research capacity) and construct a list of quantifiable indicators (e.g., number of grants and publications). Participants reported their perspectives on the current and anticipated impact of the program on education, health services, the economy, media, and politics. Perceptions of impact were overwhelmingly positive (e.g., increased physician recruitment), though some were negative (e.g., strains on health resources). The authors identified new outcomes and confirmed outcomes described in 2005. They identified 16 quantifiable indicators of impact, which they judged to be plausible and measureable. Participants perceive that the regional undergraduate medical education program in their community has broad, local impacts. Findings suggest that early observed outcomes have been maintained and may be expanding. Results may be applicable to medical education programs with distributed or regional sites in similar rural, remote, and/or underserved regions. The areas of impact, outcomes, and quantifiable indicators identified will be of interest to future researchers and evaluators.

Remote and Invisible: The Voices of Female Indigenous Educational Leaders in Northern Territory Remote Community Schools in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamara, Martha

2017-01-01

While the literature on women and educational leadership has been addressed in substantive ways in recent years, the experiences that reflect female Australian educational leaders are rare. This article reports findings from a study of five female Indigenous principals in the Northern Territory utilising biographic narratives and foregrounds their…

Teachers as Learners Examine Land-Use Change in the Local Environment Using Remote Sensing Imagery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klagges, Hope; Harbor, Jon; Shepardson, Daniel; Bell, Cheryl; Meyer, Jason; Burgess, Willie; Leuenberger, Ted

2002-01-01

In environmental science education, learners are exposed to earth phenomena that occur across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. However, it is challenging for learners to grasp the significance of spatial and temporal change because they have limited perspectives of the Earth. Within the scientific community, remotely sensed imagery is…

Turning the Tide: Transforming Science Learning and Teaching in Rural and Remote Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aldous, Carol

2008-01-01

A recent national study into Science, ICT and Mathematics education in rural and regional Australia (SiMERR) highlighted the disadvantages faced by rural and remote communities in terms of science learning and teaching. Focus group interviews conducted in rural primary schools in South Australia identified a lack of resources and of access to…

Contrasts in the marine ecosystem of two Macaronesian islands: A comparison between the remote Selvagens Reserve and Madeira Island

PubMed Central

Ballesteros, Enric; Clemente, Sabrina; Gonçalves, Emanuel J.; Estep, Andrew; Rose, Paul; Sala, Enric

2017-01-01

The islands of Madeira and Selvagens are less than 300 km apart but offer a clear contrast between a densely populated and highly developed island (Madeira), and a largely uninhabited and remote archipelago (Selvagens) within Macaronesia in the eastern Atlantic. The Madeira Archipelago has ~260,000 inhabitants and receives over six million visitor days annually. The Selvagens Islands Reserve is one of the oldest nature reserves in Portugal and comprises two islands and several islets, including the surrounding shelf to a depth of 200 m. Only reserve rangers and a small unit of the maritime police inhabit these islands. The benthic community around Selvagens was dominated by erect and turf algae, while the community at Madeira was comprised of crustose coralline and turf algae, sessile invertebrates, and sea urchin barrens. The sea urchin Diadema africanum was 65% more abundant at Madeira than at Selvagens. Total fish biomass was 3.2 times larger at Selvagens than at Madeira, and biomass of top predators was more than 10 times larger at Selvagens. Several commercially important species (e.g., groupers, jacks), which have been overfished throughout the region, were more common and of larger size at Selvagens than at Madeira. Important sea urchin predators (e.g., hogfishes, triggerfishes) were also in higher abundance at Selvagens compared to Madeira. The effects of fishing and other anthropogenic influences are evident around Madeira. This is in stark contrast to Selvagens, which harbors healthy benthic communities with diverse algal assemblages and high fish biomass, including an abundance of large commercially important species. The clear differences between these two island groups highlights the importance of expanding and strengthening the protection around Selvagens, which harbors one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic, and the need to increase management and protection around Madeira. PMID:29136657

A multi-scalar investigation of development and health in Ethiopia: household electrification in a agriculturally dependent and climate sensitive country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grace, K.; Brown, M. E.; Bakhtsiyarava, M.

2017-12-01

In poor countries, household electricity status is often used as a measure of household resources. Often, the primary use of the variable is to sort the poorest households - those without electricity - from the better-off households - those with electricity. Expanding electrification is also part of a suite of goals developed by health and development and reflected in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and now the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this measure is also used in a macro-level description of a country to describe a country's process of urbanization or development. As countries, electrify and expand access to electrification to the poorest households and communities, understanding the role and impact of electrification on the health and development of these communities is necessary. In other words, moving beyond the binomial categorization of a household as electrified or not electrified and instead investigating the ways that electrification impacts communities, households and individuals is a necessary component of understanding contemporary patterns of health and development in the world's poorest countries. The goal of this research is to examine the linkages between health and development using multi-scalar, remotely-sensed measures of electrification in Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world. For this study we use spatially referenced Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data for Ethiopia from 2000 and 2005. In addition to measures of electrification gathered from the DHS, we also use time-varying satellite based measure of electrification collected by the US Department of Defense. Also, because many rural Ethiopians are dependent on small-scale, rainfed agriculture and therefore highly vulnerable to climate shocks and food insecurity, any investigation of health and development must also consider the local food production context. To support the analysis and provide information on broader measures of food insecurity and wellbeing, we also use livelihood zone data from the Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS NET), as well as remotely sensed based estimates of rainfall and temperature.

Contrasts in the marine ecosystem of two Macaronesian islands: A comparison between the remote Selvagens Reserve and Madeira Island.

PubMed

Friedlander, Alan M; Ballesteros, Enric; Clemente, Sabrina; Gonçalves, Emanuel J; Estep, Andrew; Rose, Paul; Sala, Enric

2017-01-01

The islands of Madeira and Selvagens are less than 300 km apart but offer a clear contrast between a densely populated and highly developed island (Madeira), and a largely uninhabited and remote archipelago (Selvagens) within Macaronesia in the eastern Atlantic. The Madeira Archipelago has ~260,000 inhabitants and receives over six million visitor days annually. The Selvagens Islands Reserve is one of the oldest nature reserves in Portugal and comprises two islands and several islets, including the surrounding shelf to a depth of 200 m. Only reserve rangers and a small unit of the maritime police inhabit these islands. The benthic community around Selvagens was dominated by erect and turf algae, while the community at Madeira was comprised of crustose coralline and turf algae, sessile invertebrates, and sea urchin barrens. The sea urchin Diadema africanum was 65% more abundant at Madeira than at Selvagens. Total fish biomass was 3.2 times larger at Selvagens than at Madeira, and biomass of top predators was more than 10 times larger at Selvagens. Several commercially important species (e.g., groupers, jacks), which have been overfished throughout the region, were more common and of larger size at Selvagens than at Madeira. Important sea urchin predators (e.g., hogfishes, triggerfishes) were also in higher abundance at Selvagens compared to Madeira. The effects of fishing and other anthropogenic influences are evident around Madeira. This is in stark contrast to Selvagens, which harbors healthy benthic communities with diverse algal assemblages and high fish biomass, including an abundance of large commercially important species. The clear differences between these two island groups highlights the importance of expanding and strengthening the protection around Selvagens, which harbors one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic, and the need to increase management and protection around Madeira.

Comparing evapotranspiration from Eddy covariance measurements, water budgets, remote sensing, and land surface models over Canada a, b

DOE PAGES

Wang, Shusen; Pan, Ming; Mu, Qiaozhen; ...

2015-07-29

Here, this study compares six evapotranspiration ET products for Canada's landmass, namely, eddy covariance EC measurements; surface water budget ET; remote sensing ET from MODIS; and land surface model (LSM) ET from the Community Land Model (CLM), the Ecological Assimilation of Land and Climate Observations (EALCO) model, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity model (VIC). The ET climatology over the Canadian landmass is characterized and the advantages and limitations of the datasets are discussed. The EC measurements have limited spatial coverage, making it difficult for model validations at the national scale. Water budget ET has the largest uncertainty because of datamore » quality issues with precipitation in mountainous regions and in the north. MODIS ET shows relatively large uncertainty in cold seasons and sparsely vegetated regions. The LSM products cover the entire landmass and exhibit small differences in ET among them. Annual ET from the LSMs ranges from small negative values to over 600 mm across the landmass, with a countrywide average of 256 ± 15 mm. Seasonally, the countrywide average monthly ET varies from a low of about 3 mm in four winter months (November-February) to 67 ± 7 mm in July. The ET uncertainty is scale dependent. Larger regions tend to have smaller uncertainties because of the offset of positive and negative biases within the region. More observation networks and better quality controls are critical to improving ET estimates. Future techniques should also consider a hybrid approach that integrates strengths of the various ET products to help reduce uncertainties in ET estimation.« less

Comparing evapotranspiration from Eddy covariance measurements, water budgets, remote sensing, and land surface models over Canada a, b

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

Wang, Shusen; Pan, Ming; Mu, Qiaozhen

Here, this study compares six evapotranspiration ET products for Canada's landmass, namely, eddy covariance EC measurements; surface water budget ET; remote sensing ET from MODIS; and land surface model (LSM) ET from the Community Land Model (CLM), the Ecological Assimilation of Land and Climate Observations (EALCO) model, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity model (VIC). The ET climatology over the Canadian landmass is characterized and the advantages and limitations of the datasets are discussed. The EC measurements have limited spatial coverage, making it difficult for model validations at the national scale. Water budget ET has the largest uncertainty because of datamore » quality issues with precipitation in mountainous regions and in the north. MODIS ET shows relatively large uncertainty in cold seasons and sparsely vegetated regions. The LSM products cover the entire landmass and exhibit small differences in ET among them. Annual ET from the LSMs ranges from small negative values to over 600 mm across the landmass, with a countrywide average of 256 ± 15 mm. Seasonally, the countrywide average monthly ET varies from a low of about 3 mm in four winter months (November-February) to 67 ± 7 mm in July. The ET uncertainty is scale dependent. Larger regions tend to have smaller uncertainties because of the offset of positive and negative biases within the region. More observation networks and better quality controls are critical to improving ET estimates. Future techniques should also consider a hybrid approach that integrates strengths of the various ET products to help reduce uncertainties in ET estimation.« less

Acoustic water bottom investigation with a remotely operated watercraft survey system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamasaki, Shintaro; Tabusa, Tomonori; Iwasaki, Shunsuke; Hiramatsu, Masahiro

2017-12-01

This paper describes a remotely operated investigation system developed by combining a modern leisure-use fish finder and an unmanned watercraft to survey water bottom topography and other data related to bottom materials. Current leisure-use fish finders have strong depth sounding capabilities and can provide precise sonar images and bathymetric information. Because these sonar instruments are lightweight and small, they can be used on unmanned small watercraft. With the developed system, an operator can direct the heading of an unmanned watercraft and monitor a PC display showing real-time positioning information through the use of onboard equipment and long-distance communication devices. Here, we explain how the system was developed and demonstrate the use of the system in an area of submerged woods in a lake. The system is low cost, easy to use, and mobile. It should be useful in surveying areas that have heretofore been hard to investigate, including remote, small, and shallow lakes, for example, volcanic and glacial lakes.

Swift Creek Landslide Observatory: a university public - private partnership for education and public safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linneman, S. R.

2017-12-01

Community - Scientist partnerships take many forms. In the northwest corner of Washington state a large, active, serpentinitic earthflow has, for decades, shed >25,000 m^3/yr of asbestos-rich sediment into a small agricultural stream system. While the landslide, which moves 3 m/yr, and its unusual sediment have much attracted scientific interest, the situation also presents a great opportunity for community - scientist partnerships. The Swift Creek Landslide Observatory (SCLO) (http://landslide.geol.wwu.edu) is a partnership between scientists and technical staff at Western Washington University + local landowners + the state Department of Ecology + Whatcom County Public Works + a local video security firm. SCLO maintains two remote webcams from which current images are posted to the SCLO website hourly. Users can also view archived images from the cameras, create image-compare visualizations, and create time-lapse movies from the eight-year image archive. SCLO is used by local emergency managers and residents to evaluate the threat of debris flows and floods. It is also used by educators to dramatically illustrate hillslope evolution at a variety of time scales.

Seismology Outreach in Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardine, L.; Tape, C.; West, M. E.

2014-12-01

Despite residing in a state with 75% of North American earthquakes and three of the top 15 ever recorded, most Alaskans have limited knowledge about the science of earthquakes. To many, earthquakes are just part of everyday life, and to others, they are barely noticed until a large event happens, and often ignored even then. Alaskans are rugged, resilient people with both strong independence and tight community bonds. Rural villages in Alaska, most of which are inaccessible by road, are underrepresented in outreach efforts. Their remote locations and difficulty of access make outreach fiscally challenging. Teacher retention and small student bodies limit exposure to science and hinder student success in college. The arrival of EarthScope's Transportable Array, the 50th anniversary of the Great Alaska Earthquake, targeted projects with large outreach components, and increased community interest in earthquake knowledge have provided opportunities to spread information across Alaska. We have found that performing hands-on demonstrations, identifying seismological relevance toward career opportunities in Alaska (such as natural resource exploration), and engaging residents through place-based experience have increased the public's interest and awareness of our active home.

A Study on Integrated Community Based Flood Mitigation with Remote Sensing Technique in Kota Bharu, Kelantan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

'Ainullotfi, A. A.; Ibrahim, A. L.; Masron, T.

2014-02-01

This study is conducted to establish a community based flood management system that is integrated with remote sensing technique. To understand local knowledge, the demographic of the local society is obtained by using the survey approach. The local authorities are approached first to obtain information regarding the society in the study areas such as the population, the gender and the tabulation of settlement. The information about age, religion, ethnic, occupation, years of experience facing flood in the area, are recorded to understand more on how the local knowledge emerges. Then geographic data is obtained such as rainfall data, land use, land elevation, river discharge data. This information is used to establish a hydrological model of flood in the study area. Analysis were made from the survey approach to understand the pattern of society and how they react to floods while the analysis of geographic data is used to analyse the water extent and damage done by the flood. The final result of this research is to produce a flood mitigation method with a community based framework in the state of Kelantan. With the flood mitigation that involves the community's understanding towards flood also the techniques to forecast heavy rainfall and flood occurrence using remote sensing, it is hope that it could reduce the casualties and damage that might cause to the society and infrastructures in the study area.

Monitoring the dynamics of an invasive emergent macrophyte community using operational remote sensing data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Albright, Thomas P.; Ode, D.J.

2011-01-01

Potamogeton crispus L. (curly pondweed) is a cosmopolitan aquatic macrophyte considered invasive in North America and elsewhere. Its range is expanding and, on individual water bodies, its coverage can be dynamic both within and among years. In this study, we evaluate the use of free and low-cost satellite remote sensing data to monitor a problematic emergent macrophyte community dominated by P. crispus. Between 2000 and 2006, we acquired eight satellite images of 24,000-ha Lake Sharpe, South Dakota (USA). During one of the dates for which satellite imagery was acquired, we sampled the lake for P. crispus and other emergent macrophytes using GPS and photography for documentation. We used cluster analysis to assist in classification of the satellite imagery and independently validated results using the field data. Resulting estimates of emergent macrophyte coverage ranged from less than 20 ha in 2002 to 245 ha in 2004. Accuracy assessment indicated 82% of image pixels were correctly classified, with errors being primarily due to failure to identify emergent macrophytes. These results emphasize the dynamic nature of P. crispus-dominated macrophyte communities and show how they can be effectively monitored over large areas using low-cost remote sensing imagery. While results may vary in other systems depending on water quality and local flora, such an approach could be applied elsewhere and for a variety of macrophyte communities.

Benefit and impact of the Arizona land-use experiment: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodwin, G.

1977-01-01

The benefits and impact of the Arizona Land-Use Experiment on the people of Arizona are examined along with the process of the technology transfer to the political and private sector of the Arizona community. Since the remotely-sensed data in use in Arizona consisted of a blend of spacecraft and aircraft information, it was hoped that the role of the aircraft in the transfer process would be identified and its benefit be determined in a real-world situation. In addition, the role of the institutional arrangements set up in Arizona to facilitate the transfer of remotely-sensed information to the user community was examined.

A report on the use of thermal scanner data in an operational program for monitoring apparent rooftop temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bjorklund, J.; Schmer, F. A.; Isakson, R. E.

1975-01-01

CENGAS, a division of Central Telephone and Utilities Corporation in cooperation with the Remote Sensing Institute, South Dakota State University, is using airborne thermal scanner data to monitor relative rooftop temperatures. Four Nebraska communities and one South Dakota community were surveyed by the Remote Sensing Institute for CENGAS. Thermal scanner data were converted to a film format and the resultant imagery has been successfully employed by CENGAS. The program places emphasis on heat losses resulting from inadequate home insulation, offers CENGAS customers the opportunity to observe a thermogram of their rooftop, and assists homeowners in evaluating insulation needs.

Aircraft loading and freezer enhancements: lessons for medical research in remote communities.

PubMed

Gagnon, Roy; Gagnon, Faith; Panagiotopoulos, Constadina

2008-01-01

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), historically extremely rare in children, is becoming prevalent among First Nations children. In Canada, many of these children live in remote villages accessible only by float plane. Because T2D has many long-term health implications, prevention and early identification are critical. We developed a process for sending a fully equipped endocrinology team to a remote community to screen the children for T2D and IGT. Float plane (sea plane) travel has several unexpected limitations for a medical research team. These include having to travel in good visibility (visual flight rules), limited payload capacity, and restriction against transporting dry ice. The benefits include avoiding the usual security restrictions. We developed and tested a custom-built insulation jacket and system of backup battery packs for the countertop -25 degrees C freezer (in lieu of dry ice) to transport frozen blood samples from the village to our hospital's laboratory. We also ensured that the five-member research team, its equipment, and the consumable supplies stayed within the maximum takeoff weight of the airplane and met center-of-gravity criteria to ensure a safe flight. Using the insulated freezer, sample integrity was maintained throughout the flight, and a safe weight-and-balance trip was achieved for the team and supplies. The team obtained complete T2D screening data on 88% of children in the remote community.

Impact of the Northern Studies Stream and Rehabilitation Studies programs on recruitment and retention to rural and remote practice: 2002-2010.

PubMed

Winn, Christopher S; Chisholm, Brock A; Hummelbrunner, Jackie A; Tryssenaar, Joyce; Kandler, Liane S

2015-01-01

A shortage of rehabilitation practitioners in rural and/or remote (rural/remote) practice areas has a negative impact on healthcare delivery. In Northern Ontario, Canada, a shortage of rehabilitation professionals (audiology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology) has been well documented. In response to this shortage, the Northern Studies Stream (NSS) and Rehabilitation Studies (RS) programs were developed with the mandate to increase the recruitment and retention of rehabilitation professionals to Northern Ontario. However, the number of NSS or RS program graduates who choose to live and work in Northern Ontario or other rural/remote areas, and the extent to which participation in these programs or other factors contributed to their decision, is largely unknown. Between 2002 and 2010, a total of 641 individuals participated in the NSS and RS programs and were therefore eligible to participate in the study. Current contact information was obtained for 536 of these individuals (83.6%) who were eligible to participate in the study. An internet-hosted survey was administered in June of 2011. The survey consisted of 48 questions focusing on personal and professional demographics, postgraduate practice and experience, educational preparation, and factors affecting recruitment and retention decisions. A total of 280 respondents completed the survey (response rate 52%). Of these, 95 (33.9%) reported having chosen rural or remote practice following graduation. Multiple factors predictive of recruitment and retention to rural/remote practice were identified. Of particular note was that individuals raised in a rural or remote community were 3.3 times more likely to work in a rural or remote community after graduation. Recruitment was strongly associated with length of time immersed in rural/remote education settings and to participation in the NSS academic semester. Job satisfaction, professional networking opportunities, and rural lifestyle options were identified as important factors for retention in rural/remote practice areas. The NSS and RS programs have experienced encouraging recruitment outcomes in the past 10 years. Recruitment and retention of rehabilitation therapists to rural/remote locations appears to be positively and significantly affected by the origins of the health professional. The completion of both academic and clinical education in a rural/remote setting and longer duration of rural/remote education were positively associated with an increased likelihood of choosing to practice in a rural/remote area following entry to practice. These findings have potential implications for admission criteria to rehabilitation education programs with a rural curriculum focus as well as implications for postgraduate mentorship programs and employers in rural/remote areas.

The Measurement of Unsteady Surface Pressure Using a Remote Microphone Probe.

PubMed

Guan, Yaoyi; Berntsen, Carl R; Bilka, Michael J; Morris, Scott C

2016-12-03

Microphones are widely applied to measure pressure fluctuations at the walls of solid bodies immersed in turbulent flows. Turbulent motions with various characteristic length scales can result in pressure fluctuations over a wide frequency range. This property of turbulence requires sensing devices to have sufficient sensitivity over a wide range of frequencies. Furthermore, the small characteristic length scales of turbulent structures require small sensing areas and the ability to place the sensors in very close proximity to each other. The complex geometries of the solid bodies, often including large surface curvatures or discontinuities, require the probe to have the ability to be set up in very limited spaces. The development of a remote microphone probe, which is inexpensive, consistent, and repeatable, is described in the present communication. It allows for the measurement of pressure fluctuations with high spatial resolution and dynamic response over a wide range of frequencies. The probe is small enough to be placed within the interior of typical wind tunnel models. The remote microphone probe includes a small, rigid, and hollow tube that penetrates the model surface to form the sensing area. This tube is connected to a standard microphone, at some distance away from the surface, using a "T" junction. An experimental method is introduced to determine the dynamic response of the remote microphone probe. In addition, an analytical method for determining the dynamic response is described. The analytical method can be applied in the design stage to determine the dimensions and properties of the RMP components.

Remote Sensing of Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation: A Review from the Perspective of Remote Sensing Specialists

PubMed Central

Wang, Kai; Franklin, Steven E.; Guo, Xulin; Cattet, Marc

2010-01-01

Remote sensing, the science of obtaining information via noncontact recording, has swept the fields of ecology, biodiversity and conservation (EBC). Several quality review papers have contributed to this field. However, these papers often discuss the issues from the standpoint of an ecologist or a biodiversity specialist. This review focuses on the spaceborne remote sensing of EBC from the perspective of remote sensing specialists, i.e., it is organized in the context of state-of-the-art remote sensing technology, including instruments and techniques. Herein, the instruments to be discussed consist of high spatial resolution, hyperspectral, thermal infrared, small-satellite constellation, and LIDAR sensors; and the techniques refer to image classification, vegetation index (VI), inversion algorithm, data fusion, and the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS). PMID:22163432

Remote sensing of ecology, biodiversity and conservation: a review from the perspective of remote sensing specialists.

PubMed

Wang, Kai; Franklin, Steven E; Guo, Xulin; Cattet, Marc

2010-01-01

Remote sensing, the science of obtaining information via noncontact recording, has swept the fields of ecology, biodiversity and conservation (EBC). Several quality review papers have contributed to this field. However, these papers often discuss the issues from the standpoint of an ecologist or a biodiversity specialist. This review focuses on the spaceborne remote sensing of EBC from the perspective of remote sensing specialists, i.e., it is organized in the context of state-of-the-art remote sensing technology, including instruments and techniques. Herein, the instruments to be discussed consist of high spatial resolution, hyperspectral, thermal infrared, small-satellite constellation, and LIDAR sensors; and the techniques refer to image classification, vegetation index (VI), inversion algorithm, data fusion, and the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS).

Small Colleges, Big Missions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, W. A., Jr., Ed.

This monograph by the members of the American Association of Community Colleges' Commission on Small and/or Rural Community Colleges shares small and rural community college experiences. In "Leaders through Community Service," Jacqueline D. Taylor provides a model for how small and rural community colleges can be involved in building leaders…

Connecting Coastal Communities with Ocean Science: A Look at Ocean Sense and the Inclusion of Place-based Indigenous Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLean, M. A.; Brown, J.; Hoeberechts, M.

2016-02-01

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), an initiative of the University of Victoria, develops, operates, and maintains cabled ocean observatory systems. Technologies developed on the world-leading NEPTUNE and VENUS observatories have been adapted for small coastal installations called "community observatories," which enable community members to directly monitor conditions in the local ocean environment. In 2014, ONC pioneered an innovative educational program, Ocean Sense: Local observations, global connections, which introduces students and teachers to the technologies installed on community observatories. The program introduces middle and high school students to research methods in biology, oceanography and ocean engineering through hands-on activities. Ocean Sense includes a variety of resources and opportunities to excite students and spark curiosity about the ocean environment. The program encourages students to connect their local observations to global ocean processes and the observations of students in other geographic regions. The connection to place and local relevance of the program is further enhanced through an emphasis on Indigenous and place-based knowledge. ONC is working with coastal Indigenous communities in a collaborative process to include local knowledge, culture, and language in Ocean Sense materials. For this process to meaningful and culturally appropriate, ONC is relying on the guidance and oversight of Indigenous community educators and knowledge holders. Ocean Sense also includes opportunities for Indigenous youth and teachers in remote communities to connect in person, including an annual Ocean Science Symposium and professional development events for teachers. Building a program which embraces multiple perspectives is effective both in making ocean science more relevant to Indigenous students and in linking Indigenous knowledge and place-based knowledge to ocean science.

Algal Accessory Pigment Detection Using AVIRIS Image-Derived Spectral Radiance Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richardson, Laurie L.; Ambrosia, Vincent G.

1996-01-01

Visual and derivative analyses of AVIRIS spectral data can be used to detect algal accessory pigments in aquatic communities. This capability extends the use of remote sensing for the study of aquatic ecosystems by allowing detection of taxonomically significant pigment signatures which yield information about the type of algae present. Such information allows remote sensing-based assessment of aquatic ecosystem health, as in the detection of nuisance blooms of cyanobacteria or toxic blooms of dinoflagellates. Remote sensing of aquatic systems has traditionally focused on quantification of chlorophyll a, a photoreactive (and light-harvesting) pigment which is common to all algae as well as cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae). Due to the ubiquitousness of this pigment within algae, chl a is routinely measured to estimate algal biomass both during ground-truthing and using various airborne or satellite based sensors, including AVIRIS. Within the remote sensing and aquatic sciences communities, ongoing research has been performed to detect algal accessory pigments for assessment of algal population composition. This research is based on the fact that many algal accessory pigments are taxonomically significant, and all are spectrally unique. Aquatic scientists have been refining pigment analysis techniques, primarily high performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC, to detect specific pigments as a time-saving alternative to individual algal cell identifications and counts. Remote sensing scientists are investigating the use of pigment signatures to construct pigment libraries analogous to mineral spectral libraries used in geological remote sensing applications. The accessory pigment approach has been used successfully in remote sensing using data from the Thematic Mapper, low-altitude, multiple channel scanners, field spectroradiometers and the AVIRIS hyperspectral scanner. Due to spectral and spatial resolution capabilities, AVIRIS is the sensor of choice for such studies. We present here our results on detection of algal accessory pigments using AVIRIS data.

Remote Sensing Information Sciences Research Group: Santa Barbara Information Sciences Research Group, year 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, John E.; Smith, Terence; Star, Jeffrey L.

1987-01-01

Information Sciences Research Group (ISRG) research continues to focus on improving the type, quantity, and quality of information which can be derived from remotely sensed data. Particular focus in on the needs of the remote sensing research and application science community which will be served by the Earth Observing System (EOS) and Space Station, including associated polar and co-orbiting platforms. The areas of georeferenced information systems, machine assisted information extraction from image data, artificial intelligence and both natural and cultural vegetation analysis and modeling research will be expanded.

RNA design rules from a massive open laboratory

PubMed Central

Lee, Jeehyung; Kladwang, Wipapat; Lee, Minjae; Cantu, Daniel; Azizyan, Martin; Kim, Hanjoo; Limpaecher, Alex; Gaikwad, Snehal; Yoon, Sungroh; Treuille, Adrien; Das, Rhiju

2014-01-01

Self-assembling RNA molecules present compelling substrates for the rational interrogation and control of living systems. However, imperfect in silico models—even at the secondary structure level—hinder the design of new RNAs that function properly when synthesized. Here, we present a unique and potentially general approach to such empirical problems: the Massive Open Laboratory. The EteRNA project connects 37,000 enthusiasts to RNA design puzzles through an online interface. Uniquely, EteRNA participants not only manipulate simulated molecules but also control a remote experimental pipeline for high-throughput RNA synthesis and structure mapping. We show herein that the EteRNA community leveraged dozens of cycles of continuous wet laboratory feedback to learn strategies for solving in vitro RNA design problems on which automated methods fail. The top strategies—including several previously unrecognized negative design rules—were distilled by machine learning into an algorithm, EteRNABot. Over a rigorous 1-y testing phase, both the EteRNA community and EteRNABot significantly outperformed prior algorithms in a dozen RNA secondary structure design tests, including the creation of dendrimer-like structures and scaffolds for small molecule sensors. These results show that an online community can carry out large-scale experiments, hypothesis generation, and algorithm design to create practical advances in empirical science. PMID:24469816

Mars Infrared Spectroscopy: From Theory and the Laboratory To Field Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirkland, Laurel (Editor); Mustard, John (Editor); McAfee, John (Editor); Hapke, Bruce (Editor); Ramsey, Michael (Editor)

2002-01-01

The continuity and timely implementation of the Mars exploration strategy relies heavily on the ability of the planetary community to interpret infrared spectral data. However, the increasing mission rate, data volume, and data variety, combined with the small number of spectroscopists within the planetary community, will require a coordinated community effort for effective and timely interpretation of the newly acquired and planned data sets. Relevant spectroscopic instruments include the 1996 TES, 2001 THEMIS, 2003 Pancam, 2003 Mini-TES, 2003 Mars Express OMEGA, 2003 Mars Express PFS, and 2005 CFUSM. In light of that, leaders of the Mars spectral community met June 4-6 to address the question: What terrestrial theoretical, laboratory, and field studies are most needed to best support timely interpretations of current and planned visible infrared spectrometer data sets, in light of the Mars Program goals? A primary goal of the spectral community is to provide a reservoir of information to enhance and expand the exploration of Mars. Spectroscopy has a long history of providing the fundamental compositional discoveries in the solar system, from atmospheric constituents to surface mineralogy, from earth-based to spacecraft-based observations. However, such spectroscopic compositional discoveries, especially surface mineralogies, have usually come after long periods of detailed integration of remote observations, laboratory analyses, and field measurements. Spectroscopic information of surfaces is particularly complex and often is confounded by interference of broad, overlapping absorption features as well as confusing issues of mixtures, coatings, and grain size effects. Thus some spectroscopic compositional discoveries have come only after many years of research. However, we are entering an era of Mars exploration with missions carrying sophisticated spectrometers launching about every 2 years. It is critical that each mission provide answers to relevant questions to optimize the success of the next mission. That will not occur effectively unless the spectroscopic remote sensing data can be processed and understood on an approximate 2-year rate. Our current knowledge of spectral properties of materials and confounding effects of the natural environment are note well enough understood for the accurate interpretations needed for such ambitious and time critical exploration objectives. This workshop focused on identify ing critical gaps in moving the field towards the goal of rapid and accurate analysis and interpretation.

Oral health interventions in Australian Aboriginal communities: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Patel, J; Durey, A; Hearn, L; Slack-Smith, L M

2017-09-01

Aboriginal Australians experience significant disparities in oral health with even poorer outcomes reported in rural and remote areas. The high rates of preventable dental disease in Aboriginal communities are a serious concern from a social standpoint and in terms of service provision and health care expenditure. In this review, primary research literature was comprehensively reviewed. Papers were selected if they reported designing or implementing an intervention or oral health programme specific to the needs of Aboriginal communities. Twenty-one publications fulfilled the inclusion criteria with 19 different interventions being described. Interventions were categorized using a classification adapted from the work of Whitehead (2002). The review identified interventions that aimed to reduce early childhood caries, increase services to remote communities, develop the role of Aboriginal health workers, improve oral health literacy, establish water fluoridation and provide periodontal therapy. Implementing successful oral health interventions in Aboriginal communities is a challenge that is compounded by the complex interplay between psychosocial and cultural determinants. Even interventions that follow a rigorous and consultative design have a high failure rate in Aboriginal communities if upstream determinants of health are not adequately understood and addressed. © 2016 Australian Dental Association.

Past Activeness, Solidarity, and Local Development Efforts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zekeri, Andrew A.; And Others

1994-01-01

Draws upon community field theory and human ecology and uses data from 120 rural Pennsylvania school districts to examine the relative contributions of past community actions, development of solidarity, and ecological variables (socioeconomic status, remoteness, previous industrialization, and percentage of residents commuting to work) to the…

Needs, Acceptability, and Value of Humanitarian Medical Assistance in Remote Peruvian Amazon Riverine Communities

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Juan F.; Halsey, Eric S.; Bayer, Angela M.; Beltran, Martin; Razuri, Hugo R.; Velasquez, Daniel E.; Cama, Vitaliano A.; Graf, Paul C. F.; Quispe, Antonio M.; Maves, Ryan C.; Montgomery, Joel M.; Sanders, John W.; Lescano, Andres G.

2015-01-01

Much debate exists regarding the need, acceptability, and value of humanitarian medical assistance. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 457 children under 5 years from four remote riverine communities in the Peruvian Amazon and collected anthropometric measures, blood samples (1–4 years), and stool samples. Focus groups and key informant interviews assessed perspectives regarding medical aid delivered by foreigners. The prevalence of stunting, anemia, and intestinal parasites was 20%, 37%, and 62%, respectively. Infection with multiple parasites, usually geohelminths, was detected in 41% of children. The prevalence of intestinal parasites both individual and polyparasitism increased with age. Participants from smaller communities less exposed to foreigners expressed lack of trust and fear of them. However, participants from all communities were positive about foreigners visiting to provide health support. Prevalent health needs such as parasitic infections and anemia may be addressed by short-term medical interventions. There is a perceived openness to and acceptability of medical assistance delivered by foreign personnel. PMID:25846293

Detection and Monitoring of Small-Scale Mining Operations in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Using Multi-Temporal, Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walther, Christian; Frei, Michaela

2017-04-01

Mining of so-called "conflict minerals" is often related with small-scale mining activities. The here discussed activities are located in forested areas in the eastern DRC, which are often remote, difficult to access and insecure for traditional geological field inspection. In order to accelerate their CTC (Certified Trading Chain)-certification process, remote sensing data are used for detection and monitoring of these small-scale mining operations. This requires a high image acquisition frequency due to mining site relocations and for compensation of year-round high cloud coverage, especially for optical data evaluation. Freely available medium resolution optical data of Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 as well as SAR data of Sentinel-1 are used for detecting small mining targets with a minimum size of approximately 0.5 km2. The developed method enables a robust multi-temporal detection of mining sites, monitoring of mining site spatio-temporal relocations and environmental changes. Since qualitative and quantitative comparable results are generated, the followed change detection approach is objective and transparent and may push the certification process forward.

The value of survival analyses for evidence-based rural medical workforce planning.

PubMed

Russell, Deborah J; Humphreys, John S; McGrail, Matthew R; Cameron, W Ian; Williams, Peter J

2013-12-11

Globally, abundant opportunities exist for policymakers to improve the accessibility of rural and remote populations to primary health care through improving workforce retention. This paper aims to identify and quantify the most important factors associated with rural and remote Australian family physician turnover, and to demonstrate how evidence generated by survival analysis of health workforce data can inform rural workforce policy making. A secondary analysis of longitudinal data collected by the New South Wales (NSW) Rural Doctors Network for all family physicians working in rural or remote NSW between January 1(st) 2003 and December 31(st) 2012 was performed. The Prentice, Williams and Peterson statistical model for survival analysis was used to identify and quantify risk factors for rural NSW family physician turnover. Multivariate modelling revealed a higher (2.65-fold) risk of family physician turnover in small, remote locations compared to that in small closely settled locations. Family physicians who graduated from countries other than Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America, New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada also had a higher (1.45-fold) risk of turnover compared to Australian trained family physicians. This was after adjusting for the effects of conditional registration. Procedural skills and public hospital admitting rights were associated with a lower risk of turnover. These risks translate to a predicted median survival of 11 years for Australian-trained family physician non-proceduralists with hospital admitting rights working in small coastal closely settled locations compared to 3 years for family physicians in remote locations. This study provides rigorous empirical evidence of the strong association between population size and geographical location and the retention of family physicians in rural and remote NSW. This has important policy ramifications since retention grants for rural and remote family physicians in Australia are currently based on a geographical 'remoteness' classification rather than population size. In addition, this study demonstrates how survival analysis assists health workforce planning, such as through generating evidence to assist in benchmarking 'reasonable' lengths of practice in different geographic settings that might guide service obligation requirements.

The Children's Oral Health Initiative: An intervention to address the challenges of dental caries in early childhood in Canada's First Nation and Inuit communities.

PubMed

Mathu-Muju, Kavita R; McLeod, James; Walker, Mary Lou; Chartier, Martin; Harrison, Rosamund L

2016-08-15

The objective of the Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI) is to increase access to preventive oral health services provided to First Nations and Inuit (FN/I) children living on federal reserves and in remote communities. COHI targets preschool children; 5-7-year-olds; pregnant women; and parents/caregivers in FN/I communities. The program was piloted in 2004 by Health Canada and is potentially available to all FN/I communities. However, the community must consent to the program's implementation and agree to support a community member to be trained as a COHI aide. Dental therapists and hygienists screen eligible children, apply fluoride varnish and sealants to children's teeth, and stabilize active dental caries with glass ionomer. An innovation was the development of a community oral health worker, the COHI Aide. The COHI Aide is a community member who serves as an advocate for preventive oral health in the community and provides instruction to children, parent/caregivers and expectant mothers in preventing dental caries. COHI was piloted in 41 communities in 2004. By 2014, the program had expanded to 320 FN/I communities, which represents 55% of all eligible FN/I communities. In 2012, 23,085 children had received COHI preventive oral health services. The results demonstrate COHI's success as a preventive oral health care delivery model in remote communities. Implementation and delivery of preventive oral health services has been enhanced by the sustained presence of a community-based COHI Aide.

Environmental Impact of Tourism and Air Transport on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

The United Nations General Assembly recognized that many small island developing countries were confronted with compelling factors such as their smallness in size, susceptibility and vulnerability to natural disasters, remoteness of access and geogra...

Ibobbly mobile health intervention for suicide prevention in Australian Indigenous youth: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Tighe, Joseph; Shand, Fiona; Ridani, Rebecca; Mackinnon, Andrew; De La Mata, Nicole; Christensen, Helen

2017-01-27

Rates of youth suicide in Australian Indigenous communities are 4 times the national youth average and demand innovative interventions. Historical and persistent disadvantage is coupled with multiple barriers to help seeking. Mobile phone applications offer the opportunity to deliver therapeutic interventions directly to individuals in remote communities. The pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help mobile app (ibobbly) targeting suicidal ideation, depression, psychological distress and impulsivity among Indigenous youth in remote Australia. Remote and very remote communities in the Kimberley region of North Western Australia. Indigenous Australians aged 18-35 years. 61 participants were recruited and randomised to receive either an app (ibobbly) which delivered acceptance-based therapy over 6 weeks or were waitlisted for 6 weeks and then received the app for the following 6 weeks. The primary outcome was the Depressive Symptom Inventory-Suicidality Subscale (DSI-SS) to identify the frequency and intensity of suicidal ideation in the previous weeks. Secondary outcomes were the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11). Although preintervention and postintervention changes on the (DSI-SS) were significant in the ibobbly arm (t=2.40; df=58.1; p=0.0195), these differences were not significant compared with the waitlist arm (t=1.05; df=57.8; p=0.2962). However, participants in the ibobbly group showed substantial and statistically significant reductions in PHQ-9 and K10 scores compared with waitlist. No differences were observed in impulsivity. Waitlist participants improved after 6 weeks of app use. Apps for suicide prevention reduce distress and depression but do not show significant reductions on suicide ideation or impulsivity. A feasible and acceptable means of lowering symptoms for mental health disorders in remote communities is via appropriately designed self-help apps. ACTRN12613000104752. 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/.

UAS remote sensing for precision agriculture: An independent assessment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are recognized as potentially important remote-sensing platforms for precision agriculture. However, research is required to determine which sensors and data processing methods are required to use sUAS in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Oregon State U...

Language, Culture and Access to Mathematics: A Case of One Remote Aboriginal Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Robyn

2015-01-01

For many students, coming to learn mathematics is as much about the pedagogical relay through which concepts are conveyed as it is about the mathematics per se. This relay comprises social, cultural and linguistic norms as well as the mathematical discourse. In this study, I outline the practices of one remote school and how the teaching practices…

"XSEL" Virtual Selective High School Provision: Delivering Academically Selective Secondary Curriculum in Regional, Rural and Remote NSW

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furney, Ann-Marie; McDiarmid, Carole

2014-01-01

This paper describes the development and implementation of the "xsel" program in Western NSW. The program supports identified high school students from regional, rural and remote communities to access the study of English, maths and science at an academically selective level. A program review was undertaken during 2012 using a structured…

Remote control of astronomical instruments via the Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashley, M. C. B.; Brooks, P. W.; Lloyd, J. P.

1996-01-01

A software package called ERIC is described that provides a framework for allowing scientific instruments to be remotely controlled via the Internet. The package has been used to control four diverse astronomical instruments, and is now being made freely available to the community. For a description of ERIC's capabilities, and how to obtain a copy, see the conclusion to this paper.

Pride and performance: evaluation challenges of a multimedia and information technologies project in remote Aboriginal Australia.

PubMed

Hunter, Ernest; Travers, Helen; Pelham, Steven; Gibson, Julie; Hermawan, Grace; Austin, Corey

2009-08-01

This paper explores an approach to an evaluation challenge: to demonstrate the impact of an initiative drawing on innovative use of information/multimedia technology and performance to address perceived social needs within a disadvantaged, remote Indigenous Australian community. The approach is described and preliminary data are presented supporting the importance of local production and participation.

Continuing fire regimes in remote forests of Grand Canyon National Park

Treesearch

Peter Z. Fule; Thomas A. Heinlein; W. Wallace Covington; Margaret H. Moore

2000-01-01

Ponderosa pine forests in which frequent fire regimes continue up to the present would be invaluable points of reference for assessing natural ecological attributes. A few remote forests on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park come close to this ideal: never-harvested, distant from human communities and fire suppression resources, and with several low-intensity...

Applications of earth resources technology to human needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinberger, C.

1975-01-01

The application of remote sensing technology in the fields of health and education is examined. The technology and accomplishments of ATS 6 and the development of a nationwide telecommunications system to meet the varied needs of the health and education communities are among the topics discussed. The economic and social aspects of utilizing and benefiting from remote sensing technology are stressed.

Tools and Services for Working with Multiple Land Remote Sensing Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krehbiel, C.; Friesz, A.; Harriman, L.; Quenzer, R.; Impecoven, K.; Maiersperger, T.

2016-12-01

The availability of increasingly large and diverse satellite remote sensing datasets provides both an opportunity and a challenge across broad Earth science research communities. On one hand, the extensive assortment of available data offer unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of Earth science and enable data use across a multitude of science disciplines. On the other hand, increasingly complex formats, data structures, and metadata can be an obstacle to data use for the broad user community that is interested in incorporating remote sensing Earth science data into their research. NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) provides easy to use Python notebook tutorials for services such as accessing land remote sensing data from the LP DAAC Data Pool and interpreting data quality information from MODIS. We use examples to demonstrate the capabilities of the Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS), such as spatially and spectrally subsetting data, decoding valuable quality information, and exploring initial analysis results within the user interface. We also show data recipes for R and Python scripts that help users process ASTER L1T and ASTER Global Emissivity Datasets.

Rural and remote speech-language pathology service inequities: An Australian human rights dilemma.

PubMed

Jones, Debra M; McAllister, Lindy; Lyle, David M

2018-02-01

Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right for all Australians. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges the right to freedom of opinion and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Capacities for self-expression and effective communication underpin the realisation of these fundamental human rights. For rural and remote Australian children this realisation is compromised by complex disadvantages and inequities that contribute to communication delays, inequity of access to essential speech-language pathology services and poorer later life outcomes. Localised solutions to the provision of civically engaged, accessible, acceptable and sustainable speech-language pathology services within rural and remote Australian contexts are required if we are to make substantive human rights gains. However, civically engaged and sustained healthcare can significantly challenge traditional professionalised perspectives on how best to design and implement speech-language pathology services that seek to address rural and remote communication needs and access inequities. A failure to engage these communities in the identification of childhood communication delays and solutions to address these delays, ultimately denies children, families and communities of their human rights for healthcare access, self-expression, self-dignity and meaningful inclusion within Australian society.

Evaluating an HIV and AIDS Community Training Partnership Program in five diamond mining communities in South Africa.

PubMed

Rispel, L C; Peltzer, K; Nkomo, N; Molomo, B

2010-11-01

In 2006, De Beers Consolidated Diamond Mines in South Africa entered into a partnership with the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communications to implement an HIV and AIDS Community Training Partnership Program (CTPP), initially in five diamond mining areas in three provinces of South Africa. The aim of CTPP was to improve HIV knowledge and to contribute to positive behavior changes in the targeted populations. This paper describes the evaluation of the CTPP, one year after implementation. The evaluation combined qualitative interviews with key informants and trainers and a post-intervention survey of 142 community members. The successes of the CTPP included capacity building of trainers through an innovative training approach and HIV and AIDS knowledge transfer to community trainers and targeted communities in remote mining towns. The Soul City edutainment brand is popular and emerged as a major reason for success. Challenges included insufficient attention paid to contextual factors, resource constraints and the lack of a monitoring and evaluation framework. Independent evaluations are useful to strengthen program implementation. In remote areas and resource constraint settings, partnerships between non-governmental organisations and corporations may be required for successful community HIV and AIDS initiatives. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TB questions, East Kwaio answers: community-based participatory research in a remote area of Solomon Islands.

PubMed

Massey, P D; Wakageni, J; Kekeubata, E; Maena'adi, J; Laete'esafi, J; Waneagea, J; Fangaria, G; Jimuru, C; Houaimane, M; Talana, J; MacLaren, D; Speare, R

2012-01-01

East Kwaio is a remote region on the island of Malaita, Solomon Islands. Atoifi Adventist Hospital (the Hospital) is the only hospital and tuberculosis (TB) services provider in the region. If people come to the Hospital with TB, they are usually admitted for the two-month intensive phase of treatment as there are no community-based TB services. Most people walk or travel by canoe to the Hospital as there are no roads. East Kwaio is known to have high rates of TB; however, it has a low case detection rate and low treatment completion. The aims of this study were to explore why people with TB, especially from the mountain areas, present to the Hospital so late in their illness or do not present at all. The study was part of a larger project to strengthen the research capacity of local health workers and community leaders, supported by visiting researchers from Australia. Semi-structured interviews with TB patients, a focus group of key informants and direct interaction with a community with a history of TB were used to explore reasons why people present to the Hospital late in their TB illness. Four interviews and a focus group of 12 key informants were conducted and a mountain hamlet with a history of TB was visited. The results represent the data from the interviews and the focus group. The time delay in presenting to the Hospital from when participants first became unwell ranged between two and three years. In the mountain hamlet, two additional people with probable TB were seen who had not presented to the Hospital during illnesses of five and nine months. Reasons for delays included: seeking care from traditional healers; the challenge of accessing health services due to distance, cost and cultural issues different from the Hospital's worldview; social isolation when in hospital; and being old so not having long to live. Delays in diagnosis of people with TB will increase the risk of transmission to family and through hamlets and villages. This study has led to plans being developed to build a more culturally appropriate TB ward and community treatment program. The study has identified TB questions that need East Kwaio answers. It has shown that a small project can inform the development of important changes to TB services, such as the redevelopment and relocation of the TB ward. To enable TB control, the local health services need to develop an understanding of, and appropriately engage with, traditional beliefs that influence how people interact with Hospital TB treatment and management. This is the case even if the beliefs are based on a worldview different than that of the health service providers. Ongoing operational research is required into TB diagnosis and treatment services and the many factors that contribute to the high TB burden in this remote area.

Hybrid Simulator

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

Trujillo, David J.; Sridharan, Srikesh; Weinstock, Irvin

HybSim (short for Hybrid Simulator) is a flexible, easy to use screening tool that allows the user to quanti the technical and economic benefits of installing a village hybrid generating system and simulates systems with any combination of —Diesel generator sets —Photovoltaic arrays -Wind Turbines and -Battery energy storage systems Most village systems (or small population sites such as villages, remote military bases, small communities, independent or isolated buildings or centers) depend on diesel generation systems for their source of energy. HybSim allows the user to determine other "sources" of energy that can greatly reduce the dollar to kilo-watt hourmore » ratio. Supported by the DOE, Energy Storage Program, HybSim was initially developed to help analyze the benefits of energy storage systems in Alaskan villages. Soon after its development, other sources of energy were added providing the user with a greater range of analysis opportunities and providing the village with potentially added savings. In addition to village systems, HybSim has generated interest for use from military institutions in energy provisions and USAID for international village analysis.« less

Remote sensing inputs to landscape models which predict future spatial land use patterns for hydrologic models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, L. D.; Tom, C.; Nualchawee, K.

1977-01-01

A tropical forest area of Northern Thailand provided a test case of the application of the approach in more natural surroundings. Remote sensing imagery subjected to proper computer analysis has been shown to be a very useful means of collecting spatial data for the science of hydrology. Remote sensing products provide direct input to hydrologic models and practical data bases for planning large and small-scale hydrologic developments. Combining the available remote sensing imagery together with available map information in the landscape model provides a basis for substantial improvements in these applications.

Resilience in Remote Communities | Integrated Energy Solutions | NREL

Science.gov Websites

community stakeholders, we develop and implement comprehensive road maps for resilience through: Strategic issues Experience developing and deploying integrated energy solutions Specialized facilities and expert Affordable Power in the Developing World Study Shows Philippine Power System Can Achieve 30% and 50

LAND COVER ASSESSMENT OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE BOSAWAS REGION OF NICARAGUA

EPA Science Inventory

Data derived from remotely sensed images were utilized to conduct land cover assessments of three indigenous communities in northern Nicaragua. Historical land use, present land cover and land cover change processes were all identified through the use of a geographic informat...

Preliminary results on the control of Aedes spp. in a remote Guatemalan community vulnerable to dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus: community participation and use of low-cost ecological ovillantas for mosquito control

PubMed Central

Ulibarri, Gerard; Betanzos, Angel; Betanzos, Mireya; Rojas, Juan Jacobo

2017-01-01

Objective: To study the effectiveness of an integrated intervention of health worker training, a low-cost ecological mosquito ovitrap, and community engagement on Aedes spp. mosquito control over 10 months in 2015 in an urban remote community in Guatemala at risk of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus transmission. Methods: We implemented a three-component integrated intervention consisting of: web-based training of local health personnel in vector control, cluster-randomized assignment of an ecological modified ovitrap (ovillantas: ovi=egg, llanta=tire) or standard ovitraps to capture Aedes spp. mosquito eggs (no efforts have been taken to determine the exact Aedes species at this moment), and community engagement to promote participation of community members and health personnel in the understanding and maintenance of ovitraps for mosquito control. The intervention was implemented in local collaboration with Guatemala’s  Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Programme, and in international collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico. Findings: Eighty percent of the 25 local health personnel enrolled in the training programme received accreditation of their improved knowledge of vector control. When ovillantas were used in a cluster of ovitraps (several in proximity), significantly more eggs were trapped by  ecological ovillantas than standard ovitraps over the 10 month (42 week) study period (t=5.2577; p<0.05). Repetitive filtering and recycling of the attractant solution (or water) kept the ovillanta clean, free from algae growth. Among both community members and health workers, the levels of knowledge, interest, and participation in community mosquito control and trapping increased. Recommendations for enhancing and sustaining community mosquito control were identified. Conclusion: Our three-component integrated intervention proved beneficial to this remote community at risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. The combination of training of health workers, cluster use of low-cost ecological ovillanta to destroy the second generation of mosquitoes, and community engagement ensured the project met local needs and fostered collaboration and participation of the community, which can help improve sustainability. The ovillanta intervention and methodology may be modified to target other species such as Culex, should it be established that such mosquitoes carry Zika virus in addition to Aedes. PMID:28105304

Remote Electronic Examinations: Student Experiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Peter; Price, Blaine; Paine, Carina; Richards, Mike

2002-01-01

Presents findings from a small-scale experiment investigating the presentation of a synchronous, Web-based remote electronic exam in a distance education course. Discusses student experiences based on a questionnaire; time pressures; technical issues; differences between the structure of an electronic exam and a paper-based exam; and future work,…

Remote Sensing Protocols for Parameterizing an Individual, Tree-Based, Forest Growth and Yield Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

Leaf-Off Tree Crowns in Small Footprint, High Sampling Density LIDAR Data from Eastern Deciduous Forests in North America.” Remote Sensing of...William A. 2003. “Crown-Diameter Prediction Models for 87 Species of Stand- Grown Trees in the Eastern United States.” Southern Journal of Applied...ER D C/ CE RL T R- 14 -1 8 Base Facilities Environmental Quality Remote Sensing Protocols for Parameterizing an Individual, Tree -Based

Community size as a factor in health partnerships in community parks and recreation, 2007.

PubMed

Payne, Laura L; Zimmermann, Jo An M; Mowen, Andrew J; Orsega-Smith, Elizabeth; Godbey, Geoffrey C

2013-07-25

Although partnerships between park and recreation agencies and health agencies are prevalent, little research has examined partnership characteristics and effectiveness among communities of different sizes. The objective of this study was to determine whether park and recreation leaders' perceptions of partnership characteristics, effectiveness, and outcomes vary by community size. A web-based survey was completed in 2007 by 1,217 National Recreation and Park Association members. Community size was divided into 4 categories: very small, small, medium, and large. Questions measured agencies' recognition of the need for partnerships, their level of experience, and the effectiveness and outcomes of partnerships. Larger communities were significantly more likely to recognize the need for and have more experience with partnerships than smaller communities. Very small and large communities partnered significantly more often with senior services, nonprofit health promotion agencies, and public health agencies than did small and medium ones. Large and small communities were significantly more likely than very small and medium communities to agree that their decision making in partnerships is inclusive and that they have clearly defined goals and objectives. Large communities were significantly more likely than very small communities to report that their partnership helped leverage resources, make policy changes, meet their mission statement, and link to funding opportunities. Community size shapes partnership practices, effectiveness, and outcomes. Very small communities are disadvantaged in developing and managing health partnerships. Increasing education, training, and funding opportunities for small and rural park and recreation agencies may enable them to more effectively partner with organizations to address community health concerns.

Community Size as a Factor in Health Partnerships in Community Parks and Recreation, 2007

PubMed Central

Zimmermann, Jo An M.; Mowen, Andrew J.; Orsega-Smith, Elizabeth; Godbey, Geoffrey C.

2013-01-01

Introduction Although partnerships between park and recreation agencies and health agencies are prevalent, little research has examined partnership characteristics and effectiveness among communities of different sizes. The objective of this study was to determine whether park and recreation leaders’ perceptions of partnership characteristics, effectiveness, and outcomes vary by community size. Methods A web-based survey was completed in 2007 by 1,217 National Recreation and Park Association members. Community size was divided into 4 categories: very small, small, medium, and large. Questions measured agencies’ recognition of the need for partnerships, their level of experience, and the effectiveness and outcomes of partnerships. Results Larger communities were significantly more likely to recognize the need for and have more experience with partnerships than smaller communities. Very small and large communities partnered significantly more often with senior services, nonprofit health promotion agencies, and public health agencies than did small and medium ones. Large and small communities were significantly more likely than very small and medium communities to agree that their decision making in partnerships is inclusive and that they have clearly defined goals and objectives. Large communities were significantly more likely than very small communities to report that their partnership helped leverage resources, make policy changes, meet their mission statement, and link to funding opportunities. Conclusion Community size shapes partnership practices, effectiveness, and outcomes. Very small communities are disadvantaged in developing and managing health partnerships. Increasing education, training, and funding opportunities for small and rural park and recreation agencies may enable them to more effectively partner with organizations to address community health concerns. PMID:23886043

Review of a Proposal to Convert the Needles Outreach Operation to a State-Approved Educational Center. Commission Report 06-02

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2006

2006-01-01

In this report, the Commission considers a proposal by the Palo Verde Community College District to convert the Needles outreach operation to a state-approved off-campus educational center of Palo Verde Community College. The proposal responds to the district's need to enhance educational services in the extremely remote community of Needles and…

No germs on me: a social marketing campaign to promote hand-washing with soap in remote Australian Aboriginal communities.

PubMed

McDonald, Elizabeth; Slavin, Nicola; Bailie, Ross; Schobben, Xavier

2011-03-01

A social marketing campaign promoting hand-washing with soap was implemented to reduce the high burden of infection experienced by Australian Aboriginal children living in remote communities. Epidemiological evidence of effect and other evidence were used to identify the hygiene intervention and health promotion approach for the project. We drew on the findings of: (i) a systematic literature review to identify the intervention for which there is strong effect in similar populations and contexts; and (ii) a narrative literature review to determine our health promotion approach. This process provided practitioners with confidence and understanding so they could address a complex problem in a politically and otherwise sensitive context.

Quality of cyclone early warning services: a case study in remote off-shore island in Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashrafi, Z. M.; Mahmud, S.; Mahbub, A. Q. M.

2015-12-01

Geographic location, the unique natural setting of the country and its tropical monsoon climate modify and regulate the climatic condition, makes Bangladesh more vulnerable to cyclones and storm surges. Previous studies have showed that 80-90 % of global losses and 53 % of total cyclone-related deaths worldwide, occur in Bangladesh and out of which, 42% of cyclone-caused deaths were recorded in the last two centuries. The Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) is a unique joint program under the initiative of Government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society that provides a robust cyclone early warning (CEW) system for the 13 coastal districts in Bangladesh. CPP ensures rapid dissemination of official Bangladesh Meteorological Department's CEW signals to these communities. However, inconsistent CEW services are reported in several of these coastal communities. This study offered the quality assessment of CPP CEW services in Nijhum Island, a highly populated remotely located off-shore island in Bangladesh. Primary rural appraisal (household survey, focus group discussion and expert interview) were used for field data collection and Likert scale, for data analysis. Study revealed that cyclone early warning signal dissemination were restricted to small area covering only 35 percent of the total population. Moreover, local inhabitants had very poor understanding about disseminated CEW signals (flag signaling system, signal number & severity) although CPP initiated several training program to build and raise awareness. Consequently, people remained inactive during cyclone and reluctant to seek shelter which resulted in lack of proper post-disaster management. Moreover, local people had concern regarding accuracy of CEW signals disseminated by CPP. To ensure last mile connectivity of CEW services, it is highly recommended that local people should be given more training and awareness on CEW signals and how to respond to the same.

Variability in the mechanisms controlling Southern Ocean phytoplankton bloom phenology in an ocean model and satellite observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohr, Tyler; Long, Matthew C.; Kavanaugh, Maria T.; Lindsay, Keith; Doney, Scott C.

2017-05-01

A coupled global numerical simulation (conducted with the Community Earth System Model) is used in conjunction with satellite remote sensing observations to examine the role of top-down (grazing pressure) and bottom-up (light, nutrients) controls on marine phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the Southern Ocean. Phytoplankton seasonal phenology is evaluated in the context of the recently proposed "disturbance-recovery" hypothesis relative to more traditional, exclusively "bottom-up" frameworks. All blooms occur when phytoplankton division rates exceed loss rates to permit sustained net population growth; however, the nature of this decoupling period varies regionally in Community Earth System Model. Regional case studies illustrate how unique pathways allow blooms to emerge despite very poor division rates or very strong grazing rates. In the Subantarctic, southeast Pacific small spring blooms initiate early cooccurring with deep mixing and low division rates, consistent with the disturbance-recovery hypothesis. Similar systematics are present in the Subantarctic, southwest Atlantic during the spring but are eclipsed by a subsequent, larger summer bloom that is coincident with shallow mixing and the annual maximum in division rates, consistent with a bottom-up, light limited framework. In the model simulation, increased iron stress prevents a similar summer bloom in the southeast Pacific. In the simulated Antarctic zone (70°S-65°S) seasonal sea ice acts as a dominant phytoplankton-zooplankton decoupling agent, triggering a delayed but substantial bloom as ice recedes. Satellite ocean color remote sensing and ocean physical reanalysis products do not precisely match model-predicted phenology, but observed patterns do indicate regional variability in mechanism across the Atlantic and Pacific.

Managing Geothermal Exploratory Drilling Risks Drilling Geothermal Exploration and Delineation Wells with Small-Footprint Highly Portable Diamond Core Drills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuttle, J.; Listi, R.; Combs, J.; Welch, V.; Reilly, S.

2012-12-01

Small hydraulic core rigs are highly portable (truck or scow-mounted), and have recently been used for geothermal exploration in areas such as Nevada, California, the Caribbean Islands, Central and South America and elsewhere. Drilling with slim diameter core rod below 7,000' is common, with continuous core recovery providing native-state geological information to aid in identifying the resource characteristics and boundaries; this is a highly cost-effective process. Benefits associated with this innovative exploration and delineation technology includes the following: Low initial Capital Equipment Cost and consumables costs Small Footprint, reducing location and road construction, and cleanup costs Supporting drill rod (10'/3meter) and tools are relatively low weight and easily shipped Speed of Mobilization and rig up Reduced requirements for support equipment (cranes, backhoes, personnel, etc) Small mud systems and cementing requirements Continuous, simplified coring capability Depth ratings comparable to that of large rotary rigs (up to ~10,000'+) Remote/small-location accessible (flown into remote areas or shipped in overseas containers) Can be scow or truck-mounted This technical presentation's primary goal is to share the technology of utilizing small, highly portable hydraulic coring rigs to provide exploratory drilling (and in some cases, production drilling) for geothermal projects. Significant cost and operational benefits are possible for the Geothermal Operator, especially for those who are pursuing projects in remote locations or countries, or in areas that are either inaccessible or in which a small footprint is required. John D. Tuttle Sinclair Well Products jtuttle@sinclairwp.com

San Miguel County, New Mexico. A Report on Manpower Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Mexico State Employment Service, Santa Fe.

The Smaller Communities Program of Employment Security Offices furnishes manpower services to remote, low-income areas of New Mexico and makes comprehensive studies of the manpower and other resources which the community can use for expanding job opportunities. Other objectives include enumerating the unemployed, underemployed, and those wishing…

Mapping the Future Today: The Community College of Baltimore County Geospatial Applications Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffrey, Scott; Alvarez, Jaime

2010-01-01

The Geospatial Applications Program at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), located five miles west of downtown Baltimore, Maryland, provides comprehensive instruction in geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and global positioning systems (GPS). Geospatial techniques, which include computer-based mapping and remote…

Multistage, Multiband and sequential imagery to identify and quantify non-forest vegetation resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Driscoll, R. S.

1971-01-01

Analysis and recognition processing of multispectral scanner imagery for plant community classification and interpretations of various film-filter-scale aerial photographs are reported. Data analyses and manuscript preparation of research on microdensitometry for plant community and component identification and remote estimates of biomass are included.

Collaborative Information Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, William; Casper, Thomas

1999-11-01

Significant effort has been expended to provide infrastructure and to facilitate the remote collaborations within the fusion community and out. Through the Office of Fusion Energy Science Information Technology Initiative, communication technologies utilized by the fusion community are being improved. The initial thrust of the initiative has been collaborative seminars and meetings. Under the initiative 23 sites, both laboratory and university, were provided with hardware required to remotely view, or project, documents being presented. The hardware is capable of delivering documents to a web browser, or to compatible hardware, over ESNET in an access controlled manner. The ability also exists for documents to originate from virtually any of the collaborating sites. In addition, RealNetwork servers are being tested to provide audio and/or video, in a non-interactive environment with MBONE providing two-way interaction where needed. Additional effort is directed at remote distributed computing, file systems, security, and standard data storage and retrieval methods. This work supported by DoE contract No. W-7405-ENG-48

Electronic Assessment of Physical Decline in Geriatric Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Fallahzadeh, Ramin; Ghasemzadeh, Hassan; Shahrokni, Armin

2018-03-08

The purpose of this review is to explore state-of-the-art remote monitoring and emerging new sensing technologies for in-home physical assessment and their application/potential in cancer care. In addition, we discuss the main functional and non-functional requirements and research challenges of employing such technologies in real-world settings. With rapid growth in aging population, effective and efficient patient care has become an important topic. Advances in remote monitoring and in its forefront in-home physical assessment technologies play a fundamental role in reducing the cost and improving the quality of care by complementing the traditional in-clinic healthcare. However, there is a gap in medical research community regarding the applicability and potential outcomes of such systems. While some studies reported positive outcomes using remote assessment technologies, such as web/smart phone-based self-reports and wearable sensors, the cancer research community is still lacking far behind. Thorough investigation of more advanced technologies in cancer care is warranted.

Bridging the triple divide: performance and innovative multimedia in the service of behavioural health change in remote Indigenous settings.

PubMed

Hunter, Ernest; Travers, Helen; Gibson, Julie; Campion, Jonathan

2007-01-01

The use of innovative information technology is now well established in health. However, while the gap in health status between Indigenous and other Australians is both significant and unchanging, there is limited application of these new approaches to addressing this national health priority. This may in part reflect the 'digital divide', which is another facet of Indigenous disadvantage. This paper describes an approach to address both issues in remote Indigenous settings. The Health Interactive Technology Network began as a proof-of-concept study of touchscreen technology in two Indigenous health settings. It has subsequently expanded to a number of remote Indigenous communities and developed new platforms and applications to respond to emerging health issues. In creating narrative, interactive approaches to address choices in relation to health behaviours, the community development and engagement effects of the creative process have been highlighted. These findings suggest that these approaches will be suited to further expansion in the area of mental health.

Dog and Cat Interactions in a Remote Aboriginal Community.

PubMed

Kennedy, Brooke; Brown, Wendy Y; Vernes, Karl; Körtner, Gerhard; Butler, James R A

2018-04-26

This study examined dog and cat demographics, roaming behaviours, and interspecific interactions in a remote Aboriginal island community using multiple methods. Our results revealed temporal differences between the roaming behaviours of dogs, cats, and wildlife. Dogs showed crepuscular behaviour, being active around dawn (5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.) and dusk (6:00 p.m. and 11:35 p.m.). The majority of cats were active between dawn (6:30 a.m.) and dusk (7:30 p.m.) and travelled shorter distances than dogs. However, some cats were also observed roaming between dusk and dawn, and were likely to be hunting since flightless wildlife were also recorded on our remote-sensing cameras during this time. These baseline data provide evidence to suggest that new management programs are needed to reduce the number of roaming cats and therefore their potential impacts on native wildlife. Collaborations between Aboriginal owners and other stakeholders is necessary to design innovative and effective animal management and policy on the island.

Use of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) habitat models to predict breeding birds on the San Pedro River, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

McFarland, Tiffany Marie; van Riper, Charles

2013-01-01

Successful management practices of avian populations depend on understanding relationships between birds and their habitat, especially in rare habitats, such as riparian areas of the desert Southwest. Remote-sensing technology has become popular in habitat modeling, but most of these models focus on single species, leaving their applicability to understanding broader community structure and function largely untested. We investigated the usefulness of two Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) habitat models to model avian abundance and species richness on the upper San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona. Although NDVI was positively correlated with our bird metrics, the amount of explained variation was low. We then investigated the addition of vegetation metrics and other remote-sensing metrics to improve our models. Although both vegetation metrics and remotely sensed metrics increased the power of our models, the overall explained variation was still low, suggesting that general avian community structure may be too complex for NDVI models.

Accuracy Dimensions in Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barsi, Á.; Kugler, Zs.; László, I.; Szabó, Gy.; Abdulmutalib, H. M.

2018-04-01

The technological developments in remote sensing (RS) during the past decade has contributed to a significant increase in the size of data user community. For this reason data quality issues in remote sensing face a significant increase in importance, particularly in the era of Big Earth data. Dozens of available sensors, hundreds of sophisticated data processing techniques, countless software tools assist the processing of RS data and contributes to a major increase in applications and users. In the past decades, scientific and technological community of spatial data environment were focusing on the evaluation of data quality elements computed for point, line, area geometry of vector and raster data. Stakeholders of data production commonly use standardised parameters to characterise the quality of their datasets. Yet their efforts to estimate the quality did not reach the general end-user community running heterogeneous applications who assume that their spatial data is error-free and best fitted to the specification standards. The non-specialist, general user group has very limited knowledge how spatial data meets their needs. These parameters forming the external quality dimensions implies that the same data system can be of different quality to different users. The large collection of the observed information is uncertain in a level that can decry the reliability of the applications. Based on prior paper of the authors (in cooperation within the Remote Sensing Data Quality working group of ISPRS), which established a taxonomy on the dimensions of data quality in GIS and remote sensing domains, this paper is aiming at focusing on measures of uncertainty in remote sensing data lifecycle, focusing on land cover mapping issues. In the paper we try to introduce how quality of the various combination of data and procedures can be summarized and how services fit the users' needs. The present paper gives the theoretic overview of the issue, besides selected, practice-oriented approaches are evaluated too, finally widely-used dimension metrics like Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) or confusion matrix are discussed. The authors present data quality features of well-defined and poorly defined object. The central part of the study is the land cover mapping, describing its accuracy management model, presented relevance and uncertainty measures of its influencing quality dimensions. In the paper theory is supported by a case study, where the remote sensing technology is used for supporting the area-based agricultural subsidies of the European Union, in Hungarian administration.

Monitoring nitrogen status of potatoes using small unmanned aircraft system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are potential remote-sensing platforms to manage fertilization for precision agriculture. An experiment was established in an irrigated potato field with different N fertilization rates, and a small parafoil was used to acquire color-infrared images over the 20...

Detection, identification, and classification of mosquito larval habitats using remote sensing scanners in earth-orbiting satellites.

PubMed

Hayes, R O; Maxwell, E L; Mitchell, C J; Woodzick, T L

1985-01-01

A method of identifying mosquito larval habitats associated with fresh-water plant communities, wetlands, and other aquatic locations at Lewis and Clark Lake in the states of Nebraska and South Dakota, USA, using remote sensing imagery obtained by multispectral scanners aboard earth-orbiting satellites (Landsat 1 and 2) is described. The advantages and limitations of this method are discussed.

The Role of Aboriginal Literacy in Improving English Literacy in Remote Aboriginal Communities: An Empirical Systems Analysis with the Interplay Wellbeing Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Byron; Quinn, Stephen J.; Abbott, Tammy; Cairney, Sheree

2018-01-01

Indigenous language endangerment is critical in Australia, with only 120 of 250 known languages remaining, and only 13 considered strong. A related issue is the gap in formal education outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared with other Australians, with the gap wider in remote regions. Little empirical research exists in…

Healthy Buddies[TM] Reduces Body Mass Index Z-Score and Waist Circumference in Aboriginal Children Living in Remote Coastal Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronsley, Rebecca; Lee, Andrew S.; Kuzeljevic, Boris; Panagiotopoulos, Constadina

2013-01-01

Background: Aboriginal children are at increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Healthy Buddies [TM]-First Nations (HB) is a curriculum-based, peer-led program promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and self-esteem. Methods: Although originally designed as a pilot pre-/post-analysis of 3 remote Aboriginal schools that requested and…

Use of remote video auditing to validate Ebola level II personal protective equipment competency.

PubMed

Allar, Peter J; Frank-Cooper, Madalyn

2015-06-01

Faced with an Ebola-related mandate to regularly train frontline hospital staff with the donning and doffing of personal protective equipment, a community hospital's emergency department implemented remote video auditing (RVA) to assist in the training and remediation of its nursing staff. RVA was found to be useful in assessing performance and facilitating remediation. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

Predictors of Antenatal Care, Skilled Birth Attendance, and Postnatal Care Utilization among the Remote and Poorest Rural Communities of Zambia: A Multilevel Analysis.

PubMed

Jacobs, Choolwe; Moshabela, Mosa; Maswenyeho, Sitali; Lambo, Nildah; Michelo, Charles

2017-01-01

Optimal utilization of maternal health-care services is associated with reduction of mortality and morbidity for both mothers and their neonates. However, deficiencies and disparity in the use of key maternal health services within most developing countries still persist. We examined patterns and predictors associated with the utilization of specific indicators for maternal health services among mothers living in the poorest and remote district populations of Zambia. A cross-sectional baseline household survey was conducted in May 2012. A total of 551 mothers with children between the ages 0 and 5 months were sampled from 29 catchment areas in four rural and remote districts of Zambia using the lot quality assurance sampling method. Using multilevel modeling, we accounted for individual- and community-level factors associated with utilization of maternal health-care services, with a focus on antenatal care (ANC), skilled birth attendance (SBA), and postnatal care (PNC). Utilization rates of focused ANC, SBA, and PNC within 48 h were 30, 37, and 28%, respectively. The mother's ability to take an HIV test and receiving test results and uptake of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria were positive predictors of focused ANC. Receiving ANC at least once from skilled personnel was a significant predictor of SBA and PNC within 48 h after delivery. Women who live in centralized rural areas were more likely to use SBA than those living in remote rural areas. Utilization of maternal health services by mothers living among the remote and poor marginalized populations of Zambia is much lower than the national averages. Finding that women that receive ANC once from a skilled attendant among the remote and poorest populations are more likely to have a SBA and PNC, suggests the importance of contact with a skilled health worker even if it is just once, in influencing use of services. Therefore, it appears that in order for women in these marginalized communities to benefit from SBA and PNC, it is important for them to have at least one ANC provided by a skilled personnel, rather than non-skilled health-care providers.

Improving access to specialists in remote communities: a cross-sectional study and cost analysis of the use of eConsult in Nunavut.

PubMed

Liddy, Clare; McKellips, Fanny; Armstrong, Catherine Deri; Afkham, Amir; Fraser-Roberts, Leigh; Keely, Erin

2017-01-01

Residents of remote communities face inequities in access to specialists, excessive wait times, and poorly coordinated care. The Champlain BASE TM (Building Access to Specialists through eConsultation) service facilitates asynchronous communication between primary care providers (PCP) and specialists. The service was extended to several PCPs in Nunavut in 2014. To (1) describe the use of eConsult services in Nunavut, and (2) conduct a costing evaluation. A cross-sectional study and cost analysis of all eConsult cases submitted between August 2014 and April 2016. PCPs from Nunavut submitted 165 eConsult cases. The most popular specialties were dermatology (16%), cardiology (8%), endocrinology (7%), otolaryngology (7%), and obstetrics/gynaecology (7%). Specialists provided a response in a median of 0.9 days (IQR=0.3-3.0, range=0.01-15.02). In 35% of cases, PCPs were able to avoid the face-to-face specialist visits they had originally planned for their patients. Total savings associated with eConsult in Nunavut are estimated at $180,552.73 or $1,100.93 per eConsult. The eConsult service provided patients in Nunavut's remote communities with prompt access to specialist advice. The service's chief advantage in Canada's northern communities is its ability to offer electronic access to a breadth of specialties far greater than could be supported locally. Our findings suggest that a territory-wide adoption of eConsult would generate enormous savings.

Preventive medical care in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory: a follow-up study of the impact of clinical guidelines, computerised recall and reminder systems, and audit and feedback.

PubMed

Bailie, Ross S; Togni, Samantha J; Si, Damin; Robinson, Gary; d'Abbs, Peter H N

2003-07-30

Interventions to improve delivery of preventive medical services have been shown to be effective in North America and the UK. However, there are few studies of the extent to which the impact of such interventions has been sustained, or of the impact of such interventions in disadvantaged populations or remote settings. This paper describes the trends in delivery of preventive medical services following a multifaceted intervention in remote community health centres in the Northern Territory of Australia. The intervention comprised the development and dissemination of best practice guidelines supported by an electronic client register, recall and reminder systems and associated staff training, and audit and feedback. Clinical records in seven community health centres were audited at regular intervals against best practice guidelines over a period of three years, with feedback of audit findings to health centre staff and management. Levels of service delivery varied between services and between communities. There was an initial improvement in service levels for most services following the intervention, but improvements were in general not fully sustained over the three year period. Improvements in service delivery are consistent with the international experience, although baseline and follow-up levels are in many cases higher than reported for comparable studies in North America and the UK. Sustainability of improvements may be achieved by institutionalisation of relevant work practices and enhanced health centre capacity.

Evaluating Coupled Human-Hydrologic Systems in High Altitude Regions: A Case Study of the Arun Watershed, Eastern Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voss, K.; Bookhagen, B.; Tague, C.; Lopez-Carr, D.

2014-12-01

The Himalaya exhibit dynamic ecological, hydrological, and climatic extremes that magnify the variability and extent of natural hazards, resulting in destruction to both physical and human landscapes. Coupled with poverty, these factors intensify local communities' vulnerability to climate change. This study highlights the Arun watershed in eastern Nepal as a case study to evaluate how local communities in high altitude regions are managing their water for domestic and agricultural needs while coping with extreme events, such as floods and landslides. Remotely-sensed precipitation, snowpack and glacial extent data from the past decade are combined with preliminary results from extensive field-based community surveys in the Arun watershed. The analysis of remotely-sensed data will describe seasonal trends in water availability, glacial lake growth, and the spatial variation of these trends within the basin. These hydrologic changes will be linked to the human survey analysis, which will provide an understanding of locals' perceptions of water challenges and the current water management strategies within the basin. Particular attention will be given to a comparison between the eastern and western tributaries of the Arun River, where the catchments are mainly rain-fed (eastern) versus glacial-fed (western). This contrast will highlight how different hydrologic scenarios evidenced from remote-sensing data motivate diverse human water management responses as defined in field surveys. A particular focus will be given to management decisions related to agriculture expansion and hydropower development. This synthesis of remote-sensing and social research methodologies provides a valuable perspective on coupled human-hydrologic systems.

Delivering Vitamin A Supplements to Children Aged 6 to 59 Months: Comparing Delivery Through Mass Campaign and Through Routine Health Services in Ethiopia.

PubMed

Gatobu, Sospeter; Horton, Susan; Kiflie Aleyamehu, Yibeltal; Abraham, Gelila; Birhanu, Negalign; Greig, Alison

2017-12-01

The delivery of vitamin A supplements in Ethiopia has been shifting from Child Health Days (campaigns) to routine delivery via the community health services. The objective of this study was to compare the cost and effectiveness of these 2 delivery methods. No previous studies have done this. A mixed method approach was used. Quantitative data on costs were collected from interviews with key staff and coverage data from health facility records. Qualitative data on the 2 modalities were collected from key informants and community members from purposefully sampled communities using the 2 modalities. Communities appreciated the provision of vitamin A supplements to their under 5-year-old children. The small drop in coverage that occurred as a result of the change in modality can be attributed to normal changes that occur with any system change. Advantages of campaigns included greater ease of mobilization and better coverage of older children from more remote communities. Advantages of routine delivery included not omitting children who happened to miss the 1 day per round that supplementation occurred and not disrupting the availability of other health services for the 5 to 6 days each campaign requires. The cost of routine delivery is not easy to measure nor is the cost of disruption to normal services entailed by campaigns. Cost-effectiveness likely depends more on effectiveness than on cost. Overall, the routine approach can achieve good coverage and is sustainable in the long run, as long as the transition is well planned and implemented.

Using remotely piloted aircraft and onboard processing to optimize and expand data collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fladeland, M. M.; Sullivan, D. V.; Chirayath, V.; Instrella, R.; Phelps, G. A.

2016-12-01

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) have the potential to revolutionize local to regional data collection for geophysicists as platform and payload size decrease while aircraft capabilities increase. In particular, data from RPAs combine high-resolution imagery available from low flight elevations with comprehensive areal coverage, unattainable from ground investigations and difficult to acquire from manned aircraft due to budgetary and logistical costs. Low flight elevations are particularly important for detecting signals that decay exponentially with distance, such as electromagnetic fields. Onboard data processing coupled with high-bandwidth telemetry open up opportunities for real-time and near real-time data processing, producing more efficient flight plans through the use of payload-directed flight, machine learning and autonomous systems. Such applications not only strive to enhance data collection, but also enable novel sensing modalities and temporal resolution. NASA's Airborne Science Program has been refining the capabilities and applications of RPA in support of satellite calibration and data product validation for several decades. In this paper, we describe current platforms, payloads, and onboard data systems available to the research community. Case studies include Fluid Lensing for littoral zone 3D mapping, structure from motion for terrestrial 3D multispectral imaging, and airborne magnetometry on medium and small RPAs.

Social Inference Through Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oulasvirta, Antti

Awareness cues are computer-mediated, real-time indicators of people’s undertakings, whereabouts, and intentions. Already in the mid-1970 s, UNIX users could use commands such as “finger” and “talk” to find out who was online and to chat. The small icons in instant messaging (IM) applications that indicate coconversants’ presence in the discussion space are the successors of “finger” output. Similar indicators can be found in online communities, media-sharing services, Internet relay chat (IRC), and location-based messaging applications. But presence and availability indicators are only the tip of the iceberg. Technological progress has enabled richer, more accurate, and more intimate indicators. For example, there are mobile services that allow friends to query and follow each other’s locations. Remote monitoring systems developed for health care allow relatives and doctors to assess the wellbeing of homebound patients (see, e.g., Tang and Venables 2000). But users also utilize cues that have not been deliberately designed for this purpose. For example, online gamers pay attention to other characters’ behavior to infer what the other players are like “in real life.” There is a common denominator underlying these examples: shared activities rely on the technology’s representation of the remote person. The other human being is not physically present but present only through a narrow technological channel.

Design and Performance of a Multiwavelength Airborne Polarimetric Lidar for Vegetation Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Songxin; Narayanan, Ram M.

2004-04-01

The University of Nebraska has developed a multiwavelength airborne polarimetric lidar (MAPL) system to support its Airborne Remote Sensing Program for vegetation remote sensing. The MAPL design and instrumentation are described in detail. Characteristics of the MAPL system include lidar waveform capture and polarimetric measurement capabilities, which provide enhanced opportunities for vegetation remote sensing compared with current sensors. Field tests were conducted to calibrate the range measurement. Polarimetric calibration of the system is also discussed. Backscattered polarimetric returns, as well as the cross-polarization ratios, were obtained from a small forested area to validate the system's ability for vegetation canopy detection. The system has been packaged to fly abroad a Piper Saratoga aircraft for airborne vegetation remote sensing applications.

Exploring Remote Rensing Through The Use Of Readily-Available Classroom Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, M. A.

2013-12-01

Frontier geoscience research using remotely-sensed satellite observation routinely requires sophisticated and novel remote sensing techniques to succeed. Describing these techniques in an educational format presents significant challenges to the science educator, especially with regards to the professional development setting where a small, but competent audience has limited instructor contact time to develop the necessary understanding. In this presentation, we describe the use of simple and cheaply available technologies, including ultrasonic transducers, FLIR detectors, and even simple web cameras to provide a tangible analogue to sophisticated remote sensing platforms. We also describe methods of curriculum development that leverages the use of these simple devices to teach the fundamentals of remote sensing, resulting in a deeper and more intuitive understanding of the techniques used in modern remote sensing research. Sample workshop itineraries using these techniques are provided as well.

Optimization study of small-scale solar membrane distillation desalination systems (s-SMDDS).

PubMed

Chang, Hsuan; Chang, Cheng-Liang; Hung, Chen-Yu; Cheng, Tung-Wen; Ho, Chii-Dong

2014-11-24

Membrane distillation (MD), which can utilize low-grade thermal energy, has been extensively studied for desalination. By incorporating solar thermal energy, the solar membrane distillation desalination system (SMDDS) is a potential technology for resolving energy and water resource problems. Small-scale SMDDS (s-SMDDS) is an attractive and viable option for the production of fresh water for small communities in remote arid areas. The minimum cost design and operation of s-SMDDS are determined by a systematic method, which involves a pseudo-steady-state approach for equipment sizing and dynamic optimization using overall system mathematical models. Two s-SMDDS employing an air gap membrane distillation module with membrane areas of 11.5 m(2) and 23 m(2) are analyzed. The lowest water production costs are $5.92/m(3) and $5.16/m(3) for water production rates of 500 kg/day and 1000 kg/day, respectively. For these two optimal cases, the performance ratios are 0.85 and 0.91; the recovery ratios are 4.07% and 4.57%. The effect of membrane characteristics on the production cost is investigated. For the commercial membrane employed in this study, the increase of the membrane mass transfer coefficient up to two times is beneficial for cost reduction.

Optimization Study of Small-Scale Solar Membrane Distillation Desalination Systems (s-SMDDS)

PubMed Central

Chang, Hsuan; Chang, Cheng-Liang; Hung, Chen-Yu; Cheng, Tung-Wen; Ho, Chii-Dong

2014-01-01

Membrane distillation (MD), which can utilize low-grade thermal energy, has been extensively studied for desalination. By incorporating solar thermal energy, the solar membrane distillation desalination system (SMDDS) is a potential technology for resolving energy and water resource problems. Small-scale SMDDS (s-SMDDS) is an attractive and viable option for the production of fresh water for small communities in remote arid areas. The minimum cost design and operation of s-SMDDS are determined by a systematic method, which involves a pseudo-steady-state approach for equipment sizing and dynamic optimization using overall system mathematical models. Two s-SMDDS employing an air gap membrane distillation module with membrane areas of 11.5 m2 and 23 m2 are analyzed. The lowest water production costs are $5.92/m3 and $5.16/m3 for water production rates of 500 kg/day and 1000 kg/day, respectively. For these two optimal cases, the performance ratios are 0.85 and 0.91; the recovery ratios are 4.07% and 4.57%. The effect of membrane characteristics on the production cost is investigated. For the commercial membrane employed in this study, the increase of the membrane mass transfer coefficient up to two times is beneficial for cost reduction. PMID:25421065

Active landslide monitoring using remote sensing data, GPS measurements and cameras on board UAV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos G.; Kavoura, Katerina; Depountis, Nikolaos; Argyropoulos, Nikolaos; Koukouvelas, Ioannis; Sabatakakis, Nikolaos

2015-10-01

An active landslide can be monitored using many different methods: Classical geotechnical measurements like inclinometer, topographical survey measurements with total stations or GPS and photogrammetric techniques using airphotos or high resolution satellite images. As the cost of the aerial photo campaign and the acquisition of very high resolution satellite data is quite expensive the use of cameras on board UAV could be an identical solution. Small UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have started their development as expensive toys but they currently became a very valuable tool in remote sensing monitoring of small areas. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate a cheap but effective solution for an active landslide monitoring. We present the first experimental results of the synergistic use of UAV, GPS measurements and remote sensing data. A six-rotor aircraft with a total weight of 6 kg carrying two small cameras has been used. Very accurate digital airphotos, high accuracy DSM, DGPS measurements and the data captured from the UAV are combined and the results are presented in the current study.

Analysis of remote sensing data for evaluation of vegetation resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1970-01-01

Research has centered around: (1) completion of a study on the use of remote sensing techniques as an aid to multiple use management; (2) determination of the information transfer at various image resolution levels for wildland areas; and (3) determination of the value of small scale multiband, multidate photography for the analysis of vegetation resources. In addition, a substantial effort was made to upgrade the automatic image classification and spectral signature acquisition capabilities of the laboratory. It was found that: (1) Remote sensing techniques should be useful in multiple use management to provide a first-cut analysis of an area. (2) Imagery with 400-500 feet ground resolvable distance (GRD), such as that expected from ERTS-1, should allow discriminations to be made between woody vegetation, grassland, and water bodies with approximately 80% accuracy. (3) Barley and wheat acreages in Maricopa County, Arizona could be estimated with acceptable accuracies using small scale multiband, multidate photography. Sampling errors for acreages of wheat, barley, small grains (wheat and barley combined), and all cropland were 13%, 11%, 8% and 3% respectively.

Monitoring, analysis and classification of vegetation and soil data collected by a small and lightweight hyperspectral imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mönnig, Carsten

2014-05-01

The increasing precision of modern farming systems requires a near-real-time monitoring of agricultural crops in order to estimate soil condition, plant health and potential crop yield. For large sized agricultural plots, satellite imagery or aerial surveys can be used at considerable costs and possible time delays of days or even weeks. However, for small to medium sized plots, these monitoring approaches are cost-prohibitive and difficult to assess. Therefore, we propose within the INTERREG IV A-Project SMART INSPECTORS (Smart Aerial Test Rigs with Infrared Spectrometers and Radar), a cost effective, comparably simple approach to support farmers with a small and lightweight hyperspectral imaging system to collect remotely sensed data in spectral bands in between 400 to 1700nm. SMART INSPECTORS includes the whole remote sensing processing chain of small scale remote sensing from sensor construction, data processing and ground truthing for analysis of the results. The sensors are mounted on a remotely controlled (RC) Octocopter, a fixed wing RC airplane as well as on a two-seated Autogyro for larger plots. The high resolution images up to 5cm on the ground include spectra of visible light, near and thermal infrared as well as hyperspectral imagery. The data will be analyzed using remote sensing software and a Geographic Information System (GIS). The soil condition analysis includes soil humidity, temperature and roughness. Furthermore, a radar sensor is envisaged for the detection of geomorphologic, drainage and soil-plant roughness investigation. Plant health control includes drought stress, vegetation health, pest control, growth condition and canopy temperature. Different vegetation and soil indices will help to determine and understand soil conditions and plant traits. Additional investigation might include crop yield estimation of certain crops like apples, strawberries, pasture land, etc. The quality of remotely sensed vegetation data will be tested with ground truthing tools like a spectrometer, visual inspection and ground control panel. The soil condition will also be monitored with a wireless sensor network installed on the examined plots of interest. Provided with this data, a farmer can respond immediately to potential threats with high local precision. In this presentation, preliminary results of hyperspectral images of distinctive vegetation cover and soil on different pasture test plots are shown. After an evaluation period, the whole processing chain will offer farmers a unique, near real- time, low cost solution for small to mid-sized agricultural plots in order to easily assess crop and soil quality and the estimation of harvest. SMART INSPECTORS remotely sensed data will form the basis for an input in a decision support system which aims to detect crop related issues in order to react quickly and efficiently, saving fertilizer, water or pesticides.

Providing choices for a marginalized community. A community-based project with Malaysian aborigines.

PubMed

Kaur, P

1994-01-01

In 1991, the Family Planning Association (FPA) of the Malaysian state of Perak initiated a community-based development project in the remote Aborigine village of Kampung Tisong. The community consists of approximately 34 households who survive on an average income of about US $37. Malnutrition is pervasive, even minor ailments cause death, more serious afflictions are prevalent, and the closest government clinic is 20 kilometers away and seldom used by the Aborigines. 70% of the children have access to education, but parental illiteracy is a serious educational obstacle. The goals of the FPA program are to 1) promote maternal and child health and responsible parenthood, 2) provide health education, 3) encourage women to seek self-determination, and 4) encourage the development of self-reliance in the community as a whole. The first step was to survey the community's culture, beliefs, and health status with the help of the Aborigines Department and the village headman. After a series of preliminary meetings with other agencies, the FPA began to provide activities including health talks, health courses and demonstrations, medical examinations and check-ups, and first aid training. Environmental protection and sanitation measures were included in the educational activities, and following the traditional "mutual aid system," a small plot of land was cleared for vegetable production. Vegetable gardens and needlecraft will become income-producing activities for the women. Attempts to motivate the women to use family planning have been hindered by the fact that the health of 2 women deteriorated after they began using oral contraceptives. Positive changes are occurring slowly and steadily, however, and the FPA has been instrumental in having the settlement included in a program for the hardcore poor which will provide new housing and farming projects.

Alternative measures of spatial distribution and availability of health facilities for the delivery of emergency obstetric services in island communities.

PubMed

Oyerinde, Koyejo; Baravilala, Wame

2014-12-01

International guidelines and recommendations for availability and spatial distribution of emergency obstetric care services do not adequately address the challenges of providing emergency health services in island communities. The isolation and small population sizes that are typical of islands and remote populations limit the applicability of international guidelines in such communities. Universal access to emergency obstetric care services, when pregnant women encounter complications, is one of the three key strategies for reducing maternal and newborn mortality; the other two being family planning and skilled care during labor. The performance of selected lifesaving clinical interventions (signal functions) over a 3-month period is commonly used to assess and assign performance categories to health facilities but island communities might not have a large enough population to generate demand for all the signal functions over a 3-month period. Similarly, availability and spatial distribution recommendations are typically based on the size of catchment populations, but the populations of island communities tend to be sparsely distributed. With illustrations from six South Pacific Island states, we argue that the recommendation for availability of health facilities, that there should be at least five emergency obstetric care facilities (including at least one comprehensive facility) for every 500,000 population, and the recommendation for equitable distribution of health facilities, that all subnational areas meet the availability recommendation, can be substituted with a focus on access to blood transfusion and obstetric surgical care within 2 hours for all pregnant residents of islands. Island communities could replace the performance of signal functions over a 3-month period with a demonstrated capacity to perform signal functions if the need arises.

Food and beverage price discounts to improve health in remote Aboriginal communities: mixed method evaluation of a natural experiment.

PubMed

Ferguson, Megan; O'Dea, Kerin; Holden, Stacey; Miles, Eddie; Brimblecombe, Julie

2017-02-01

Retrospectively evaluate food price discounts in remote Aboriginal community stores. Four price discount strategies of 10% were designed in 2010, aiming to influence grocery, fruit, vegetables and diet soft-drink sales. This natural experiment across a group of stores was evaluated using an explanatory, sequential mixed method design through analysis of store point-of-sale, document, observation and interview data. The outcome was measured by change in: 1) percentage of grocery sales to total food and beverage; 2) fruit and vegetable sales; and 3) diet soft-drink sales. Qualitative data enabled the interpretation of outcomes through understanding perceived success and benefits, and enablers and barriers to implementation. Eighteen community stores and 54 informants participated. While targeted price discounts were considered important to improving health, no discernible effect was evident, due to inadequate design and communication of discount promotion, and probably inadequate magnitude of discount. Strategy impact on food and beverage sales was limited by promotion and magnitude of discount. Implication for Public Health: This study demonstrates key factors and commitment required to design, communicate, implement and monitor strategies to improve health in this challenging remote retail context. Evaluation of natural experiments can contribute evidence to policy-making. © 2016 The Authors.

Benefits of Using Remote Sensing for Health Alerts and Chronic Respiratory Exposures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luvall, J. C.

2010-01-01

Respiratory diseases such as asthma can be triggered by environmental conditions that can be monitored using Earth observing data and environmental forecast models. Frequent dust storms in the southwestern United States, the annual cycle of juniper pollen events in the spring, and increased aerosol and ozone concentrations in summer, are health concerns shared by the community at large. Being able to forecast the occurrence of these events would help the health care community prepare for increased visits to emergency rooms, as well as allow public health officials to issue alerts to affected persons. This information also is important to epidemiologists for analyzing long-term trends and impacts of these events on the health and well-being of the community. Earth observing data collected by remote sensing platforms are important for improving the performance of models that can forecast these events, and in turn, improve products and information for decision-making by public health authorities. This presentation will discuss the benefits of using remote sensing data for forecasting environmental events that can adversely affect individuals with respiratory ailments. The presentations will include a brief discussion on relevant Earth observing data, the forecast models used, and societal benefits of the resulting products and information. Several NASA-funded projects will be highlighted as examples

Prevention is Better than Cure: A Hands-On, Play-Based, Innovative, Health and Well-Being Program in Remote Australia.

PubMed

Mathiasen, Lis

2014-10-16

A key to improving the quality of life in remote communities is the empowerment of children who are at health and educational risk. Between 2002 and 2009, at a remote Aboriginal school, students and community members participated in an innovative, play-based health and well-being program aimed at helping children to become self-determining and responsible for their own health and well-being. Holistic in its approach, and broad in its scope, the multi-faceted program encompassed the fundamentals of personal hygiene; understanding of body systems; the importance of nutrition, hydration, sleep and exercise; brain care; the biology of emotions, with particular emphasis on anger management and the critical interplay between emotions and behavior; the impact of substances of abuse on the brain; as well as the Hospital Familiarization Program (HFP) which prepares children for planned and unplanned hospitalization. Program outcomes included improved school attendance and student engagement; increased community awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle; improved self-concept, self-esteem and self-confidence; as well as increased respect and caring for self and others. A reduction in children's fear and anxiety when facing hospitalization and visits to the doctor was also evident. Each year, 12,500 children throughout Western Australia enjoy the benefits of the HFP.

The Effectiveness of Contrasting Protected Areas in Preventing Deforestation in Madre de Dios, Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vuohelainen, Anni Johanna; Coad, Lauren; Marthews, Toby R.; Malhi, Yadvinder; Killeen, Timothy J.

2012-10-01

Accurate monitoring of the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in decreasing deforestation is increasingly important given the vital role of forest protection in climate change mitigation. Recent studies on PA effectiveness have used remote-sensing imagery to compare deforestation rates within PAs to surrounding areas. However, remote-sensing data used in isolation provides limited information on the factors contributing to effectiveness. We used landscape-modelling techniques to estimate the effectiveness of ten PAs in Madre de Dios, Peru. Factors influencing PA effectiveness were investigated using in situ key-informant interviews. Although all of the PAs studied had positive effectiveness scores, those with the highest scores were ecotourism and conservation concessions, where monitoring and surveillance activities and good relations with surrounding communities were reported as possible factors in decreasing deforestation rates. Native community areas had the lowest scores, with deforestation mainly driven by internal resource use and population growth. Weak local governance and immigration were identified as underlying factors decreasing the effectiveness of protection, whereas good relations with surrounding communities and monitoring activity increased effectiveness. The results highlight the need to combine remote sensing with in situ information on PA management because identification of drivers and deterrents of deforestation is vital for improving the effectiveness of protection.

The effectiveness of contrasting protected areas in preventing deforestation in Madre de Dios, Peru.

PubMed

Vuohelainen, Anni Johanna; Coad, Lauren; Marthews, Toby R; Malhi, Yadvinder; Killeen, Timothy J

2012-10-01

Accurate monitoring of the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in decreasing deforestation is increasingly important given the vital role of forest protection in climate change mitigation. Recent studies on PA effectiveness have used remote-sensing imagery to compare deforestation rates within PAs to surrounding areas. However, remote-sensing data used in isolation provides limited information on the factors contributing to effectiveness. We used landscape-modelling techniques to estimate the effectiveness of ten PAs in Madre de Dios, Peru. Factors influencing PA effectiveness were investigated using in situ key-informant interviews. Although all of the PAs studied had positive effectiveness scores, those with the highest scores were ecotourism and conservation concessions, where monitoring and surveillance activities and good relations with surrounding communities were reported as possible factors in decreasing deforestation rates. Native community areas had the lowest scores, with deforestation mainly driven by internal resource use and population growth. Weak local governance and immigration were identified as underlying factors decreasing the effectiveness of protection, whereas good relations with surrounding communities and monitoring activity increased effectiveness. The results highlight the need to combine remote sensing with in situ information on PA management because identification of drivers and deterrents of deforestation is vital for improving the effectiveness of protection.

Remote mass spectrometric sampling of electrospray- and desorption electrospray-generated ions using an air ejector.

PubMed

Dixon, R Brent; Bereman, Michael S; Muddiman, David C; Hawkridge, Adam M

2007-10-01

A commercial air ejector was coupled to an electrospray ionization linear ion trap mass spectrometer (LTQ) to transport remotely generated ions from both electrospray (ESI) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) sources. We demonstrate the remote analysis of a series of analyte ions that range from small molecules and polymers to polypeptides using the AE-LTQ interface. The details of the ESI-AE-LTQ and DESI-AE-LTQ experimental configurations are described and preliminary mass spectrometric data are presented.

Remote Mass Spectrometric Sampling of Electrospray- and Desorption Electrospray-Generated Ions Using an Air Ejector

PubMed Central

Dixon, R. Brent; Bereman, Michael S.; Muddiman, David C.; Hawkridge, Adam M.

2007-01-01

A commercial air ejector was coupled to an electrospray ionization linear ion trap mass spectrometer (LTQ) to transport remotely generated ions from both electrospray (ESI) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) sources. We demonstrate the remote analysis of a series of analyte ions that range from small molecules and polymers to polypeptides using the AE-LTQ interface. The details of the ESI-AE-LTQ and DESI-AE-LTQ experimental configurations are described and preliminary mass spectrometric data is presented. PMID:17716909

Kleptoparasitic behavior and species richness at Mt. Graham red squirrel middens

Treesearch

Andrew J. Edelman; John L. Koprowski; Jennifer L. Edelman

2005-01-01

We used remote photography to assess the frequency of inter- and intra-specific kleptoparasitism and species richness at Mt. Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) middens. Remote cameras and conifer cones were placed at occupied and unoccupied middens, and random sites. Species richness of small mammals was higher at red squirrel...