This study consisted of an examination of how service quality should be measured within libraries and how library service quality relates to library success. A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was evaluated to determine how effectively it measures library service quality. Instruments designed to measure information center success and information system success were evaluated to determine how effectively they measure library success and how they relate to SERVQUAL. A model of library success was developed to examine how library service quality relates to other variables associated with library success. Responses from 385 end users at two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers libraries were obtained through a mail survey. Results indicate that library service quality is best measured with a performance-based version of SERVQUAL, and that measuring importance may be as critical as measuring expectations for management purposes. Results also indicate that library service quality is an important factor in library success and that library success is best measured with a combination of SERVQUAL and library success instruments. The findings have implications for the development of new instruments to more effectively measure library service quality and library success as well as for the development of new models of library service quality and library success.

The acquisition of terrain data from aerial photography using digital photogrammetric methods gives the engineer and planner an economical alternative to conventional ground surveys. This paper describes a complete photogrammetric digitizing system developed for the Portland District Army Corps of Engineers. The hardware of the system consists of a Wild AlO first order stereoplotter interfaced to an Altec AC-74 coordinate digitizer which is interfaced to both a Hewlett Packard 9810A programmable calculator and a Digi-Data nine-track magnetic tape recorder. The software of the system consists of photogrammetric routines developed for online computation by the programmable calculator and a sophisticated FORTRAN IV program called PHOTDIG which processes the digitized photogrammetric data from the nine-track magnetic tape at the Corps of Engineers data processing facility which contains an IBM 370 computer and a Calcomp 748 precision flatbed plotter. The processing of the digitized data by PHOTDIG produces terrain information required by engineers and planners such as state plane coordinates, elevations, cross-sections, profiles, etc. in both digital and graphical formats. The system has been in production use for over two years in the Portland District Photogrammetry Section and has significantly increased the efficiency and economy of photogrammetric data acquisition.

This is a policy implementation case study. The case is the relocation of the Town of North Bonneville, Washington, by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers. Three questions are addressed in this study. One, did the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in relocating the Town, accomplish what was intended to be accomplished? Two, how and why were Federal policies applicable to the relocation of this town changed during the implementation process? Three, what can the North Bonneville experience contribute to existent knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of policy implementation? The principal precepts for policy implementation promoted by this study of the relocation of the Town of North Bonneville, Washington, are as follows: (1) Implementing agencies must recognize and consider what they have to do or may have to do to accomplish what they are intended to accomplish,not merely what they want to do or expect to do. Potential impediments to implementation that are unrecognized and unconsidered may fail to develop, but unless addressed problems cannot be solved. (2) Implementing agencies must expeditiously study and understand the policies that they are assigned to implement. Failure of understanding presents the appearance of ambiquity; indeed, even the clearest policy is effectively ambiquous if it is not understood. (3) Implementing agencies must promptly and plainly explain the policies they are charged with implementing to affected and interested persons or groups. Failure to explain leaves affected and interested persons or groups to form their own expectations of what the policy is, which expectations if erroneous may be difficult to dislodge. (4) Implementing agencies must attend that once a policy is stated and explained all subsequent actions are consistent with the policy as stated and that any action that may appear to constitute a deviation is adequately explained. Otherwise the credibility of the agency and of the policy being implemented by the agency is undermined.

Hydrological and hydraulic effects of urban development is one of the key issues of study for improved water management. The addition of impervious surfaces to once pervious land and re-routing open channels and flow paths can cause flooding or declining water levels within a watershed. Many studies of these issues have found that there can be multiple factors causing hydrological and hydraulic impacts, and it can be hard to analyze and develop effective solutions without appropriate drainage software packages. However, there are multiple software packages available for use, and determining the correct one to use for a specific challenge can often be a case by case decision. This study compares two drainage software packages: Autodesk Storm and Sanitary Analysis (SSA), and the Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS). Each of these software packages are used to create a model of the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge in Santa Barbara, CA. The models analyze both current conditions and anticipated system response under the assumption that historical runoff from a previously re-routed creek and corresponding watershed are restored. Each model was used to determine the minimum cumulative rainfall that causes circulation of the water body, a maximum cumulative rainfall that causes flooding on site, and response under both routing scenarios to a 2-year frequency storm. Results from both models are compared for uniformity, and application of each model is reviewed for its efficacy as a design tool for this sort of hydrological and hydraulic analysis.

The Military Intelligence Division (MID) was the U.S. Army's intelligence agency that reported to the Chief of Staff within the War Department. During the years 1917- 1927, the MID routinely conducted surveillance of Mexico, including: espionage, mail censorship, radio intercepts, intelligence gathering, and development of plans for the invasion of Mexico. This study utilizes a tripartite model to evaluate the production and analysis of military "intelligence" by the MID in Mexico during the period 1917-1927. First, the organization and development of the Military Intelligence Division from its origins in 1885 through the year 1927 is explored with sections on institutional history and objects of investigation. Second, a quantitative analysis of intelligence documents identifies the focus and priorities of the MID in Mexico. Third, a textual analysis of intelligence documents makes use of a cross-cultural framework to demonstrate the prevailing attitudes, perspectives and world views of the MID toward the Mexican state and its peoples. The thesis question as to whether the U.S. Military Intelligence Division created an accurate and complete picture of "reality" of Mexico is answered in the negative. The MID perspective was colored by cultural bias, ignorance, and misunderstanding. Ultimately, the MID failed to grasp the reality of Mexico because it failed to ask the right questions. It seriously misunderstood the nature of Mexico and its peoples, especially in its relationship with the United States .. The particular model developed for this study lends itself to the possibility of further research in the area of international history and cross-cultural studies. The use of multiple analysis techniques provides a more comprehensive picture of the various factors involved that influence historical events.

At the time of its construction (1971-1985), the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway was a highly scrutinized public works project, but the years after its construction have remained largely unexplored. Research in the John C. Stennis Collection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority archives, and local newspapers, revealed that despite developers’ promise the waterway’s economic impact failed to live up to expectations, while its environmental influence more than exceeded them. Though rural southerners failed to benefit economically from the waterway, they embraced the environmental changes forced upon the project by the National Environmental Policy Act. Built as a promise of economic development, the Tenn-Tom offers a model of how economics and environmental forces intersected within the rural South. The waterway’s history as an economic and environmental force demands a reconsideration of the role of public works projects in southern environmental history.

No description available.

Thesis (M. En.)--Miami University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35 [1st set of paginations]).

A study of Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea Müller) colonization in relation to changes in aquatic vegetation community as a result of management of Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle with grass carp was conducted at the Lewisville Aquatic Ecosystem Research Facility (LAERF), Lewisville, TX, from April 2015 through October 2016. Percent vegetation cover, C. fluminea abundance and water quality metrics (pH, turbidity, conductivity, DO, calcium, chlorophyll a) from 16 experimental subjects were analyzed. Treatments included four replicated grass carp stocking densities; 1-control with no fish stocked (n = 4), 2-low density of 40-43 fish per vegetated ha (n = 4), 3-medium density of 72-81 fish per vegetated ha (n = 4) and 4-high density of 110-129 fish per vegetated ha (n = 4). Data analysis showed statistical significance in the relation of C. fluminea abundance to percent vegetation cover (multiple linear regression, r2 = 0.820), grass carp stocking densities (two-way analysis of variance, p = <0.001) and chlorophyll a (multiple linear regression, r2 = 0.339). Findings of this research indicate the possibility that management of hydrilla had enabled establishment of secondary invasive species.

No description available.