<p> Global climate change may result in rising temperatures. As a result, ecological health and the human use of rivers may be impacted. The hydrologic cycle, watershed hydrology, and in-stream hydraulics are dynamic systems, influenced by human activities, natural events, and climate. Although known drivers like precipitation and stream velocity govern sediment processes, the effect of water temperature on sediment transport remains unclear. In-stream sediment movement could lead to blocked harbors, flooding, and degradation of vulnerable fish habitat. To better understand how fluctuations in water temperature affect sediment dynamics, six transport models were analyzed on the Niobrara River, with water temperatures ranging 1&deg; to 40&deg; C. The results indicate that as water warms sediment transport decreases, according to an inverse, non-linear law, with the highest reduction at colder water temperatures. The results given here can help predict changes in sediment transport for rivers with similar characteristics at various water temperatures. </p>

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

No description available.

<p> At the rate the population is growing it is important to find ways to be more efficient with the energy and water we use. The increase in population increases the need for electricity and water, but the way we are using our sources will not leave us with enough for future generations. The constant use of &ldquo;dirty energy&rdquo;, energy that emits CO2 and other chemicals into the atmosphere, will continue to harm our environment. A new system is needed to help preserve water and produce green energy that will not harm the only earth we have.</p>

The Indonesian Air Force has utilized computers in its administration as early as 1990. The computers, however, have not yet been optimized to support inventory management in aircraft maintenance operations, especially for the helicopter fleet. The processes for materials procurement to support the maintenance operations still rely heavily on the services of intermediaries'. Even though the Air Force has already adopted the Automatic Logistic Management System (ALMS), this has several weaknesses in supporting the material procurement processes. The objective of this study is to propose the implementation of the Material Requirement Planning (MRP) method to improve inventory management in the Air Force's helicopter fleet. It is hoped that by implementing the MRP, the Air Force can get the right materials in the right amount at the right time without imposing unnecessary costs by minimizing the roles of the intermediaries. The implementation of MRP, however, cannot be done without redesigning the business process in material acquisition and transforming it to an IT-enabled business process. Therefore, this study also discusses the Business Process Reengineering (BPR) concept in order to support the implementation of the MRP. / Indonesian Air Force author.

The movement towards a Network Centric environment is changing the requirements for network management. The ability to quickly adapt to changing conditions is crucial to the success of joint forces; Information Technology systems are critical enablers of that flexibility. The challenge facing managers today is to provide robust, integrated, secure, and interoperable information systems and networks; a challenge that has never been more demanding than it is today. As the components of the DoD continue their transformation efforts, it is important to look to successful organizations for management techniques to aid in providing effective and efficient IT services. This thesis will explore current management trends such as outsourcing, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Real Options, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), and Knowledge Value Added (KVA) to determine their possible impact on the manner in which the DoD manages their IT services. / US Marine Corps (USMC) author.

A sociological understanding of natural resource management decisions traces the links between historical change (How does this historical period differ from other periods?), society (What social relations exist at this time and how do they persist or change?), and individuals (What types of conduct and discourse prevail in this society and in this period?). The papers submitted for this dissertation examine the connections between identity, social milieu, and historical change relative to three resource management issues: (1) The promotion of nature play areas as a novel landscape form. Analysis of agency materials suggests that these spaces are advertised as bucolic settings for children's healthy development. Online and on-site communications about nature play guide both children's and adults' conduct according to specific ideas about nature, parenting, and education. (2) The sway of the instrumental rationality inherent in the ecosystem services approach to planning and management. Traditional sociological theory suggests that, for all of its promise to internalize environmental externalities in decision-making, the ecosystem services approach reduces society's capacity for engaging critically with the forces that shape our world. The recent "nonhuman turn" in social theory offers alternatives to the utilitarian ethic and quiescent character of ecosystem services. (3) The impact of changing demographics in amenity-rich towns on community wellbeing. This resident survey of four Vermont towns experiencing different rates of growth examines the utility of categories such as permanent and seasonal residents, and newcomers and longterm residents, in understanding attitudes toward community development and preservation of natural and cultural resources.

<p> The traditional paradigm of baseflow generation assumes a uniform water table contributes baseflow evenly across a watershed. This thesis considers an alternate paradigm in which baseflow originates from a mix of localized sources that drain at different rates. Four forested headwater catchments across the United States were examined for spatial variability in baseflow sources by analyzing fractional baseflow contribution from each subcatchment relative to the catchment outlet. This revealed that subcatchment flow contributions changed dynamically through time, supporting the idea of different drainage rates in different places. A parallel linear reservoir model, which is predicated on heterogeneity in flow sources and not groundwater hydraulics, was used to simulate results consistent with observations in some of the study catchments. These results support the idea that in some locations baseflow recession may be better explained by landscape spatial heterogeneity than by aquifer hydraulics. </p>

<p> This qualitative case study took place in a racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse community. It involved interviewing 11 teacher volunteers from a high school in a culturally diverse community in New York, each at different stages of their teaching careers, to obtain their perceptions about the value of implementing culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in their instruction to enhance the learning opportunities of students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The broad objective of this inquiry was to seek ways of establishing a pedagogy appropriate for students from diverse backgrounds. The specific aim was to use teachers&rsquo; perceptions about implementing CRT techniques in their instruction to effectively satisfy the learning, academic achievement, and socioemotional health of their culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Participants responded to interview questions by completing and returning the interview questionnaire they were given. Five participants further participated by explaining more fully how they believed the CRT techniques they employed in delivering classroom instruction enhanced opportunities for the CLD students. The data collected from the responses of all participants were examined and sorted according to similarities and differences. The analysis of responses received by all teachers revealed they all agreed that CRT methods were the best approach for reaching and engaging CLD students in the classroom and thereby maximizing opportunities for them to attain success in their academic achievements, and for addressing their socio-emotional health. In addition, all teachers expressed support for more professional development (PD), especially in CRT on-going programs to enable them to be better educators of CLD students. The findings of the study implied that not all teachers were adequately trained to effectively teach students from diverse backgrounds. It is recommended that schools&rsquo; governing bodies institute PD programs with the specific aim of engaging all teachers in compulsory on-going involvement in the acquisition of skills required for addressing the needs and interests of CLD students. Schools&rsquo; officials should also create regular in-house workshops and lectures to keep teachers current with new CRT techniques recommended by the on-going research in the field.</p>

<p> Groundwater plays an important role in runoff generation in the humid tropics, both as subsurface stormflow during rain events and sustaining baseflow during dry periods. Yet groundwater fluxes in tropical areas, particularly groundwater/surface-water (GW-SW) interactions, are not very well characterized at regional scales, thus preventing us from estimating how climate change and anthropogenic activities will affect future groundwater availability. In the case of Panama, abundance of water resources has caused its misuse and thus groundwater is exploited without previous knowledge of its distribution and availability. However, regions of the country such as the Central Pacific Region suffer from water scarcity during periods of extended drought, when streamflow reduces significantly and shallow wells get dry. Understanding groundwater dynamics, especially GW-SW interactions, is crucial for government authorities to make informed decisions in order to secure water availability for current and future generations. This thesis presents advances on the characterization of the La Villa groundwater basin, located in the Central Pacific Region of Panama. By building a groundwater conceptual and numerical model, and a surface water model, potential recharge areas and groundwater flow patterns were identified. Also, the model reveals that groundwater feeds the rivers, not only during dry periods, but throughout the year. Although this preliminary model is not yet capable of predicting the total amount of groundwater stored, and neither can be used to inform management decision, it can inform us of which features have the greatest influence on groundwater flow and it can tell us what types of data are necessary to improve the results of the simulation. The development of these models is the first step towards the development of an integrated hydrologic simulation that can be used to test different climate change and/or management scenarios.</p><p>