Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / David A. Gustafson / IEDs are a prevailing threat to today’s armed forces and civilians. With some IEDs being well concealed and planted sometimes days or weeks prior to detonation, it is extremely difficult to detect their presence. Remotely triggered IEDs do offer an indirect method of detection as an insurgent must monitor the IED’s kill zone and detonate the device once the intended target is in range. Within the safe confines of a video game we can model the behavior of an insurgent using remotely triggered IEDs. Specifically, we can build a model of the sequence of actions an insurgent goes through immediately prior to detonating an IED. Using this insurgent model, we can recognize the behavior an insurgent would exhibit before detonating an IED. Once the danger level reaches a certain threshold, we can then react by changing our original course to a new one that does not cross the area we believe an IED to be in. We can show proof of concept of this by having human players take on the role of an insurgent in an online video game in which they try to destroy an autonomous agent. Successful tactics used by the autonomous agent should then be good tactics in the real world as well.

Does digitally-mediated farmer-to-farmer learning facilitate farm-level adaptation to climate change? Utilizing semi-structured interviews with small-scale organic farmers in the Cascadia Bioregion, I document how farmers perceive climate change and in what ways they are responding and/or adapting to these changes. Such small-scale farms have limited economic capacity to adapt to climate change. Access to innovative, low-cost but locally relevant solutions will require novel knowledge-dissemination mechanisms. A modern option is “participatory media” - a social network based approach, linking farmers to farmers through internet-exchange of photos and video. This project engages in a “bottom-up” approach to the development and sharing of knowledge. In collaboration with local farmers, I explored the efficacy of a participatory media method in moving towards improving farmers’ perception of and adaptation to climate change, as well as overall farm-level resilience. / Graduate

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Geography, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-60).

Orientador: Lilian Teresa Bucken Gobbi / Banca: Sérgio Tosi Rodrigues / Banca: Luis Augusto Teixeira / Resumo: Considerando que indivíduo e ambiente encontram-se dinamicamente relacionados e que o indivíduo encontra no ambiente situações também em movimento, o presente estudo propôs-se a analisar as estratégias locomotoras da ultrapassagem de obstáculo que se movimenta em diferentes velocidades. Participaram 10 adultos jovens, universitários. Com marcadores passivos fixados em referências anatômicas de interesse, cada participante percorreu andando uma passarela de 6 m de comprimento delimitada por um corredor de 0,50 m de largura e ultrapassou o obstáculo que cruzou perpendicularmente sua trajetória em três condições de velocidade. Os resultados revelaram que a velocidade do obstáculo desencadeou ajustes espaciais e temporais nos passos anteriores ao obstáculo. Na ultrapassagem, os resultados evidenciaram que, na velocidade baixa, os participantes aproximaram-se mais do obstáculo antes da ultrapassagem, aumentaram a margem de segurança sobre o obstáculo e a distância após a ultrapassagem, erraram menos e demoraram mais para ultrapassar o obstáculo. Entretanto, na velocidade alta, os participantes aumentaram ainda mais a margem de segurança sobre o obstáculo e afastaram-se mais após a ultrapassagem. Estes resultados indicam que ocorreram modificações no padrão de aproximação e ultrapassagem do obstáculo de acordo com a velocidade / Abstract: Considering that both individual and environment are dynamically related and that the individual find in the environment situations also in movement, the purpose of the present study was to analyze the locomotor strategies during crossing the obstacle, which moved in different speeds. Ten young adults, undergraduate students participated. Passive markers were attached in anatomical landmarks. Each participant walked on a pathway of 6m long and 0.5m wide and passed over an obstacle that perpendicularly (90º) crossed his/her trajectory under three velocity conditions. The results revealed that the obstacle velocity unchained spatial and temporal adjustments in all steps prior to the obstacle. During the crossing phase, the results revealed that in low speed the participants got closer to the obstacle before crossing, increased the safety margin over the obstacle, increased the foot placement after the obstacle, decreased the errors, and increased the time to pass over the obstacle. However, on the high velocity, the participants increased even more the safety margin over the obstacle and increased foot placement after the obstacle. These results showed that the obstacle velocity modulated the approach and crossing patterns / Mestre

Submitted by Rosangela Silva (rosangela.silva3@unioeste.br) on 2018-08-15T12:36:14Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Vanessa Liesenfeld.pdf: 2622968 bytes, checksum: e7dd0e45c51ae65726f3fc10d5b51cc9 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T12:36:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Vanessa Liesenfeld.pdf: 2622968 bytes, checksum: e7dd0e45c51ae65726f3fc10d5b51cc9 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Asteraceae is the largest family among the angiosperms and occurs predominantly in tropical regions and mainly in grassland area. In Brazil, it is one of the most diverse families, highlighting mainly the floristic of the Pampa biome, which in the country is restricted to Rio Grande do Sul. In the sand-fields, one of the phytophysiognomies of the Pampa biome (southwest RS) Asteraceae is also the richest family. The sand-fields vegetation occurs under sandy soils susceptible to the sandy stone process. This process is, a natural phenomenon (manintensified) that replaces the native vegetation cover by exposed substrate due to erosion and the action of the wind that rework the sandstone depositing the sand on the surface and promoting the constant mobility of sediments. In addition to the reduced fertility and water retention capacity of this sandy soil, poor distribution of rainfall, intense light and strong winds condition the vegetation of this region to extreme and limiting circumstances. Therefore, this study aimed to describe morphoanatomy and to identify adaptive characteristics that allow the survival of Asteraceae species in this adverse site. In addition to phylogenetically constant characters in the family (amphistomatic leaves, dorsiventral mesophyll, secretory channels and morphological diversity of trichomes), foliar morphoanatomy of the studied species indicates the predominant occurrence of adaptive characteristics to xeric environments that protect mainly against high luminosity and water scarcity: reduced leaves and coriaceous, tomentose indumentum, cuticle and thickened epidermal cells, epicuticular wax, amphistomatic leaves and investment in photosynthetic and support tissue. Although it occupies the same habitat and is under the influence of the same environmental conditions, each species develops a distinct adaptive strategy to survive and, therefore, their resistance or tolerance results from the interaction of several factors throughout the life history of the plants. / Asteraceae é a maior família dentre as angiospermas e ocorre predominantemente em regiões tropicais e principalmente em fitofisionomias campestres. No Brasil, é uma das famílias mais diversas, destacando-se principalmente na florística do bioma Pampa, que no país é restrito ao Rio Grande do Sul. Nos Campos de Areais, uma das fitofisionomias campestres do bioma Pampa (sudoeste do RS), Asteraceae é também a família de maior riqueza. A vegetação dos Campos de Areais ocorre sob solos arenosos suscetíveis ao processo de arenização. Esse processo é um fenômeno natural (intensificado pelo homem) que substitui a cobertura vegetal nativa por substrato exposto, devido a erosão e a ação do vento que retrabalham o arenito, depositando a areia na superfície e promovendo a mobilidade constante dos sedimentos. Somado à reduzida fertilidade e capacidade de retenção de água deste solo arenoso, a má distribuição das chuvas, a luminosidade intensa e os ventos fortes condicionam a vegetação desta região a circunstâncias extremas e limitantes. Portanto, este estudo objetivou descrever a morfoanatomia e identificar características adaptativas que possibilitam a sobrevivência de espécies de Asteraceae neste local adverso. Além de caracteres filogeneticamente constantes na família (folhas anfiestomáticas, mesofilo dorsiventral, canais secretores e diversidade morfológica de tricomas) a morfoanatomia foliar das espécies estudadas indica a ocorrência predominante de características adaptativas a ambientes xéricos que protegem principalmente contra a luminosidade elevada e a escassez hídrica: folhas reduzidas e coriáceas, indumento tomentoso, cutícula e células epidérmicas espessadas, cera epicuticular, folhas anfiestomáticas e investimento em tecido fotossintético e de sustentação. Apesar de ocupar o mesmo habitat e estar sob influência das mesmas condições ambientais, cada espécie desenvolve uma estratégia adaptativa distinta para sobreviver e, portanto, a sua resistência ou tolerância resulta da interação de vários fatores ao longo da história evolutiva das plantas.

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This study examines rural household food security and its determinants in drought-prone Amhara Region of Ethiopia by focusing on Lay Gaint district as a case study site. A range of factors from physical environmental circumstances to policy and institutions-related issues determine households‟ vulnerability to food insecurity and livelihood outcomes. The survey results showed that the majority (74%) of the sampled households experienced food insecurity. The situation was worse among female-headed households such that 86% of them were food insecure. The study revealed that, despite the low level of productivity related to local environmental constraints, rural livelihoods remain undiversified with small scale rain-fed agriculture to provide the primary source of livelihood for the large majority of households (~93% of respondents). Only about 25% of the respondents participated in some form of non-farm or off-farm activities, but with only little contribution to their total annual incomes. Food insecurity is a chronic problem in that, on average, households in the study area consume from own production for only about six months. The study found out that the majority of households (about 80%) perceived annual rainfall to be inadequate to support the growing of crops and grazing of animals. The main adaptive strategies employed by the majority of households included diversifying livestock kept, planting trees and diversifying crops. The study revealed that incidence, depth and severity of food insecurity of the food insecure households showed that Woina-Dega and Kolla agro-ecologies are prone to vulnerability to food insecurity. This suggests that development interventions that are geographically differentiated; and build household assets will improve household food security in the study area, and in other similar environments in the country. / Geography

This study examines rural household food security and its determinants in drought-prone Amhara Region of Ethiopia by focusing on Lay Gaint district as a case study site. A range of factors from physical environmental circumstances to policy and institutions-related issues determine households‟ vulnerability to food insecurity and livelihood outcomes. The survey results showed that the majority (74%) of the sampled households experienced food insecurity. The situation was worse among female-headed households such that 86% of them were food insecure. The study revealed that, despite the low level of productivity related to local environmental constraints, rural livelihoods remain undiversified with small scale rain-fed agriculture to provide the primary source of livelihood for the large majority of households (~93% of respondents). Only about 25% of the respondents participated in some form of non-farm or off-farm activities, but with only little contribution to their total annual incomes. Food insecurity is a chronic problem in that, on average, households in the study area consume from own production for only about six months. The study found out that the majority of households (about 80%) perceived annual rainfall to be inadequate to support the growing of crops and grazing of animals. The main adaptive strategies employed by the majority of households included diversifying livestock kept, planting trees and diversifying crops. The study revealed that incidence, depth and severity of food insecurity of the food insecure households showed that Woina-Dega and Kolla agro-ecologies are prone to vulnerability to food insecurity. This suggests that development interventions that are geographically differentiated; and build household assets will improve household food security in the study area, and in other similar environments in the country. / Geography

The advent of modern computer technologies provided a powerful tool in numerical simulations. One of the most frequently used method for the discretization of the physical domain is Finite element Method (FEM). One of the main problems in a finite element analysis is the adequacy of the finite element mesh. Since the quality of the finite element solution directly depends on the quality of meshes, the additional process to improve the quality of meshes is necessary for reliable finite element approximation. In order to perform quality-assessed numerical simulation, the adaptive finite element strategies have been developed. These strategies integrate the finite element analysis with error estimation and fully automatic mesh modification, user interaction with this process is limited by initial geometry data and possible error tolerance definition. The finite element solution, obtained during adaptive finite element strategy process, approximates quite good different engineering structures. Despite many works in this area the problem of the adequate finite element mesh is not fully solved and additional developments are needed in order to improve adaptive mesh refinement strategy process. The aim and tasks of the work – to obtain methodology for quality assessed discretization to finite elements for complex geometry engineering structures by adaptive finite element strategies. To realize this purpose the following scientific tasks have been dealt: to develop an automatic... [to full text]

The advent of modern computer technologies provided a powerful tool in numerical simulations. One of the most frequently used method for the discretization of the physical domain is Finite element Method (FEM). One of the main problems in a finite element analysis is the adequacy of the finite element mesh. Since the quality of the finite element solution directly depends on the quality of meshes, the additional process to improve the quality of meshes is necessary for reliable finite element approximation. In order to perform quality-assessed numerical simulation, the adaptive finite element strategies have been developed. These strategies integrate the finite element analysis with error estimation and fully automatic mesh modification, user interaction with this process is limited by initial geometry data and possible error tolerance definition. The finite element solution, obtained during adaptive finite element strategy process, approximates quite good different engineering structures. Despite many works in this area the problem of the adequate finite element mesh is not fully solved and additional developments are needed in order to improve adaptive mesh refinement strategy process. The aim and tasks of the work – to obtain methodology for quality assessed discretization to finite elements for complex geometry engineering structures by adaptive finite element strategies. To realize this purpose the following scientific tasks have been dealt: to develop an automatic... [to full text]