Local-scale stratigraphy of grooved terrain on Ganymede

Science.gov (United States)

Murchie, Scott L.; Head, James W.; Helfenstein, Paul; Plescia, Jeffrey B.

1987-01-01

The surface of the Jovian satellite, Ganymede, is divided into two main units, dark terrain cut by arcuate and subradial furrows, and light terrain consisting largely of areas with pervasive U-shaped grooves. The grooved terrain may be subdivided on the basis of pervasive morphology of groove domains into four terrain types: (1) elongate bands of parallel grooves (groove lanes); (2) polygonal domains of parallel grooves (grooved polygons); (3) polygonal domains of two orthogonal groove sets (reticulate terrain); and (4) polygons having two to several complexly cross-cutting groove sets (complex grooved terrain). Reticulate terrain is frequently dark and not extensively resurfaced, and grades to a more hummocky terrain type. The other three grooved terrain types have almost universally been resurfaced by light material during their emplacement. The sequence of events during grooved terrain emplacement has been investigated. An attempt is made to integrate observed geologic and tectonic patterns to better constrain the relative ages and styles of emplacement of grooved terrain types. A revised model of grooved terrain emplacement is proposed and is tested using detailed geologic mapping and measurement of crater density.

Mathematical Rigor in Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Vandyke, Michael; Bassichis, William

2011-10-01

Calculus-based introductory physics courses intended for future engineers and physicists are often designed and taught in the same fashion as those intended for students of other disciplines. A more mathematically rigorous curriculum should be more appropriate and, ultimately, more beneficial for the student in his or her future coursework. This work investigates the effects of mathematical rigor on student understanding of introductory mechanics. Using a series of diagnostic tools in conjunction with individual student course performance, a statistical analysis will be performed to examine student learning of introductory mechanics and its relation to student understanding of the underlying calculus.

Processing Terrain Point Cloud Data

KAUST Repository

DeVore, Ronald

2013-01-10

Terrain point cloud data are typically acquired through some form of Light Detection And Ranging sensing. They form a rich resource that is important in a variety of applications including navigation, line of sight, and terrain visualization. Processing terrain data has not received the attention of other forms of surface reconstruction or of image processing. The goal of terrain data processing is to convert the point cloud into a succinct representation system that is amenable to the various application demands. The present paper presents a platform for terrain processing built on the following principles: (i) measuring distortion in the Hausdorff metric, which we argue is a good match for the application demands, (ii) a multiscale representation based on tree approximation using local polynomial fitting. The basic elements held in the nodes of the tree can be efficiently encoded, transmitted, visualized, and utilized for the various target applications. Several challenges emerge because of the variable resolution of the data, missing data, occlusions, and noise. Techniques for identifying and handling these challenges are developed. © 2013 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Processing Terrain Point Cloud Data

KAUST Repository

DeVore, Ronald; Petrova, Guergana; Hielsberg, Matthew; Owens, Luke; Clack, Billy; Sood, Alok

2013-01-01

Terrain point cloud data are typically acquired through some form of Light Detection And Ranging sensing. They form a rich resource that is important in a variety of applications including navigation, line of sight, and terrain visualization

Selection method of terrain matching area for TERCOM algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qieqie; Zhao, Long

2017-10-01

The performance of terrain aided navigation is closely related to the selection of terrain matching area. The different matching algorithms have different adaptability to terrain. This paper mainly studies the adaptability to terrain of TERCOM algorithm, analyze the relation between terrain feature and terrain characteristic parameters by qualitative and quantitative methods, and then research the relation between matching probability and terrain characteristic parameters by the Monte Carlo method. After that, we propose a selection method of terrain matching area for TERCOM algorithm, and verify the method correctness with real terrain data by simulation experiment. Experimental results show that the matching area obtained by the method in this paper has the good navigation performance and the matching probability of TERCOM algorithm is great than 90%

Supervised Autonomy for Exploration and Mobile Manipulation in Rough Terrain with a Centaur-like Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Schwarz

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Planetary exploration scenarios illustrate the need for autonomous robots that are capable to operate in unknown environments without direct human interaction. At the DARPA Robotics Challenge, we demonstrated that our Centaur-like mobile manipulation robot Momaro can solve complex tasks when teleoperated. Motivated by the DLR SpaceBot Cup 2015, where robots should explore a Mars-like environment, find and transport objects, take a soil sample, and perform assembly tasks, we developed autonomous capabilities for Momaro. Our robot perceives and maps previously unknown, uneven terrain using a 3D laser scanner. Based on the generated height map, we assess drivability, plan navigation paths, and execute them using the omnidirectional drive. Using its four legs, the robot adapts to the slope of the terrain. Momaro perceives objects with cameras, estimates their pose, and manipulates them with its two arms autonomously. For specifying missions, monitoring mission progress, on-the-fly reconfiguration, and teleoperation, we developed a ground station with suitable operator interfaces. To handle network communication interruptions and latencies between robot and ground station, we implemented a robust network layer for the ROS middleware. With the developed system, our team NimbRo Explorer solved all tasks of the DLR SpaceBot Camp 2015. We also discuss the lessons learned from this demonstration.

Complex terrain and wind lidars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bingoel, F.

2009-08-15

This thesis includes the results of a PhD study about complex terrain and wind lidars. The study mostly focuses on hilly and forested areas. Lidars have been used in combination with cups, sonics and vanes, to reach the desired vertical measurement heights. Several experiments are performed in complex terrain sites and the measurements are compared with two different flow models; a linearised flow model LINCOM and specialised forest model SCADIS. In respect to the lidar performance in complex terrain, the results showed that horizontal wind speed errors measured by a conically scanning lidar can be of the order of 3-4% in moderately-complex terrain and up to 10% in complex terrain. The findings were based on experiments involving collocated lidars and meteorological masts, together with flow calculations over the same terrains. The lidar performance was also simulated with the commercial software WAsP Engineering 2.0 and was well predicted except for some sectors where the terrain is particularly steep. Subsequently, two experiments were performed in forested areas; where the measurements are recorded at a location deep-in forest and at the forest edge. Both sites were modelled with flow models and the comparison of the measurement data with the flow model outputs showed that the mean wind speed calculated by LINCOM model was only reliable between 1 and 2 tree height (h) above canopy. The SCADIS model reported better correlation with the measurements in forest up to approx6h. At the forest edge, LINCOM model was used by allocating a slope half-in half out of the forest based on the suggestions of previous studies. The optimum slope angle was reported as 17 deg.. Thus, a suggestion was made to use WAsP Engineering 2.0 for forest edge modelling with known limitations and the applied method. The SCADIS model worked better than the LINCOM model at the forest edge but the model reported closer results to the measurements at upwind than the downwind and this should be

Survivor shielding. Part C. Improvements in terrain shielding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egbert, Stephen D.; Kaul, Dean C.; Roberts, James A.; Kerr, George D.

2005-01-01

A number of atomic-bomb survivors were affected by shielding provided by terrain features. These terrain features can be a small hill, affecting one or two houses, or a high mountain that shields large neighborhoods. In the survivor dosimetry system, terrain shielding can be described by a transmission factor (TF), which is the ratio between the dose with and without the terrain present. The terrain TF typically ranges between 0.1 and 1.0. After DS86 was implemented at RERF, the terrain shielding categories were examined and found to either have a bias or an excessive uncertainty that could readily be removed. In 1989, an improvement in the terrain model was implemented at RERF in the revised DS86 code, but the documentation was not published. It is now presented in this section. The solution to the terrain shielding in front of a house is described in this section. The problem of terrain shielding of survivors behind Hijiyama mountain at Hiroshima and Konpirasan mountain at Nagasaki has also been recognized, and a solution to this problem has been included in DS02. (author)

Introductory remarks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiefer, Friedemann; Schulte-Merker, Stefan

2014-01-01

This introductory section briefly highlights the subsequent chapters in the context of recent findings and open questions in lymphatic vessel biology. It aims to provide a quick overview and orientation in the contents of this monograph collection.

Spectra of Velocity components over Complex Terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Panofsky, H. A.; Larko, D.; Lipschut, R.

1982-01-01

: When air moves over terrain with changed characteristics, then (1) for wavelengths very short relative to the fetch over the new terrain, the spectral densities are in equilibrium with the new terrain. (1) for wavelengths long compared to this fetch, spectral densities remain unchanged if the ground...

A Real-Time Reaction Obstacle Avoidance Algorithm for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in Unknown Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zheping; Li, Jiyun; Zhang, Gengshi; Wu, Yi

2018-02-02

A novel real-time reaction obstacle avoidance algorithm (RRA) is proposed for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that must adapt to unknown complex terrains, based on forward looking sonar (FLS). To accomplish this algorithm, obstacle avoidance rules are planned, and the RRA processes are split into five steps Introduction only lists 4 so AUVs can rapidly respond to various environment obstacles. The largest polar angle algorithm (LPAA) is designed to change detected obstacle's irregular outline into a convex polygon, which simplifies the obstacle avoidance process. A solution is designed to solve the trapping problem existing in U-shape obstacle avoidance by an outline memory algorithm. Finally, simulations in three unknown obstacle scenes are carried out to demonstrate the performance of this algorithm, where the obtained obstacle avoidance trajectories are safety, smooth and near-optimal.

ISOSTATICALLY DISTURBED TERRAIN OF NORTHWESTERN ANDES MOUNTAINS FROM SPECTRALLY CORRELATED FREE-AIR AND GRAVITY TERRAIN DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hernández P Orlando

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Recently revised models on global tectonics describe the convergence of the North Andes, Nazca, Caribbean and South American Plates and their seismicity, volcanism, active faulting and extreme
topography. The current plate boundaries of the area are mainly interpreted from volcanic and seismic datasets with variable confidence levels. New insights on the isostatic state and plate boundaries of
the northwestern Andes Mountains can be obtained from the spectral analysis of recently available gravity and topography data.
Isostatically disturbed terrain produces free-air anomalies that are highly correlated with the gravity effects of the terrain. The terrain gravity effects (TGE and free air gravity anomalies (FAGA of the
Andes mountains spectral correlation data confirms that these mountains are isostatically disturbed. Strong negative terrain-correlated FAGA along western South America and the Greater and Lesser Antilles are consistent with anomalously deepened mantle displaced by subducting oceanic plates.

Inversion of the compensated terrain gravity effects (CTGE reveals plate subduction systems with alternating shallower and steeper subduction angles. The gravity modeling highlights crustal
deformation from plate collision and subduction and other constraints on the tectonism of the plate boundary zones for the region.

A MOOC for Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Schatz, Michael

2014-03-01

We describe an effort to develop and to implement a college-level introductory physics (mechanics) MOOC that offers bona fide laboratory experiences. We also discuss efforts to use MOOC curricular materials to ``flip'' the classroom in a large lecture introductory physics course offered on-campus at Georgia Tech. Preliminary results of assessments and surveys from both MOOC and on-campus students will be presented.

News clippings for introductory astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Bobrowsky, Matthew

1999-09-01

Most students entering our introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors arrive not merely lacking scientific facts-they also have misconceptions about the nature of science, and many have a handicapping ``science anxiety'' (in addition to math anxiety). So I have added a ``current science'' requirement to our introductory course. Each student must compile a file of five astronomy news articles taken from readily available sources.

Digital terrain data base - new possibilities of 3D terrain modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mateja Rihtaršič

1992-12-01

Full Text Available GISs has brought new dimensions in the field of digital terrain modelling, too. Modem DTMs must be real (relational databases with high degree of "intelligence". This paper presents some of the demands, ivhich have to be solved in modern digital terrain databases, together with main steps of their's generation. Problems, connected to regional level, multi-pur pose use, new possibilities and direct integration into GIS are presented. The practical model was created across smaller test area, so few lines with practical experiences can be droped, too.

Psychology Ethics in Introductory Psychology Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Zucchero, Renee' A.

2011-01-01

Previous research revealed that introductory psychology textbooks included limited information about psychology ethics. This study reviewed 48 current introductory psychology textbooks for research and other APA ethics content. These textbooks included slightly more total ethics content and were more thorough in their review of research ethics…

Introductory Guide to European Corporate Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fomcenco, Alex

Introductory Guide to European Corporate Law presents in an easily comprehensible and accessible way the main features and principles that govern European corporate law.......Introductory Guide to European Corporate Law presents in an easily comprehensible and accessible way the main features and principles that govern European corporate law....

Terrain Perception in a Shape Shifting Rolling-Crawling Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fuchida Masataka

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Terrain perception greatly enhances the performance of robots, providing them with essential information on the nature of terrain being traversed. Several living beings in nature offer interesting inspirations which adopt different gait patterns according to nature of terrain. In this paper, we present a novel terrain perception system for our bioinspired robot, Scorpio, to classify the terrain based on visual features and autonomously choose appropriate locomotion mode. Our Scorpio robot is capable of crawling and rolling locomotion modes, mimicking Cebrenus Rechenburgi, a member of the huntsman spider family. Our terrain perception system uses Speeded Up Robust Feature (SURF description method along with color information. Feature extraction is followed by Bag of Word method (BoW and Support Vector Machine (SVM for terrain classification. Experiments were conducted with our Scorpio robot to establish the efficacy and validity of the proposed approach. In our experiments, we achieved a recognition accuracy of over 90% across four terrain types namely grass, gravel, wooden deck, and concrete.

ARAC terrain data base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, H.

1982-11-01

A terrain data base covering the continental United States at 500-meter resolution has been generated. Its function is to provide terrain data for input to mesoscale atmospheric models that are used as part of the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLNL). The structure of the data base as it exists on the LLNL computer system is described. The data base has been written to tapes for transfer to other systems and the format of these tapes is also described

The Memorability of Introductory Psychology Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Landrum, R. Eric; Gurung, Regan A. R.

2013-01-01

Almost 2 million students enroll in introductory psychology each year in the United States, making it the second most popular undergraduate course in the nation. Introductory psychology not only serves as a prerequisite for other courses in the discipline but for some students this course provides their only exposure to psychological science.…

A method for separation of the terrain and non-terrain from Vehicle-borne Laser Scanning Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Jiangxia; Zhong, Ruofei

2014-01-01

Half the points from vehicle-borne laser scanning data are terrain data. If you want to extract features such as trees, street lights and buildings, terrain points must be removed. Nowadays, either airborne or vehicle-borne laser data, are mostly used to set an elevation threshold based on the scanning line or POS data to determine whether the point is a terrain point or not, but the disadvantage is part of low buildings or other feature objects will be lost. If the study area has high differences in the horizontal or the forward direction, this method is not applicable. This paper investigates a new methodology to extract the terrain points, which has great significance for data reduction and classification. The procedure includes the following steps: 1)Pre-processing: to remove discrete points and abnormal points. 2) Divided all the points into grid, calculating the average value of the XY and the minimum value of the Z of all the points in the same grid as the central point of the grid.3) Choose nearest six points which are close to the centre point to fitting the quadratic surface.4)Compare the normal vector of the fitting surface of the grid to the normal vector of the 8-neighborhood, if the difference is too big, it will be smoothed.5) Determine whether the point in the grid is on the surface, if the point belongs to the surface, it will be classified as terrain point. The results and evaluation have shown the effectiveness of the method and its potential in separation of the terrain of various areas

Crossword Puzzles as Learning Tools in Introductory Soil Science

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarick, K. A.

2010-01-01

Students in introductory courses generally respond favorably to novel approaches to learning. To this end, I developed and used three crossword puzzles in spring and fall 2009 semesters in Introductory Soil Science Laboratory at Colorado State University. The first hypothesis was that crossword puzzles would improve introductory soil science…

Method for Measuring the Information Content of Terrain from Digital Elevation Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lujin Hu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available As digital terrain models are indispensable for visualizing and modeling geographic processes, terrain information content is useful for terrain generalization and representation. For terrain generalization, if the terrain information is considered, the generalized terrain may be of higher fidelity. In other words, the richer the terrain information at the terrain surface, the smaller the degree of terrain simplification. Terrain information content is also important for evaluating the quality of the rendered terrain, e.g., the rendered web terrain tile service in Google Maps (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA. However, a unified definition and measures for terrain information content have not been established. Therefore, in this paper, a definition and measures for terrain information content from Digital Elevation Model (DEM, i.e., a digital model or 3D representation of a terrain’s surface data are proposed and are based on the theory of map information content, remote sensing image information content and other geospatial information content. The information entropy was taken as the information measuring method for the terrain information content. Two experiments were carried out to verify the measurement methods of the terrain information content. One is the analysis of terrain information content in different geomorphic types, and the results showed that the more complex the geomorphic type, the richer the terrain information content. The other is the analysis of terrain information content with different resolutions, and the results showed that the finer the resolution, the richer the terrain information. Both experiments verified the reliability of the measurements of the terrain information content proposed in this paper.

A new method for determination of most likely landslide initiation points and the evaluation of digital terrain model scale in terrain stability mapping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Tarolli

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces a new approach for determining the most likely initiation points for landslides from potential instability mapped using a terrain stability model. This approach identifies the location with critical stability index from a terrain stability model on each downslope path from ridge to valley. Any measure of terrain stability may be used with this approach, which here is illustrated using results from SINMAP, and from simply taking slope as an index of potential instability. The relative density of most likely landslide initiation points within and outside mapped landslide scars provides a way to evaluate the effectiveness of a terrain stability measure, even when mapped landslide scars include run out zones, rather than just initiation locations. This relative density was used to evaluate the utility of high resolution terrain data derived from airborne laser altimetry (LIDAR for a small basin located in the Northeastern Region of Italy. Digital Terrain Models were derived from the LIDAR data for a range of grid cell sizes (from 2 to 50 m. We found appreciable differences between the density of most likely landslide initiation points within and outside mapped landslides with ratios as large as three or more with the highest ratios for a digital terrain model grid cell size of 10 m. This leads to two conclusions: (1 The relative density from a most likely landslide initiation point approach is useful for quantifying the effectiveness of a terrain stability map when mapped landslides do not or can not differentiate between initiation, runout, and depositional areas; and (2 in this study area, where landslides occurred in complexes that were sometimes more than 100 m wide, a digital terrain model scale of 10 m is optimal. Digital terrain model scales larger than 10 m result in loss of resolution that degrades the results, while for digital terrain model scales smaller than 10 m the physical processes responsible for triggering

Wind farm design in complex terrain: the FarmOpt methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feng, Ju

Designing wind farms in complex terrain is becoming more and more important, especially for countries like China, where a large portion of the territory is featured as complex terrain. Although potential richer wind resources could be expected at complex terrain sites (thanks to the terrain effec...

Construction Method of the Topographical Features Model for Underwater Terrain Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Lihui

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Terrain database is the reference basic for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV to implement underwater terrain navigation (UTN functions, and is the important part of building topographical features model for UTN. To investigate the feasibility and correlation of a variety of terrain parameters as terrain navigation information metrics, this paper described and analyzed the underwater terrain features and topography parameters calculation method. Proposing a comprehensive evaluation method for terrain navigation information, and constructing an underwater navigation information analysis model, which is associated with topographic features. Simulation results show that the underwater terrain features, are associated with UTN information directly or indirectly, also affect the terrain matching capture probability and the positioning accuracy directly.

GIS TECHNOLOGY AND TERRAIN ORTHOPHOTOMAP MAKING FOR MILITARY APPLICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elshan Hashimov

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, it is shown that GIS and photogrammetry technologiyes, determination of searching target coordinates for the operational desicion making are very important for the military application, for the combat control. With aim of orthophotomap making of the terrain and identification of terrain supervision there has been constructed 3D model for choosen mountainous terrain of Azerbaijan Republic using GIS technology. Based on this model there has been obtained a terrain profile and carried out mapping. Using ArcGis software there has been investigated possibility remain control on obserbvable and unobservable parties of terrain on supervision line from supervision point to target point.

Introductory Punjabi.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahri, Ujjal Singh; Walia, Paramjit Singh

This introductory text in Punjabi (also spelled Panjabi) is intended primarily for those whose mother tongue is not Punjabi but are native speakers of other Indian languages. Some familiarity with the Punjabi cultural items is presupposed. The non-Indian may, however, also be able to use this text with profit since the lessons are graded. The…

Automatic terrain modeling using transfinite element analysis

KAUST Repository

Collier, Nathan; Calo, Victor M.

2010-01-01

An automatic procedure for modeling terrain is developed based on L2 projection-based interpolation of discrete terrain data onto transfinite function spaces. The function space is refined automatically by the use of image processing techniques

Using Isomorphic Problems to Learn Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Yin; Singh, Chandralekha

2011-01-01

In this study, we examine introductory physics students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred sixty-two students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were given a quiz in the…

A Readability Analysis of Selected Introductory Economics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Daniel J.; Thompson, G. Rodney

1981-01-01

To aid secondary school and college level economics teachers as they select textbooks for introductory economics courses, this article recounts how teachers can use the Flesch Reading Ease Test to measure readability. Data are presented on application of the Flesch Reading Ease Test to 15 introductory economics textbooks. (Author/DB)

Cross-Coupled Control for All-Terrain Rovers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulio Reina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile robots are increasingly being used in challenging outdoor environments for applications that include construction, mining, agriculture, military and planetary exploration. In order to accomplish the planned task, it is critical that the motion control system ensure accuracy and robustness. The achievement of high performance on rough terrain is tightly connected with the minimization of vehicle-terrain dynamics effects such as slipping and skidding. This paper presents a cross-coupled controller for a 4-wheel-drive/4-wheel-steer robot, which optimizes the wheel motors’ control algorithm to reduce synchronization errors that would otherwise result in wheel slip with conventional controllers. Experimental results, obtained with an all-terrain rover operating on agricultural terrain, are presented to validate the system. It is shown that the proposed approach is effective in reducing slippage and vehicle posture errors.

Teaching Introductory Geoscience: A Cutting Edge Workshop Report

Science.gov (United States)

Manduca, C.; Tewksbury, B.; Egger, A.; MacDonald, H.; Kirk, K.

2008-12-01

Introductory undergraduate courses play a pivotal role in the geosciences. They serve as recruiting grounds for majors and future professionals, provide relevant experiences in geoscience for pre-service teachers, and offer opportunities to influence future policy makers, business people, professionals, and citizens. An introductory course is also typically the only course in geoscience that most of our students will ever take. Because the role of introductory courses is pivotal in geoscience education, a workshop on Teaching Introductory Courses in the 21st Century was held in July 2008 as part of the On the Cutting Edge faculty development program. A website was also developed in conjunction with the workshop. One of the central themes of the workshop was the importance of considering the long-term impact a course should have on students. Ideally, courses can be designed with this impact in mind. Approaches include using the local geology to focus the course and illustrate concepts; designing a course for particular audience (such as Geology for Engineers); creating course features that help students understand and interpret geoscience in the news; and developing capstone projects to teach critical thinking and problem solving skills in a geologic context. Workshop participants also explored strategies for designing engaging activities including exploring with Google Earth, using real-world scenarios, connecting with popular media, or making use of campus features on local field trips. In addition, introductory courses can emphasize broad skills such as teaching the process of science, using quantitative reasoning and developing communication skills. Materials from the workshop as well as descriptions of more than 150 introductory courses and 350 introductory-level activities are available on the website: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/intro/index.html.

Stratigraphy of the layered terrain in Valles Marineris, Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Komatsu, G.; Strom, Roger G.

1991-01-01

The layered terrain in Valles Marineris provides information about its origin and the geologic history of this canyon system. Whether the terrain is sedimentary material deposited in a dry or lacustrine environment, or volcanic material related to the tectonics of the canyon is still controversial. However, recent studies of Gangis Layered Terrain suggests a cyclic sequence of deposition and erosion under episodic lacustrine conditions. The stratigraphic studies are extended to four other occurrences of layered terrains in Valles Marineris in an attempt to correlate and distinguish between depositional environments. The Juvantae Chasma, Hebes Chasma, Ophir and Candor Chasmata, Melas Chasma, and Gangis Layered Terrain were examined. Although there are broad similarities among the layered terrains, no two deposits are exactly alike. This suggests that there was no synchronized regional depositional processes to form all the layered deposits. However, the similar erosional style of the lower massive weakly bedded unit in Hebes, Gangis, and Ophir-Candor suggests it may have been deposited under similar circumstances.

Beginning Introductory Physics with Two-Dimensional Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins, Elisha

2009-01-01

During the session on "Introductory College Physics Textbooks" at the 2007 Summer Meeting of the AAPT, there was a brief discussion about whether introductory physics should begin with one-dimensional motion or two-dimensional motion. Here we present the case that by starting with two-dimensional motion, we are able to introduce a considerable…

Teaching Introductory Psychology: Tips from "ToP"

Science.gov (United States)

Griggs, Richard A., Ed.; Jackson, Sherri L., Ed.

2011-01-01

This book follows in the footsteps of the first three volumes in the "Handbook for Teaching Introductory Psychology" series. In the prefaces to these volumes, the various editors all stressed two major points relevant to the development of this series. These comments also apply to this book. First, introductory psychology is one of the most…

Stereo-vision-based terrain mapping for off-road autonomous navigation

Science.gov (United States)

Rankin, Arturo L.; Huertas, Andres; Matthies, Larry H.

2009-05-01

Successful off-road autonomous navigation by an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) requires reliable perception and representation of natural terrain. While perception algorithms are used to detect driving hazards, terrain mapping algorithms are used to represent the detected hazards in a world model a UGV can use to plan safe paths. There are two primary ways to detect driving hazards with perception sensors mounted to a UGV: binary obstacle detection and traversability cost analysis. Binary obstacle detectors label terrain as either traversable or non-traversable, whereas, traversability cost analysis assigns a cost to driving over a discrete patch of terrain. In uncluttered environments where the non-obstacle terrain is equally traversable, binary obstacle detection is sufficient. However, in cluttered environments, some form of traversability cost analysis is necessary. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has explored both approaches using stereo vision systems. A set of binary detectors has been implemented that detect positive obstacles, negative obstacles, tree trunks, tree lines, excessive slope, low overhangs, and water bodies. A compact terrain map is built from each frame of stereo images. The mapping algorithm labels cells that contain obstacles as nogo regions, and encodes terrain elevation, terrain classification, terrain roughness, traversability cost, and a confidence value. The single frame maps are merged into a world map where temporal filtering is applied. In previous papers, we have described our perception algorithms that perform binary obstacle detection. In this paper, we summarize the terrain mapping capabilities that JPL has implemented during several UGV programs over the last decade and discuss some challenges to building terrain maps with stereo range data.

Identifying difficult concepts in introductory programming

OpenAIRE

Humar, Klaudija

2014-01-01

In this diploma thesis we try to find the answer to why students experience difficulties in introductory programming. We ask ourselves what causes most problems while trying to understand concepts in introductory programming, generating code and designing algorithms. In the first section we introduce programming language Python as the first programming language being taught to students. We compare it with programming language Pascal and stress the advantages of Python that seem important ...

Using Sieving and Unknown Sand Samples for a Sedimentation-Stratigraphy Class Project with Linkage to Introductory Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Videtich, Patricia E.; Neal, William J.

2012-01-01

Using sieving and sample "unknowns" for instructional grain-size analysis and interpretation of sands in undergraduate sedimentology courses has advantages over other techniques. Students (1) learn to calculate and use statistics; (2) visually observe differences in the grain-size fractions, thereby developing a sense of specific size…

Self-Supervised Learning of Terrain Traversability from Proprioceptive Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Bajracharya, Max; Howard, Andrew B.; Matthies, Larry H.

2009-01-01

Robust and reliable autonomous navigation in unstructured, off-road terrain is a critical element in making unmanned ground vehicles a reality. Existing approaches tend to rely on evaluating the traversability of terrain based on fixed parameters obtained via testing in specific environments. This results in a system that handles the terrain well that it trained in, but is unable to process terrain outside its test parameters. An adaptive system does not take the place of training, but supplements it. Whereas training imprints certain environments, an adaptive system would imprint terrain elements and the interactions amongst them, and allow the vehicle to build a map of local elements using proprioceptive sensors. Such sensors can include velocity, wheel slippage, bumper hits, and accelerometers. Data obtained by the sensors can be compared to observations from ranging sensors such as cameras and LADAR (laser detection and ranging) in order to adapt to any kind of terrain. In this way, it could sample its surroundings not only to create a map of clear space, but also of what kind of space it is and its composition. By having a set of building blocks consisting of terrain features, a vehicle can adapt to terrain that it has never seen before, and thus be robust to a changing environment. New observations could be added to its library, enabling it to infer terrain types that it wasn't trained on. This would be very useful in alien environments, where many of the physical features are known, but some are not. For example, a seemingly flat, hard plain could actually be soft sand, and the vehicle would sense the sand and avoid it automatically.

Introductory photoemission theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, Hiroko; Fujikawa, Takashi

2010-01-01

An introductory review is presented on the basis of many-body scattering theory. Some fundamental aspects of photoemission theory are discussed in detail. A few applications are also discussed; photoelectron diffraction, depth distribution function and multi-atom resonant photoemission are also discussed briefly. (author)

Analyzing complex wake-terrain interactions and its implications on wind-farm performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabib, Mandar; Rasheed, Adil; Fuchs, Franz

2016-09-01

Rotating wind turbine blades generate complex wakes involving vortices (helical tip-vortex, root-vortex etc.).These wakes are regions of high velocity deficits and high turbulence intensities and they tend to degrade the performance of down-stream turbines. Hence, a conservative inter-turbine distance of up-to 10 times turbine diameter (10D) is sometimes used in wind-farm layout (particularly in cases of flat terrain). This ensures that wake-effects will not reduce the overall wind-farm performance, but this leads to larger land footprint for establishing a wind-farm. In-case of complex-terrain, within a short distance (say 10D) itself, the nearby terrain can rise in altitude and be high enough to influence the wake dynamics. This wake-terrain interaction can happen either (a) indirectly, through an interaction of wake (both near tip vortex and far wake large-scale vortex) with terrain induced turbulence (especially, smaller eddies generated by small ridges within the terrain) or (b) directly, by obstructing the wake-region partially or fully in its flow-path. Hence, enhanced understanding of wake- development due to wake-terrain interaction will help in wind farm design. To this end the current study involves: (1) understanding the numerics for successful simulation of vortices, (2) understanding fundamental vortex-terrain interaction mechanism through studies devoted to interaction of a single vortex with different terrains, (3) relating influence of vortex-terrain interactions to performance of a wind-farm by studying a multi-turbine wind-farm layout under different terrains. The results on interaction of terrain and vortex has shown a much faster decay of vortex for complex terrain compared to a flatter-terrain. The potential reasons identified explaining the observation are (a) formation of secondary vortices in flow and its interaction with the primary vortex and (b) enhanced vorticity diffusion due to increased terrain-induced turbulence. The implications of

Modern introductory physics

CERN Document Server

Holbrow, Charles H; Amato, Joseph C; Galvez, Enrique; Parks, M. Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Modern Introductory Physics, 2nd Edition, by Charles H. Holbrow, James N. Lloyd, Joseph C. Amato, Enrique Galvez, and Beth Parks, is a successful innovative text for teaching introductory college and university physics. It is thematically organized to emphasize the physics that answers the fundamental question: Why do we believe in atoms and their properties?  The book provides a sound introduction to basic physical concepts with particular attention to the nineteenth- and twentieth-century physics underlying our modern ideas of atoms and their structure.  After a review of basic Newtonian mechanics, the book discusses early physical evidence that matter is made of atoms.  With a simple model of the atom Newtonian mechanics can explain the ideal gas laws, temperature, and viscosity.  Basic concepts of electricity and magnetism are introduced along with a more complicated model of the atom to account for the observed electrical properties of atoms. The physics of waves---particularly light and x-rays---an...

Photometric diversity of terrains on Triton

Science.gov (United States)

Hillier, J.; Veverka, J.; Helfenstein, P.; Lee, P.

1994-01-01

Voyager disk-resolved images of Triton in the violet (0.41 micrometers) and green (0.56 micrometer wavelengths have been analyzed to derive the photometric characteristics of terrains on Triton. Similar conclusions are found using two distinct but related definitions of photometric units, one based on color ratio and albedo properties (A. S. McEwen, 1990), the other on albedo and brightness ratios at different phase angles (P. Lee et al., 1992). A significant diversity of photometric behavior, much broader than that discovered so far on any other icy satellite, occurs among Triton's terrains. Remarkably, differences in photometric behavior do not correlate well with geologic terrain boundaries defined on the basis of surface morphology. This suggests that in most cases photometric properties on Triton are controlled by thin deposits superposed on underlying geologic units. Single scattering albedos are 0.98 or higher and asymmetry factors range from -0.35 to -0.45 for most units. The most distinct scattering behavior is exhibited by the reddish northern units already identified as the Anomalously Scattering Region (ASR), which scatters light almost isotropically with g = -0.04. In part due to the effects of Triton's clouds and haze, it is difficult to constrain the value of bar-theta, Hapke's macroscopic roughness parameter, precisely for Triton or to map differences in bar-theta among the different photometric terrains. However, our study shows that Triton must be relatively smooth, with bar-theta less than 15-20 degs and suggests that a value of 14 degs is appropriate. The differences in photometric characteristics lead to significantly different phase angle behavior for the various terrains. For example, a terrain (e.g., the ASR) that appears dark relative to another at low phase angles will reverse its contrast (become relatively brighter) at larger phase angles. The photometric parameters have been used to calculate hemispherical albedos for the units and to

Parallel Implementation of the Terrain Masking Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

1994-03-01

contains behavior rules which can define a computation or an algorithm. It can communicate with other process nodes, it can contain local data, and it can...terrain maskirg calculation is being performed. It is this algorithm that comsumes about seventy percent of the total terrain masking calculation time

A GPS inspired Terrain Referenced Navigation algorithm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vaman, D.

2014-01-01

Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) refers to a form of localization in which measurements of distances to the terrain surface are matched with a digital elevation map allowing a vehicle to estimate its own position within the map. The main goal of this dissertation is to improve TRN performance

Mathematization in introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Brahmia, Suzanne M.

Mathematization is central to STEM disciplines as a cornerstone of the quantitative reasoning that characterizes these fields. Introductory physics is required for most STEM majors in part so that students develop expert-like mathematization. This dissertation describes coordinated research and curriculum development for strengthening mathematization in introductory physics; it blends scholarship in physics and mathematics education in the form of three papers. The first paper explores mathematization in the context of physics, and makes an original contribution to the measurement of physics students' struggle to mathematize. Instructors naturally assume students have a conceptual mastery of algebra before embarking on a college physics course because these students are enrolled in math courses beyond algebra. This paper provides evidence that refutes the validity of this assumption and categorizes some of the barriers students commonly encounter with quantification and representing ideas symbolically. The second paper develops a model of instruction that can help students progress from their starting points to their instructor's desired endpoints. Instructors recognize that the introductory physics course introduces new ideas at an astonishing rate. More than most physicists realize, however, the way that mathematics is used in the course is foreign to a large portion of class. This paper puts forth an instructional model that can move all students toward better quantitative and physical reasoning, despite the substantial variability of those students' initial states. The third paper describes the design and testing of curricular materials that foster mathematical creativity to prepare students to better understand physics reasoning. Few students enter introductory physics with experience generating equations in response to specific challenges involving unfamiliar quantities and units, yet this generative use of mathematics is typical of the thinking involved in

Environmental impacts of forest road construction on mountainous terrain.

Science.gov (United States)

Caliskan, Erhan

2013-03-15

Forest roads are the base infrastructure foundation of forestry operations. These roads entail a complex engineering effort because they can cause substantial environmental damage to forests and include a high-cost construction. This study was carried out in four sample sites of Giresun, Trabzon(2) and Artvin Forest Directorate, which is in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The areas have both steep terrain (30-50% gradient) and very steep terrain (51-80% gradient). Bulldozers and hydraulic excavators were determined to be the main machines for forest road construction, causing environmental damage and cross sections in mountainous areas.As a result of this study, the percent damage to forests was determined as follows: on steep terrain, 21% of trees were damaged by excavators and 33% of trees were damaged by bulldozers during forest road construction, and on very steep terrain, 27% of trees were damaged by excavators and 44% of trees were damaged by bulldozers during forest road construction. It was also determined that on steep terrain, when excavators were used, 12.23% less forest area was destroyed compared with when bulldozers were used and 16.13% less area was destroyed by excavators on very steep terrain. In order to reduce the environmental damage on the forest ecosystem, especially in steep terrains, hydraulic excavators should replace bulldozers in forest road construction activities.

Environmental Impacts of Forest Road Construction on Mountainous Terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erhan Caliskan

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Forest roads are the base infrastructure foundation of forestry operations. These roads entail a complex engineering effort because they can cause substantial environmental damage to forests and include a high-cost construction. This study was carried out in four sample sites of Giresun, Trabzon(2 and Artvin Forest Directorate, which is in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The areas have both steep terrain (30-50% gradient and very steep terrain (51-80% gradient. Bulldozers and hydraulic excavators were determined to be the main machines for forest road construction, causing environmental damage and cross sections in mountainous areas.As a result of this study, the percent damage to forests was determined as follows: on steep terrain, 21% of trees were damaged by excavators and 33% of trees were damaged by bulldozers during forest road construction, and on very steep terrain, 27% of trees were damaged by excavators and 44% of trees were damaged by bulldozers during forest road construction. It was also determined that on steep terrain, when excavators were used, 12.23% less forest area was destroyed compared with when bulldozers were used and 16.13% less area was destroyed by excavators on very steep terrain. In order to reduce the environmental damage on the forest ecosystem, especially in steep terrains, hydraulic excavators should replace bulldozers in forest road construction activities.

Computing visibility on terrains in external memory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haverkort, H.J.; Toma, L.; Zhuang, Yi

2007-01-01

We describe a novel application of the distribution sweeping technique to computing visibility on terrains. Given an arbitrary viewpoint v, the basic problem we address is computing the visibility map or viewshed of v, which is the set of points in the terrain that are visible from v. We give the

47 CFR 80.759 - Average terrain elevation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Average terrain elevation. 80.759 Section 80.759 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Standards for Computing Public Coast Station VHF Coverage § 80.759 Average terrain elevation. (a)(1) Draw radials...

Adding Resistances and Capacitances in Introductory Electricity

Science.gov (United States)

Efthimiou, C. J.; Llewellyn, R. A.

2005-09-01

All introductory physics textbooks, with or without calculus, cover the addition of both resistances and capacitances in series and in parallel as discrete summations. However, none includes problems that involve continuous versions of resistors in parallel or capacitors in series. This paper introduces a method for solving the continuous problems that is logical, straightforward, and within the mathematical preparation of students at the introductory level.

Known-to-Unknown Approach to Teach about Coulomb's Law

Science.gov (United States)

Thamburaj, P. K.

2007-01-01

Analogies from life experiences help students understand various relationships presented in an introductory chemistry course. Coulomb's law is a complex relationship encountered in introductory general chemistry. A proper understanding of the relationships between the quantities involved in Coulomb's law is necessary in order for students to…

Introductory real analysis

CERN Document Server

Kolmogorov, A N; Silverman, Richard A

1975-01-01

Self-contained and comprehensive, this elementary introduction to real and functional analysis is readily accessible to those with background in advanced calculus. It covers basic concepts and introductory principles in set theory, metric spaces, topological and linear spaces, linear functionals and linear operators, and much more. 350 problems. 1970 edition.

Automatic Computer Mapping of Terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Smedes, H. W.

1971-01-01

Computer processing of 17 wavelength bands of visible, reflective infrared, and thermal infrared scanner spectrometer data, and of three wavelength bands derived from color aerial film has resulted in successful automatic computer mapping of eight or more terrain classes in a Yellowstone National Park test site. The tests involved: (1) supervised and non-supervised computer programs; (2) special preprocessing of the scanner data to reduce computer processing time and cost, and improve the accuracy; and (3) studies of the effectiveness of the proposed Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) data channels in the automatic mapping of the same terrain, based on simulations, using the same set of scanner data. The following terrain classes have been mapped with greater than 80 percent accuracy in a 12-square-mile area with 1,800 feet of relief; (1) bedrock exposures, (2) vegetated rock rubble, (3) talus, (4) glacial kame meadow, (5) glacial till meadow, (6) forest, (7) bog, and (8) water. In addition, shadows of clouds and cliffs are depicted, but were greatly reduced by using preprocessing techniques.

Improved visibility computation on massive grid terrains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fishman, J.; Haverkort, H.J.; Toma, L.; Wolfson, O.; Agrawal, D.; Lu, C.-T.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the design and engineering of algorithms for computing visibility maps on massive grid terrains. Given a terrain T, specified by the elevations of points in a regular grid, and given a viewpoint v, the visibility map or viewshed of v is the set of grid points of T that are

Terrain Classification of Norwegian Slab Avalanche Accidents

Science.gov (United States)

Hallandvik, Linda; Aadland, Eivind; Vikene, Odd Lennart

2016-01-01

It is difficult to rely on snow conditions, weather, and human factors when making judgments about avalanche risk because these variables are dynamic and complex; terrain, however, is more easily observed and interpreted. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate (1) the type of terrain in which historical fatal snow avalanche accidents in Norway…

Teaching Electrostatics and Entropy in Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Reeves, Mark

Entropy changes underlie the physics that dominates biological interactions. Indeed, introductory biology courses often begin with an exploration of the qualities of water that are important to living systems. However, one idea that is not explicitly addressed in most introductory physics or biology courses is important contribution of the entropy in driving fundamental biological processes towards equilibrium. I will present material developed to teach electrostatic screening in solutions and the function of nerve cells where entropic effects act to counterbalance electrostatic attraction. These ideas are taught in an introductory, calculus-based physics course to biomedical engineers using SCALEUP pedagogy. Results of student mastering of complex problems that cross disciplinary boundaries between biology and physics, as well as the challenges that they face in learning this material will be presented.

Assessing expertise in introductory physics using categorization task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Mason

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The ability to categorize problems based upon underlying principles, rather than surface features or contexts, is considered one of several proxy predictors of expertise in problem solving. With inspiration from the classic study by Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser, we assess the distribution of expertise among introductory physics students by asking three introductory physics classes, each with more than a hundred students, to categorize mechanics problems based upon similarity of solution. We compare their categorization with those of physics graduate students and faculty members. To evaluate the effect of problem context on students’ ability to categorize, two sets of problems were developed for categorization. Some problems in one set included those available from the prior study by Chi et al. We find a large overlap between calculus-based introductory students and graduate students with regard to their categorizations that were assessed as “good.” Our findings, which contrast with those of Chi et al., suggest that there is a wide distribution of expertise in mechanics among introductory and graduate students. Although the categorization task is conceptual, introductory students in the calculus-based course performed better than those in the algebra-based course. Qualitative trends in categorization of problems are similar between the non-Chi problems and problems available from the Chi study used in our study although the Chi problems used are more difficult on average.

Virtual terrain: a security-based representation of a computer network

Science.gov (United States)

Holsopple, Jared; Yang, Shanchieh; Argauer, Brian

2008-03-01

Much research has been put forth towards detection, correlating, and prediction of cyber attacks in recent years. As this set of research progresses, there is an increasing need for contextual information of a computer network to provide an accurate situational assessment. Typical approaches adopt contextual information as needed; yet such ad hoc effort may lead to unnecessary or even conflicting features. The concept of virtual terrain is, therefore, developed and investigated in this work. Virtual terrain is a common representation of crucial information about network vulnerabilities, accessibilities, and criticalities. A virtual terrain model encompasses operating systems, firewall rules, running services, missions, user accounts, and network connectivity. It is defined as connected graphs with arc attributes defining dynamic relationships among vertices modeling network entities, such as services, users, and machines. The virtual terrain representation is designed to allow feasible development and maintenance of the model, as well as efficacy in terms of the use of the model. This paper will describe the considerations in developing the virtual terrain schema, exemplary virtual terrain models, and algorithms utilizing the virtual terrain model for situation and threat assessment.

LOD-based clustering techniques for efficient large-scale terrain storage and visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Xiaohong; Pajarola, Renato

2003-05-01

Large multi-resolution terrain data sets are usually stored out-of-core. To visualize terrain data at interactive frame rates, the data needs to be organized on disk, loaded into main memory part by part, then rendered efficiently. Many main-memory algorithms have been proposed for efficient vertex selection and mesh construction. Organization of terrain data on disk is quite difficult because the error, the triangulation dependency and the spatial location of each vertex all need to be considered. Previous terrain clustering algorithms did not consider the per-vertex approximation error of individual terrain data sets. Therefore, the vertex sequences on disk are exactly the same for any terrain. In this paper, we propose a novel clustering algorithm which introduces the level-of-detail (LOD) information to terrain data organization to map multi-resolution terrain data to external memory. In our approach the LOD parameters of the terrain elevation points are reflected during clustering. The experiments show that dynamic loading and paging of terrain data at varying LOD is very efficient and minimizes page faults. Additionally, the preprocessing of this algorithm is very fast and works from out-of-core.

Synthesis of Ibuprofen in the Introductory Organic Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Kjonaas, Richard A.; Williams, Peggy E.; Counce, David A.; Crawley, Lindsey R.

2011-01-01

A method for the synthesis of ibuprofen in introductory organic chemistry laboratory courses is reported. This experiment requires two 3-h lab sessions. All of the reactions and techniques are a standard part of any introductory organic chemistry course. In the first lab session, students reduce p-isobutylacetophenone to an alcohol and then…

Examining issues of underrepresented minority students in introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Watkins, Jessica Ellen

In this dissertation we examine several issues related to the retention of under-represented minority students in physics and science. In the first section, we show that in calculus-based introductory physics courses, the gender gap on the FCI is diminished through the use of interactive techniques, but in lower-level introductory courses, the gap persists, similar to reports published at other institutions. We find that under-represented racial minorities perform similar to their peers with comparable academic preparation on conceptual surveys, but their average exam grades and course grades are lower. We also examine student persistence in science majors; finding a significant relationship between pedagogy in an introductory physics course and persistence in science. In the second section, we look at student end-of-semester evaluations and find that female students rate interactive teaching methods a full point lower than their male peers. Looking more deeply at student interview data, we find that female students report more social issues related to the discussions in class and both male and female students cite feeling pressure to obtain the correct answer to clicker questions. Finally, we take a look an often-cited claim for gender differences in STEM participation: cognitive differences explain achievement differences in physics. We examine specifically the role of mental rotations in physics achievement and problem-solving, viewing mental rotations as a tool that students can use on physics problems. We first look at student survey results for lower-level introductory students, finding a low, but significant correlation between performance on a mental rotations test and performance in introductory physics courses. In contrast, we did not find a significant relationship for students in the upper-level introductory course. We also examine student problem-solving interviews to investigate the role of mental rotations on introductory problems.

Optimization of Wind Farm Layout in Complex Terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Chang; Yang, Jianchuan; Li, Chenqi

2013-01-01

Microscopic site selection for wind farms in complex terrain is a technological difficulty in the development of onshore wind farms. This paper presented a method for optimizing wind farm layout in complex terrain. This method employed Lissaman and Jensen wake models, took wind velocity distribut......Microscopic site selection for wind farms in complex terrain is a technological difficulty in the development of onshore wind farms. This paper presented a method for optimizing wind farm layout in complex terrain. This method employed Lissaman and Jensen wake models, took wind velocity...... are subject to boundary conditions and minimum distance conditions. The improved genetic algorithm (GA) for real number coding was used to search the optimal result. Then the optimized result was compared to the result from the experienced layout method. Results show the advantages of the present method...

Generating color terrain images in an emergency response system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belles, R.D.

1985-08-01

The Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) provides real-time assessments of the consequences resulting from an atmospheric release of radioactive material. In support of this operation, a system has been created which integrates numerical models, data acquisition systems, data analysis techniques, and professional staff. Of particular importance is the rapid generation of graphical images of the terrain surface in the vicinity of the accident site. A terrain data base and an associated acquisition system have been developed that provide the required terrain data. This data is then used as input to a collection of graphics programs which create and display realistic color images of the terrain. The graphics system currently has the capability of generating color shaded relief images from both overhead and perspective viewpoints within minutes. These images serve to quickly familiarize ARAC assessors with the terrain near the release location, and thus permit them to make better informed decisions in modeling the behavior of the released material. 7 refs., 8 figs

Productive uncertainty. Notes on Terrain Vague

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Marullo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Terrain vague is usually synonym for a place exceeding the traditional categories of the city. Juxtaposing entropy to definite zones of containment, abandonment and emptiness to consolidated urban fabric, ceaseless transformation to historical stratification, informality and illegal activities to controlled jurisdictions, the terrain vague acts a sort of ruin, where the city is at the point of both being forgotten and disclosing its imminent future, eluding any of its regular uses and functioning mechanisms.

TERRAIN, BERKS COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, PIERCE, COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, DARKE COUNTY, OH

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, RICE COUNTY, MN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, JONES COUNTY, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, JEFFERSON COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WRIGHT COUNTY, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, RANKIN COUNTY, MS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Pierce County, WA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MITCHELL COUNTY, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, DAWSON COUNTY, NE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, BARNSTABLE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CLALLAM COUNTY, WASHINGTON

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, HOWARD COUNTY, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, NEWTON COUNTY, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographical data that were used to create...

TERRAIN, PIKE COUNTY, MS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Lincoln County, AR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, KENDALL COUNTY, TEXAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LEON COUNTY, TEXAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WASHINGTON

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Bennington County, Vermont

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Northampton COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

TERRAIN, POTTER COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

TERRAIN, UNION PARISH, LOUSIANA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, KITSAP COUNTY, WASHINGTON

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WAYNE COUNTY, TENNESSEE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, TROUSDALE COUNTY, TENNESSEE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Teaching Introductory Business Statistics Using the DCOVA Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, David M.; Stephan, David F.

2011-01-01

Introductory business statistics students often receive little guidance on how to apply the methods they learn to further business objectives they may one day face. And those students may fail to see the continuity among the topics taught in an introductory course if they learn those methods outside a context that provides a unifying framework.…

Using a Common Experience to Teach Introductory Managerial Accounting

Science.gov (United States)

King, Gail Hoover; McConnell, Cheryl

2010-01-01

Teaching introductory accounting courses can be both challenging and rewarding. In introductory financial and managerial accounting, students struggle with the unfamiliar terminology and concepts. However, managerial accounting offers distinct challenges in that managerial accounting reports used for decision-making are not publically available,…

Slip estimation methods for proprioceptive terrain classification using tracked mobile robots

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Masha, Ditebogo F

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Recent work has shown that proprioceptive measurements such as terrain slip can be used for terrain classification. This paper investigates the suitability of four simple slip estimation methods for differentiating between indoor and outdoor terrain...

Interactive Editing of GigaSample Terrain Fields

KAUST Repository

Treib, Marc

2012-05-01

Previous terrain rendering approaches have addressed the aspect of data compression and fast decoding for rendering, but applications where the terrain is repeatedly modified and needs to be buffered on disk have not been considered so far. Such applications require both decoding and encoding to be faster than disk transfer. We present a novel approach for editing gigasample terrain fields at interactive rates and high quality. To achieve high decoding and encoding throughput, we employ a compression scheme for height and pixel maps based on a sparse wavelet representation. On recent GPUs it can encode and decode up to 270 and 730 MPix/s of color data, respectively, at compression rates and quality superior to JPEG, and it achieves more than twice these rates for lossless height field compression. The construction and rendering of a height field triangulation is avoided by using GPU ray-casting directly on the regular grid underlying the compression scheme. We show the efficiency of our method for interactive editing and continuous level-of-detail rendering of terrain fields comprised of several hundreds of gigasamples. © 2012 The Author(s).

Gravity Terrain Effect of the Seafloor Topography in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lun-Tao Tong Tai-Rong Guo

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Gravity terrain correction is used to compensate for the gravitational effects of the topography residual to the Bouguer plate. The seafloor topography off the eastern offshore of Taiwan is extremely rugged, and the depth of the sea bottom could be greater than 5000 m. In order to evaluate the terrain effect caused by the seafloor topography, a modern computer algorithm is used to calculate the terrain correction based on the digital elevation model (DEM.

Estimating Slopes In Images Of Terrain By Use Of BRDF

Science.gov (United States)

Scholl, Marija S.

1995-01-01

Proposed method of estimating slopes of terrain features based on use of bidirectional reflectivity distribution function (BRDF) in analyzing aerial photographs, satellite video images, or other images produced by remote sensors. Estimated slopes integrated along horizontal coordinates to obtain estimated heights; generating three-dimensional terrain maps. Method does not require coregistration of terrain features in pairs of images acquired from slightly different perspectives nor requires Sun or other source of illumination to be low in sky over terrain of interest. On contrary, best when Sun is high. Works at almost all combinations of illumination and viewing angles.

Local curvature entropy-based 3D terrain representation using a comprehensive Quadtree

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qiyu; Liu, Gang; Ma, Xiaogang; Mariethoz, Gregoire; He, Zhenwen; Tian, Yiping; Weng, Zhengping

2018-05-01

Large scale 3D digital terrain modeling is a crucial part of many real-time applications in geoinformatics. In recent years, the improved speed and precision in spatial data collection make the original terrain data more complex and bigger, which poses challenges for data management, visualization and analysis. In this work, we presented an effective and comprehensive 3D terrain representation based on local curvature entropy and a dynamic Quadtree. The Level-of-detail (LOD) models of significant terrain features were employed to generate hierarchical terrain surfaces. In order to reduce the radical changes of grid density between adjacent LODs, local entropy of terrain curvature was regarded as a measure of subdividing terrain grid cells. Then, an efficient approach was presented to eliminate the cracks among the different LODs by directly updating the Quadtree due to an edge-based structure proposed in this work. Furthermore, we utilized a threshold of local entropy stored in each parent node of this Quadtree to flexibly control the depth of the Quadtree and dynamically schedule large-scale LOD terrain. Several experiments were implemented to test the performance of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that our method can be applied to construct LOD 3D terrain models with good performance in terms of computational cost and the maintenance of terrain features. Our method has already been deployed in a geographic information system (GIS) for practical uses, and it is able to support the real-time dynamic scheduling of large scale terrain models more easily and efficiently.

Qualitative Research for Tobacco Control : A How-to Introductory ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Qualitative Research for Tobacco Control : A How-to Introductory Manual for Researchers and Development Practitioners. Couverture du livre Qualitative Research for Tobacco Control : A How-to Introductory Manual for. Auteur(s):. Alison Mathie et Anne Carnozzi. Maison(s) d'édition: CRDI. 15 janvier 2005. ISBN :.

Terrain aided navigation for autonomous underwater vehicles with coarse maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Ling; Cheng, Xianghong; Zhu, Yixian

2016-01-01

Terrain aided navigation (TAN) is a form of geophysical localization technique for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operating in GPS-denied environments. TAN performance on sensor-rich AUVs has been evaluated in sea trials. However, many challenges remain before TAN can be successfully implemented on sensor-limited AUVs, especially with coarse maps. To improve TAN performance over coarse maps, a Gaussian process (GP) is proposed for the modeling of bathymetric terrain and integrated into the particle filter (GP-PF). GP is applied to provide not only the bathymetric value prediction through learning a set of bathymetric data from coarse maps but also the variance of the prediction. As a measurement update, calculated on bathymetric deviation is performed through the PF to obtain absolute and bounded positioning accuracy. Through the analysis of TAN performance on experimental data for two different terrains with map resolutions of 10–50 m, both the ability of the proposed model to represent the actual bathymetric terrain with accuracy and the effect of the GP-PF for TAN on sensor-limited systems in suited terrain are demonstrated. The experiment results further verify that there is an inverse relationship between the coarseness of the map and the overall TAN accuracy in rough terrains, but there is hardly any relationship between them in relatively flat terrains. (paper)

Using isomorphic problems to learn introductory physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shih-Yin Lin

2011-08-01

Full Text Available In this study, we examine introductory physics students’ ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred sixty-two students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were given a quiz in the recitation in which they had to first learn from a solved problem provided and take advantage of what they learned from it to solve another problem (which we call the quiz problem which was isomorphic. Previous research suggests that the multiple-concept quiz problem is challenging for introductory students. Students in different recitation classes received different interventions in order to help them discern and exploit the underlying similarities of the isomorphic solved and quiz problems. We also conducted think-aloud interviews with four introductory students in order to understand in depth the difficulties they had and explore strategies to provide better scaffolding. We found that most students were able to learn from the solved problem to some extent with the scaffolding provided and invoke the relevant principles in the quiz problem. However, they were not necessarily able to apply the principles correctly. Research suggests that more scaffolding is needed to help students in applying these principles appropriately. We outline a few possible strategies for future investigation.

Using isomorphic problems to learn introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Yin; Singh, Chandralekha

2011-12-01

In this study, we examine introductory physics students’ ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred sixty-two students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were given a quiz in the recitation in which they had to first learn from a solved problem provided and take advantage of what they learned from it to solve another problem (which we call the quiz problem) which was isomorphic. Previous research suggests that the multiple-concept quiz problem is challenging for introductory students. Students in different recitation classes received different interventions in order to help them discern and exploit the underlying similarities of the isomorphic solved and quiz problems. We also conducted think-aloud interviews with four introductory students in order to understand in depth the difficulties they had and explore strategies to provide better scaffolding. We found that most students were able to learn from the solved problem to some extent with the scaffolding provided and invoke the relevant principles in the quiz problem. However, they were not necessarily able to apply the principles correctly. Research suggests that more scaffolding is needed to help students in applying these principles appropriately. We outline a few possible strategies for future investigation.

The Greening of Marketing: An Analysis of Introductory Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

DeMoss, Michelle; Nicholson, Carolyn Y.

2005-01-01

In this study, the authors examined whether introductory marketing textbooks contain the information that is needed to educate future business leaders about the important role of environmentally sustainable practices. We content-analyzed the 21 current introductory marketing textbooks for coverage of these practices. The results showed limited,…

A Diagnostic Assessment for Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Jia; Wood, William B.; Martin, Jennifer M.; Guild, Nancy A.; Vicens, Quentin; Knight, Jennifer K.

2010-01-01

We have developed and validated a tool for assessing understanding of a selection of fundamental concepts and basic knowledge in undergraduate introductory molecular and cell biology, focusing on areas in which students often have misconceptions. This multiple-choice Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) instrument is designed…

Evaluating terrain based criteria for snow avalanche exposure ratings using GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Delparte, Donna; Jamieson, Bruce; Waters, Nigel

2010-05-01

Snow avalanche terrain in backcountry regions of Canada is increasingly being assessed based upon the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES). ATES is a terrain based classification introduced in 2004 by Parks Canada to identify "simple", "challenging" and "complex" backcountry areas. The ATES rating system has been applied to well over 200 backcountry routes, has been used in guidebooks, trailhead signs and maps and is part of the trip planning component of the AVALUATOR™, a simple decision-support tool for backcountry users. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offers a means to model and visualize terrain based criteria through the use of digital elevation model (DEM) and land cover data. Primary topographic variables such as slope, aspect and curvature are easily derived from a DEM and are compatible with the equivalent evaluation criteria in ATES. Other components of the ATES classification are difficult to extract from a DEM as they are not strictly terrain based. An overview is provided of the terrain variables that can be generated from DEM and land cover data; criteria from ATES which are not clearly terrain based are identified for further study or revision. The second component of this investigation was the development of an algorithm for inputting suitable ATES criteria into a GIS, thereby mimicking the process avalanche experts use when applying the ATES classification to snow avalanche terrain. GIS based classifications were compared to existing expert assessments for validity. The advantage of automating the ATES classification process through GIS is to assist avalanche experts with categorizing and mapping remote backcountry terrain.

Introductory Textbooks and Plagiarism in Higher Education: A Case Study from Economics.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Paul

2002-01-01

Textbooks are powerful technologies that are foundational to introductory level courses. In the research site of an introductory economic classroom, the textbook is positioned as having status similar to that of a canonical religious text. This study investigated how student reading and writing can be problematic when introductory level courses…

Automatic terrain modeling using transfinite element analysis

KAUST Repository

Collier, Nathan

2010-05-31

An automatic procedure for modeling terrain is developed based on L2 projection-based interpolation of discrete terrain data onto transfinite function spaces. The function space is refined automatically by the use of image processing techniques to detect regions of high error and the flexibility of the transfinite interpolation to add degrees of freedom to these areas. Examples are shown of a section of the Palo Duro Canyon in northern Texas.

Sensors an introductory course

CERN Document Server

Kalantar-zadeh, Kourosh

2013-01-01

Sensors: An Introductory Course provides an essential reference on the fundamentals of sensors. The book is designed to help readers in developing skills and the understanding required in order to implement a wide range of sensors that are commonly used in our daily lives. This book covers the basic concepts in the sensors field, including definitions and terminologies. The physical sensing effects are described, and devices which utilize these effects are presented. The most frequently used organic and inorganic sensors are introduced and the techniques for implementing them are discussed. This book: Provides a comprehensive representation of the most common sensors and can be used as a reference in relevant fields Presents learning materials in a concise and easy to understand manner Includes examples of how sensors are incorporated in real life measurements Contains detailed figures and schematics to assist in understanding the sensor performance Sensors: An Introductory Course is ideal for university stu...

A Research on Wind Farm Micro-sitting Optimization in Complex Terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Chang; Yang, Jianchuan; Li, Chenqi

2013-01-01

Wind farm layout optimization in complex terrain is a pretty difficult issue for onshore wind farm. In this article, a novel optimization method is proposed to optimize the layout for wind farms in complex terrain. This method utilized Lissaman and Jensen wake models for taking the terrain height...... that the CPSO method has a higher optimal value, and could be used to optimize the actual wind farm micro-sitting engineering projects.......Wind farm layout optimization in complex terrain is a pretty difficult issue for onshore wind farm. In this article, a novel optimization method is proposed to optimize the layout for wind farms in complex terrain. This method utilized Lissaman and Jensen wake models for taking the terrain height...... turbines’ park coordinates which subject to the boundary and minimum distance conditions between two wind turbines. A Cross Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) method is developed and applied to optimize the layout for a certain wind farm case. Compared with the uniform and experience method, results show...

Irregular Morphing for Real-Time Rendering of Large Terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Kalem

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The following paper proposes an alternative approach to the real-time adaptive triangulation problem. A new region-based multi-resolution approach for terrain rendering is described which improves on-the-fly the distribution of the density of triangles inside the tile after selecting appropriate Level-Of-Detail by an adaptive sampling. This proposed approach organizes the heightmap into a QuadTree of tiles that are processed independently. This technique combines the benefits of both Triangular Irregular Network approach and region-based multi-resolution approach by improving the distribution of the density of triangles inside the tile. Our technique morphs the initial regular grid of the tile to deformed grid in order to minimize approximation error. The proposed technique strives to combine large tile size and real-time processing while guaranteeing an upper bound on the screen space error. Thus, this approach adapts terrain rendering process to local surface characteristics and enables on-the-fly handling of large amount of terrain data. Morphing is based-on the multi-resolution wavelet analysis. The use of the D2WT multi-resolution analysis of the terrain height-map speeds up processing and permits to satisfy an interactive terrain rendering. Tests and experiments demonstrate that Haar B-Spline wavelet, well known for its properties of localization and its compact support, is suitable for fast and accurate redistribution. Such technique could be exploited in client-server architecture for supporting interactive high-quality remote visualization of very large terrain.

The Impact of Baby Swimming on Introductory and Elementary Swimming Training

OpenAIRE

Břízová, Gabriela

2007-01-01

THESIS ANNOTATION Title: The Impact of Baby Swimming on Introductory and Elementary Swimming Training Aim: To assess the impact of 'baby swimming' on the successfulness in introductory and partly in elementary swimming training, and to find out whether also other circumstances (for example the length of attendance at 'baby swimming') have some influence on introductory swimming training. Methods: We used a questionnaire method for the parents of children who had attended 'baby swimming' and f...

Terrain Adaptive Reconfiguration of Mobility

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Develop an algorithm (and software) to automatically adapt a reconfigurable robot to different types of terrains for improved mobility, that compared to SOA:...

Redesigning a Large Introductory Course to Incorporate the GAISE Guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

Woodard, Roger; McGowan, Herle

2012-01-01

In 2005, the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education" (GAISE) college report described several recommendations for teaching introductory statistics. This paper discusses how a large multi-section introductory course was redesigned in order to implement these recommendations. The experience described discusses…

A Citation Analysis of Who's Who in Introductory Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Griggs, Richard A.; Proctor, Derrick L.

2002-01-01

Given the many changes in the introductory psychology textbook market in the past 2 decades and the lack of a recent citation study of introductory texts, we conducted a citation analysis of a stratified random sample of current texts. To provide a more comprehensive picture of current citation emphases, we extended our analysis to the top 60…

Faraday's Principle and Air Travel in the Introductory Labs

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul-Razzaq, Wathiq; Thakur, Saikat Chakraborty

2017-01-01

We all know that we must improve the quality of teaching in science at all levels. Not only physicists but also many students from other areas of study take the introductory physics courses in college. Physics introductory laboratories (labs) can be one of the best tools to help these students understand applications of scientific principles that…

Convective boundary layer heights over mountainous terrain - A review of concepts -

Science.gov (United States)

De Wekker, Stephan; Kossmann, Meinolf

2015-12-01

Mountainous terrain exerts an important influence on the Earth's atmosphere and affects atmospheric transport and mixing at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. The vertical scale of this transport and mixing is determined by the height of the atmospheric boundary layer, which is therefore an important parameter in air pollution studies, weather forecasting, climate modeling, and many other applications. It is recognized that the spatio-temporal structure of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) height is strongly modified and more complex in hilly and mountainous terrain compared to flat terrain. While the CBL over flat terrain is mostly dominated by turbulent convection, advection from multi-scale thermally driven flows plays an important role for the CBL evolution over mountainous terrain. However, detailed observations of the CBL structure and understanding of the underlying processes are still limited. Characteristics of CBL heights in mountainous terrain are reviewed for dry, convective conditions. CBLs in valleys and basins, where hazardous accumulation of pollutants is of particular concern, are relatively well-understood compared to CBLs over slopes, ridges, or mountain peaks. Interests in the initiation of shallow and deep convection, and of budgets and long-range transport of air pollutants and trace gases, have triggered some recent studies on terrain induced exchange processes between the CBL and the overlying atmosphere. These studies have helped to gain more insight into CBL structure over complex mountainous terrain, but also show that the universal definition of CBL height over mountains remains an unresolved issue. The review summarizes the progress that has been made in documenting and understanding spatio-temporal behavior of CBL heights in mountainous terrain and concludes with a discussion of open research questions and opportunities for future research.

Complex terrain influences ecosystem carbon responses to temperature and precipitation

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, W. M.; Epstein, H. E.; Li, X.; McGlynn, B. L.; Riveros-Iregui, D. A.; Emanuel, R. E.

2017-08-01

Terrestrial ecosystem responses to temperature and precipitation have major implications for the global carbon cycle. Case studies demonstrate that complex terrain, which accounts for more than 50% of Earth's land surface, can affect ecological processes associated with land-atmosphere carbon fluxes. However, no studies have addressed the role of complex terrain in mediating ecophysiological responses of land-atmosphere carbon fluxes to climate variables. We synthesized data from AmeriFlux towers and found that for sites in complex terrain, responses of ecosystem CO2 fluxes to temperature and precipitation are organized according to terrain slope and drainage area, variables associated with water and energy availability. Specifically, we found that for tower sites in complex terrain, mean topographic slope and drainage area surrounding the tower explained between 51% and 78% of site-to-site variation in the response of CO2 fluxes to temperature and precipitation depending on the time scale. We found no such organization among sites in flat terrain, even though their flux responses exhibited similar ranges. These results challenge prevailing conceptual framework in terrestrial ecosystem modeling that assumes that CO2 fluxes derive from vertical soil-plant-climate interactions. We conclude that the terrain in which ecosystems are situated can also have important influences on CO2 responses to temperature and precipitation. This work has implications for about 14% of the total land area of the conterminous U.S. This area is considered topographically complex and contributes to approximately 15% of gross ecosystem carbon production in the conterminous U.S.

VTAC: virtual terrain assisted impact assessment for cyber attacks

Science.gov (United States)

Argauer, Brian J.; Yang, Shanchieh J.

2008-03-01

Overwhelming intrusion alerts have made timely response to network security breaches a difficult task. Correlating alerts to produce a higher level view of intrusion state of a network, thus, becomes an essential element in network defense. This work proposes to analyze correlated or grouped alerts and determine their 'impact' to services and users of the network. A network is modeled as 'virtual terrain' where cyber attacks maneuver. Overlaying correlated attack tracks on virtual terrain exhibits the vulnerabilities exploited by each track and the relationships between them and different network entities. The proposed impact assessment algorithm utilizes the graph-based virtual terrain model and combines assessments of damages caused by the attacks. The combined impact scores allow to identify severely damaged network services and affected users. Several scenarios are examined to demonstrate the uses of the proposed Virtual Terrain Assisted Impact Assessment for Cyber Attacks (VTAC).

Hybrid RANS/LES applied to complex terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bechmann, Andreas; Sørensen, Niels N.

2011-01-01

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of the wind in complex terrain is limited by computational cost. The number of computational grid points required to resolve the near-ground turbulent structures (eddies) are very high. The traditional solution to the problem has been to apply a wall function...... aspect ratio in the RANS layer and thereby resolve the mean near-wall velocity profile. The method is applicable to complex terrain and the benefits of traditional LES are kept intact. Using the hybrid method, simulations of the wind over a natural complex terrain near Wellington in New Zealand...... that accounts for the whole near-wall region. Recently, a hybrid method was proposed in which the eddies close to the ground were modelled in a Reynolds-averaged sense (RANS) and the eddies above this region were simulated using LES. The advantage of the approach is the ability to use shallow cells of high...

Fish: A New Computer Program for Friendly Introductory Statistics Help

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Gordon P.; Raffle, Holly

2005-01-01

All introductory statistics students must master certain basic descriptive statistics, including means, standard deviations and correlations. Students must also gain insight into such complex concepts as the central limit theorem and standard error. This article introduces and describes the Friendly Introductory Statistics Help (FISH) computer…

Colour based off-road environment and terrain type classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, P.; Mark, W. van der; Heuvel, J.C. van den; Groen, F.C.A.

2005-01-01

Terrain classification is an important problem that still remains to be solved for off-road autonomous robot vehicle guidance. Often, obstacle detection systems are used which cannot distinguish between solid obstacles such as rocks or soft obstacles such as tall patches of grass. Terrain

ATRAN Terrain Sensing Guidance-The Grand-Daddy System

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Richard F.; Evans, Donald C.

1980-12-01

ATRAN was the pioneer terrain sensing guidance system developed in the 1950 era and deployed in Europe on the Air Force's mobile, ground launched TM-76A MACE cruise missile in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The background, principles and technology are described for this system which was the forerunner of todays modern autonomous standoff terrain sensing guided weapons.

Wind flow simulation over flat terrain using CFD based software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrov, Peter; Terziev, Angel; Genovski, Ivan

2009-01-01

Velocity distribution recognition over definite place (terrain) is very important because due to that the zones with high energy potential could be defined (the fields with high velocities). This is a precondition for optimal wind turbine generators micro-sitting. In current work a simulation of the open flow over the flat terrain using the CFD based software is reviewed. The simulations are made of a real fluid flow in order to be defined the velocity fields over the terrain

Introductory Biology Textbooks Under-Represent Scientific Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dara B. Duncan

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Attrition of undergraduates from Biology majors is a long-standing problem. Introductory courses that fail to engage students or spark their curiosity by emphasizing the open-ended and creative nature of biological investigation and discovery could contribute to student detachment from the field. Our hypothesis was that introductory biology books devote relatively few figures to illustration of the design and interpretation of experiments or field studies, thereby de-emphasizing the scientific process.To investigate this possibility, we examined figures in six Introductory Biology textbooks published in 2008. On average, multistep scientific investigations were presented in fewer than 5% of the hundreds of figures in each book. Devoting such a small percentage of figures to the processes by which discoveries are made discourages an emphasis on scientific thinking. We suggest that by increasing significantly the illustration of scientific investigations, textbooks could support undergraduates’ early interest in biology, stimulate the development of design and analytical skills, and inspire some students to participate in investigations of their own.

TERRAIN, ALLENDALE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WAKULLA COUNTY, FL, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, BRADFORD COUNTY, FL, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, GADSDEN COUNTY, FL, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LEVY COUNTY, FL, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WOODFORD COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, TANEY COUNTY, Missouri USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, FRANKLIN PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Catahoula PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, RICHLAND PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, OVERTON COUNTY, TN, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, STEWART COUNTY, TN, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, POWELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, HENRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, BARREN COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LOWNDES COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, HARRISON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LOGAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IOWA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CHEROKEE COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, POWESHIEK COUNTY, IOWA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, RANDOLPH COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ELMORE COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WASHINGTON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ohio USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SEBASTIAN COUNTY, AR, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographical data that were used to create...

TERRAIN, BALLARD COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, NELSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, EVANGELINE PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, HOUSTON COUNTY, TN, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, JESSAMINE COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN Submission for CHICKASAW, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, TALLAPOOSA COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MOREHOUSE PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ALLEN COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LEWIS COUNTY, Missouri USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, BUFFALO COUNTY, WISCONSIN, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MARENGO COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CLARKE COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, HART COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MONROE COUNTY, Michigan USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WAYNE COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MCLEAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, WINSTON COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CHAMBERS COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, PERRY COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ESTILL COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, NATCHITOCHES PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CLINTON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CHILTON COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, GRAYSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, GARRARD COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Sedgwick COUNTY, Kansas USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MACOMB COUNTY, MI, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MARSHALL COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Terrain Data, Caroline COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SUWANNEE COUNTY, FLORIDA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CHOCTAW COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CARLISLE COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SIMPSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, GRAVES COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, LAWRENCE COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MENIFEE COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Platte County, Missouri USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SCOTT COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, FAYETTE COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CARTER COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, AZ

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, MUHLENBERG COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CAMPBELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Spatial and temporal variability of hyperspectral signatures of terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, K. F.; Perovich, D. K.; Koenig, G. G.

2008-04-01

Electromagnetic signatures of terrain exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity on a range of scales as well as considerable temporal variability. A statistical characterization of the spatial heterogeneity and spatial scaling algorithms of terrain electromagnetic signatures are required to extrapolate measurements to larger scales. Basic terrain elements including bare soil, grass, deciduous, and coniferous trees were studied in a quasi-laboratory setting using instrumented test sites in Hanover, NH and Yuma, AZ. Observations were made using a visible and near infrared spectroradiometer (350 - 2500 nm) and hyperspectral camera (400 - 1100 nm). Results are reported illustrating: i) several difference scenes; ii) a terrain scene time series sampled over an annual cycle; and iii) the detection of artifacts in scenes. A principal component analysis indicated that the first three principal components typically explained between 90 and 99% of the variance of the 30 to 40-channel hyperspectral images. Higher order principal components of hyperspectral images are useful for detecting artifacts in scenes.

Introductory Statistics in the Garden

Science.gov (United States)

Wagaman, John C.

2017-01-01

This article describes four semesters of introductory statistics courses that incorporate service learning and gardening into the curriculum with applications of the binomial distribution, least squares regression and hypothesis testing. The activities span multiple semesters and are iterative in nature.

Are Titan's radial Labyrinth terrains surface expressions of large laccoliths?

Science.gov (United States)

Schurmeier, L.; Dombard, A. J.; Malaska, M.; Radebaugh, J.

2017-12-01

The Labyrinth terrain unit may be the one of the best examples of the surface expression of Titan's complicated history. They are characterized as highly eroded, dissected, and elevated plateaus and remnant ridges, with an assumed composition that is likely organic-rich based on radar emissivity. How these features accumulated organic-rich sediments and formed topographic highs by either locally uplifting or surviving pervasive regional deflation or erosion is an important question for understanding the history of Titan. There are several subsets of Labyrinth terrains, presumably with differing evolutionary histories and formation processes. We aim to explain the formation of a subset of Labyrinth terrain units informally referred to as "radial Labyrinth terrains." They are elevated and appear dome-like, circular in planform, have a strong radial dissection pattern, are bordered by Undifferentiated Plains units, and are found in the mid-latitudes. Based on their shape, clustering, and dimensions, we suggest that they may be the surface expression of large subsurface laccoliths. A recent study by Manga and Michaut (Icarus, 2017) explained Europa's lenticulae (pits, domes, spots) with the formation of saucer-shaped sills that form laccoliths around the brittle-ductile transition depth within the ice shell (1-5 km). Here, we apply the same scaling relationships and find that the larger size of radial labyrinth terrains with Titan's higher gravity implies deeper intrusion depths of around 20-40 km. This intrusion depth matches the expected brittle-ductile transition on Titan based on our finite element simulations and yield strength envelope analyses. We hypothesize that Titan's radial labyrinth terrains formed as cryovolcanic (water) intrusions that rose to the brittle-ductile transition within the ice shell where they spread horizontally, and uplifted the overlying ice. The organic-rich sedimentary cover also uplifted, becoming more susceptible to pluvial and fluvial

Coverage of the Stanford Prison Experiment in Introductory Psychology Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Bartels, Jared M.; Milovich, Marilyn M.; Moussier, Sabrina

2016-01-01

The present study examined the coverage of Stanford prison experiment (SPE), including criticisms of the study, in introductory psychology courses through an online survey of introductory psychology instructors (N = 117). Results largely paralleled those of the recently published textbook analyses with ethical issues garnering the most coverage,…

47 CFR 1.959 - Computation of average terrain elevation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Computation of average terrain elevation. 1.959 Section 1.959 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Wireless Radio Services Applications and Proceedings Application Requirements and Procedures § 1.959 Computation of average terrain elevation. Except a...

Plasma medicine: an introductory review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kong, M.G.; Kroesen, G.M.W.; Morfill, G.; Nosenko, T.; Shimizu, T.; Dijk, van J.; Zimmermann, J.L.

2009-01-01

This introductory review on plasma health care is intended to provide the interested reader with a summary of the current status of this emerging field, its scope, and its broad interdisciplinary approach, ranging from plasma physics, chemistry and technology, to microbiology, biochemistry,

Microcomputers in the Introductory Laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bare, John K.

1982-01-01

A microcomputer was used successfully to replicate Sternberg's 1966 study of retrieval from short-term memory and Sperling's 1960 study on sensory or iconic memory. Computers with a capacity for measuring reaction time are useful in the laboratory for introductory psychology courses. (SR)

Student Misconceptions in Introductory Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Kathleen M.; Lipson, Joseph I.

Defining a "misconception" as an error of translation (transformation, correspondence, interpolation, interpretation) between two different kinds of information which causes students to have incorrect expectations, a Taxonomy of Errors has been developed to examine student misconceptions in an introductory biology course for science…

CAS Introductory Course in Italy

CERN Multimedia

2008-01-01

The CERN Accelerator School’s introductory course is a great success. This year the CERN Accelerator School held its "Introduction to Accelerator Physics" course in Frascati, Italy, from 2-14 November in collaboration with the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and the INFN Frascati National Laboratory. The Introductory level course is particularly important since, for the majority of participants, it is the first opportunity to discover the various aspects of accelerator physics. For this school the programme had been significantly revised in order to take into account the new trends currently being developed in the field, thus putting more emphasis on linacs, synchrotron light sources and free-electron lasers. The school was a resounding success with 115 participants of more than 23 nationalities. Feedback from the students praised the expertise of the lecturers, the high standard of the lectures as well as the excellent organizati...

Dirt bikes and all terrain vehicles: the real threat to pediatric kidneys.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hsi-Yang; Gaines, Barbara A

2007-10-01

Recent reviews show that bicycles are the major cause of significant renal injury with few injuries occurring during contact sports. All-terrain vehicles are also responsible for significant pediatric renal trauma. We determined whether dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles cause more significant renal injuries than contact sports. A retrospective review of our pediatric trauma database revealed 115 consecutive patients treated for renal trauma from 2000 to 2005. A total of 20 bicycle injuries occurred, including 6 on dirt bikes. A total of 13 all-terrain vehicle injuries occurred, including 4 involving rollovers. A total of 12 contact sport injuries occurred, including 2 during pick-up games. The mean grade of renal injury was compared among the mechanisms, with grades III-V considered high grade. In descending order of renal injury the mechanisms were dirt bike (2.8), all-terrain vehicle rollover (2.8), bicycle (2.3), all-terrain vehicle (2.1), contact sports (1.8) and organized contact sports (1.4). Dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicle rollovers caused significantly greater renal trauma than organized contact sports (2.8 vs 1.4, p = 0.007 and 0.02, respectively), whereas overall bicycle and all-terrain vehicle accidents resulted in similar renal trauma grades compared to those of all contact sports. The 2 high grade renal injuries during contact sports occurred during pick-up football games without protective gear. Physician advice regarding children with a solitary kidney should include avoiding dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles. Efforts to limit all-terrain vehicle use in children younger than 16 years would decrease the risk of significant renal injury in this population more effectively than limiting contact sports participation.

Topical Coverage in Introductory Textbooks from the 1980s through the 2000s

Science.gov (United States)

Griggs, Richard A.

2014-01-01

To determine how topical coverage in introductory textbooks may have changed from the 1980s to the present, the author examined topic coverage in full-length and brief introductory textbooks from this time period. Because 98% of the teachers use textbooks for the introductory course and the majority do not assign reading beyond the textbook, the…

Engaging Students In Modeling Instruction for Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Brewe, Eric

2016-05-01

Teaching introductory physics is arguably one of the most important things that a physics department does. It is the primary way that students from other science disciplines engage with physics and it is the introduction to physics for majors. Modeling instruction is an active learning strategy for introductory physics built on the premise that science proceeds through the iterative process of model construction, development, deployment, and revision. We describe the role that participating in authentic modeling has in learning and then explore how students engage in this process in the classroom. In this presentation, we provide a theoretical background on models and modeling and describe how these theoretical elements are enacted in the introductory university physics classroom. We provide both quantitative and video data to link the development of a conceptual model to the design of the learning environment and to student outcomes. This work is supported in part by DUE #1140706.

Who's Who in Introductory Psychology Textbooks: A Citation Analysis Redux

Science.gov (United States)

Griggs, Richard A.; Christopher, Andrew N.

2016-01-01

It is important to assess periodically how introductory textbooks portray our discipline because introductory psychology is the most popular psychology course, almost all teachers use textbooks for it, and textbooks play a major role in defining the course for students. To do so, past studies have used textbook citation analyses. We analyzed…

An Optimized Method for Terrain Reconstruction Based on Descent Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Xinchao

2016-02-01

Full Text Available An optimization method is proposed to perform high-accuracy terrain reconstruction of the landing area of Chang’e III. First, feature matching is conducted using geometric model constraints. Then, the initial terrain is obtained and the initial normal vector of each point is solved on the basis of the initial terrain. By changing the vector around the initial normal vector in small steps a set of new vectors is obtained. By combining these vectors with the direction of light and camera, the functions are set up on the basis of a surface reflection model. Then, a series of gray values is derived by solving the equations. The new optimized vector is recorded when the obtained gray value is closest to the corresponding pixel. Finally, the optimized terrain is obtained after iteration of the vector field. Experiments were conducted using the laboratory images and descent images of Chang’e III. The results showed that the performance of the proposed method was better than that of the classical feature matching method. It can provide a reference for terrain reconstruction of the landing area in subsequent moon exploration missions.

Concept Maps in Introductory Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Witmer, Jeffrey A.

2016-01-01

Concept maps are tools for organizing thoughts on the main ideas in a course. I present an example of a concept map that was created through the work of students in an introductory class and discuss major topics in statistics and relationships among them.

Terrain Simplification Research in Augmented Scene Modeling

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

environment. As one of the most important tasks in augmented scene modeling, terrain simplification research has gained more and more attention. In this paper, we mainly focus on point selection problem in terrain simplification using triangulated irregular network. Based on the analysis and comparison of traditional importance measures for each input point, we put forward a new importance measure based on local entropy. The results demonstrate that the local entropy criterion has a better performance than any traditional methods. In addition, it can effectively conquer the "short-sight" problem associated with the traditional methods.

Examining the Gender Gap in Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Kost, Lauren; Pollock, Steven; Finkelstein, Noah

2009-05-01

Our previous research[1] showed that despite the use of interactive engagement techniques in the introductory physics course, the gap in performance between males and females on a mechanics conceptual learning survey persisted from pre- to post-test, at our institution. Such findings were counter to previously published work[2]. Follow-up studies[3] identified correlations between student performance on the conceptual learning survey and students' prior physics and math knowledge and their incoming attitudes and beliefs about physics and learning physics. The results indicate that the gender gap at our institution is predominantly associated with differences in males' and females' previous physics and math knowledge, and attitudes and beliefs. Our current work extends these results in two ways: 1) we look at the gender gap in the second semester of the introductory sequence and find results similar to those in the first semester course and 2) we identify ways in which males and females differentially experience several aspects of the introductory course. [1] Pollock, et al, Phys Rev: ST: PER 3, 010107. [2] Lorenzo, et al, Am J Phys 74, 118. [3] Kost, et al, PERC Proceedings 2008.

Lunar terrain mapping and relative-roughness analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Rowan, Lawrence C.; McCauley, John F.; Holm, Esther A.

1971-01-01

Terrain maps of the equatorial zone (long 70° E.-70° W. and lat 10° N-10° S.) were prepared at scales of 1:2,000,000 and 1:1,000,000 to classify lunar terrain with respect to roughness and to provide a basis for selecting sites for Surveyor and Apollo landings as well as for Ranger and Lunar Orbiter photographs. The techniques that were developed as a result of this effort can be applied to future planetary exploration. By using the best available earth-based observational data and photographs 1:1,000,000-scale and U.S. Geological Survey lunar geologic maps and U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center LAC charts, lunar terrain was described by qualitative and quantitative methods and divided into four fundamental classes: maria, terrae, craters, and linear features. Some 35 subdivisions were defined and mapped throughout the equatorial zone, and, in addition, most of the map units were illustrated by photographs. The terrain types were analyzed quantitatively to characterize and order their relative-roughness characteristics. Approximately 150,000 east-west slope measurements made by a photometric technique (photoclinometry) in 51 sample areas indicate that algebraic slope-frequency distributions are Gaussian, and so arithmetic means and standard deviations accurately describe the distribution functions. The algebraic slope-component frequency distributions are particularly useful for rapidly determining relative roughness of terrain. The statistical parameters that best describe relative roughness are the absolute arithmetic mean, the algebraic standard deviation, and the percentage of slope reversal. Statistically derived relative-relief parameters are desirable supplementary measures of relative roughness in the terrae. Extrapolation of relative roughness for the maria was demonstrated using Ranger VII slope-component data and regional maria slope data, as well as the data reported here. It appears that, for some morphologically homogeneous

Sculpting Mountains: Interactive Terrain Modeling Based on Subsurface Geology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordonnier, Guillaume; Cani, Marie-Paule; Benes, Bedrich; Braun, Jean; Galin, Eric

2018-05-01

Most mountain ranges are formed by the compression and folding of colliding tectonic plates. Subduction of one plate causes large-scale asymmetry while their layered composition (or stratigraphy) explains the multi-scale folded strata observed on real terrains. We introduce a novel interactive modeling technique to generate visually plausible, large scale terrains that capture these phenomena. Our method draws on both geological knowledge for consistency and on sculpting systems for user interaction. The user is provided hands-on control on the shape and motion of tectonic plates, represented using a new geologically-inspired model for the Earth crust. The model captures their volume preserving and complex folding behaviors under collision, causing mountains to grow. It generates a volumetric uplift map representing the growth rate of subsurface layers. Erosion and uplift movement are jointly simulated to generate the terrain. The stratigraphy allows us to render folded strata on eroded cliffs. We validated the usability of our sculpting interface through a user study, and compare the visual consistency of the earth crust model with geological simulation results and real terrains.

What Influences Youth to Operate All-Terrain Vehicles Safely?

Science.gov (United States)

Grummon, A. H.; Heaney, C. A.; Dellinger, W. A.; Wilkins, J. R., III

2014-01-01

The operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) by youth has contributed to the incidence of serious and fatal injuries among children. This study explored factors related to the frequency with which youth wore a helmet and refrained from engaging in three risky driving behaviors (driving at risky speeds, on paved roads and on unfamiliar terrain)…

Toward Publicly Responsive Sociology Curricula: The Role of Introductory Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Nancy A.

2013-01-01

Introductory sociology casts a wide net with regard to its audience and plays an important role in capturing the public eye as well as helping students to make more informed choices in their lives and communities. I ask six questions that help us as sociologists to think about how introductory sociology can better serve our discipline, our…

Introductory statistical inference

CERN Document Server

Mukhopadhyay, Nitis

2014-01-01

This gracefully organized text reveals the rigorous theory of probability and statistical inference in the style of a tutorial, using worked examples, exercises, figures, tables, and computer simulations to develop and illustrate concepts. Drills and boxed summaries emphasize and reinforce important ideas and special techniques.Beginning with a review of the basic concepts and methods in probability theory, moments, and moment generating functions, the author moves to more intricate topics. Introductory Statistical Inference studies multivariate random variables, exponential families of dist

Introductory graph theory

CERN Document Server

Chartrand, Gary

1984-01-01

Graph theory is used today in the physical sciences, social sciences, computer science, and other areas. Introductory Graph Theory presents a nontechnical introduction to this exciting field in a clear, lively, and informative style. Author Gary Chartrand covers the important elementary topics of graph theory and its applications. In addition, he presents a large variety of proofs designed to strengthen mathematical techniques and offers challenging opportunities to have fun with mathematics. Ten major topics - profusely illustrated - include: Mathematical Models, Elementary Concepts of Grap

Effect of load carriage and natural terrain conditions on cognitive performance in desert environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharyya, Debojyoti; Pal, Madhusudan; Chatterjee, Tirthankar; Majumdar, Dhurjati

2017-10-01

Correct decision making is a critical component of cognitive performance of a soldier, which may be influenced by the load carriage and terrain conditions during their deployment in desert environment. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of loads and terrain conditions on the cognitive performance in a group of twelve healthy heat acclimatized infantry soldiers under natural desert environment. The soldiers participated in a 10min walking trial during carrying no load and also carrying 10.7, 21.4 and 30kg at two terrain conditions viz., sandy and hard. We studied attention, memory and executive function, which are having immense functional importance in military operations. Standardized cognitive test battery was applied to the participants after carrying each magnitude of load at each terrain. Baseline cognitive performance was recorded on a separate day and was compared with the performances recorded after the load carriage trials. An attempt was made to reveal the relationship between physiological workload (relative workload) and cognitive performance at the point of completion of load carriage trials. Load, terrains and load×terrain interaction did not produce any significant effect (p>0.05) on the cognitive performance. Attention and relative workload were found significantly correlated at hard terrain under no load, 21.4kg and 30kg. Significant correlation was found between executive function and relative workload at hard terrain under no load. Carrying upto 30kg load for 10min at 3.5-4kmph walking speed resulted in improvement in attention at sandy terrain, decrement in memory at both sandy and hard terrains and improvement in executive function at sandy terrain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strengthening introductory psychology: A new model for teaching the introductory course.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurung, Regan A R; Hackathorn, Jana; Enns, Carolyn; Frantz, Susan; Cacioppo, John T; Loop, Trudy; Freeman, James E

2016-01-01

Introductory psychology (Intro Psych) is one of the most popular and frequently taught courses on college campuses, yet educators in psychology have limited knowledge about what is covered in classes around the nation or the extent to which class content reflects the current scope of the discipline. There is no explicit model to guide course content selection for the intro course, which poses substantial challenges for instructors. This article proposes a new model for teaching the intro course that integrates (a) scientific foundations, (b) 5 major domains or pillars of knowledge (biological, cognitive, developmental, social and personality, and mental and physical health), and (c) cross-cutting themes relevant to all domains (cultural and social diversity, ethics, variations in human functioning, and applications; American Psychological Association, 2014). We advocate for national assessment of the course, a similar introductory course for majors and nonmajors, the inclusion of experiential or laboratory components, and additional training resources for instructors of the intro course. Given the exponential growth of psychological knowledge and applications during the past decades, we caution against attempting to provide exhaustive coverage of all topic areas of psychology in a one-semester course. We conclude by discussing the challenges that lie ahead for the discipline of psychology as it launches this new model for Intro Psych. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Failure Rates in Introductory Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennedsen, Jens; Caspersen, Michael Edelgaard

2007-01-01

It is a common conception that CS1 is a very difficult course and that failure rates are high. However, until now there has only been anecdotal evidence for this claim. This article reports on a survey among institutions around the world regarding failure rates in introductory programming courses...

Teaching abstraction in introductory courses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koppelman, Herman; van Dijk, Betsy

Abstraction is viewed as a key concept in computer science. It is not only an important concept but also one that is difficult to master. This paper focuses on the problems that novices experience when they first encounter this concept. Three assignments from introductory courses are analyzed, to

Platform for Testing Robotic Vehicles on Simulated Terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Lindemann, Randel

2006-01-01

The variable terrain tilt platform (VTTP) is a means of providing simulated terrain for mobility testing of engineering models of the Mars Exploration Rovers. The VTTP could also be used for testing the ability of other robotic land vehicles (and small vehicles in general) to move across terrain under diverse conditions of slope and surface texture, and in the presence of obstacles of various sizes and shapes. The VTTP consists mostly of a 16-ft-(4.88-m)-square tilt table. The tilt can be adjusted to any angle between 0 (horizontal) and 25 . The test surface of the table can be left bare; can be covered with hard, high-friction material; or can be covered with sand, gravel, and/or other ground-simulating material or combination of materials to a thickness of as much as 6 in. (approx. 15 cm). Models of rocks, trenches, and other obstacles can be placed on the simulated terrain. For example, for one of the Mars- Rover tests, a high-friction mat was attached to the platform, then a 6-in.- ( 15 cm) deep layer of dry, loose beach sand was deposited on the mat. The choice of these two driving surface materials was meant to bound the range of variability of terrain that the rover was expected to encounter on the Martian surface. At each of the different angles at which tests were performed, for some of the tests, rocklike concrete obstacles ranging in height from 10 to 25 cm were placed in the path of the rover (see figure). The development of the VTTP was accompanied by development of a methodology of testing to characterize the performance and modes of failure of a vehicle under test. In addition to variations in slope, ground material, and obstacles, testing typically includes driving up-slope, down-slope, cross-slope, and at intermediate angles relative to slope. Testing includes recording of drive-motor currents, wheel speeds, articulation of suspension mechanisms, and the actual path of the vehicle over the simulated terrain. The collected data can be used to

Global terrain classification using Multiple-Error-Removed Improved-Terrain (MERIT) to address susceptibility of landslides and other geohazards

Science.gov (United States)

Iwahashi, J.; Yamazaki, D.; Matsuoka, M.; Thamarux, P.; Herrick, J.; Yong, A.; Mital, U.

2017-12-01

A seamless model of landform classifications with regional accuracy will be a powerful platform for geophysical studies that forecast geologic hazards. Spatial variability as a function of landform on a global scale was captured in the automated classifications of Iwahashi and Pike (2007) and additional developments are presented here that incorporate more accurate depictions using higher-resolution elevation data than the original 1-km scale Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (DEM). We create polygon-based terrain classifications globally by using the 280-m DEM interpolated from the Multi-Error-Removed Improved-Terrain DEM (MERIT; Yamazaki et al., 2017). The multi-scale pixel-image analysis method, known as Multi-resolution Segmentation (Baatz and Schäpe, 2000), is first used to classify the terrains based on geometric signatures (slope and local convexity) calculated from the 280-m DEM. Next, we apply the machine learning method of "k-means clustering" to prepare the polygon-based classification at the globe-scale using slope, local convexity and surface texture. We then group the divisions with similar properties by hierarchical clustering and other statistical analyses using geological and geomorphological data of the area where landslides and earthquakes are frequent (e.g. Japan and California). We find the 280-m DEM resolution is only partially sufficient for classifying plains. We nevertheless observe that the categories correspond to reported landslide and liquefaction features at the global scale, suggesting that our model is an appropriate platform to forecast ground failure. To predict seismic amplification, we estimate site conditions using the time-averaged shear-wave velocity in the upper 30-m (VS30) measurements compiled by Yong et al. (2016) and the terrain model developed by Yong (2016; Y16). We plan to test our method on finer resolution DEMs and report our findings to obtain a more globally consistent terrain model as there

Using game engine for 3D terrain visualisation of GIS data: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Che Mat, Ruzinoor; Shariff, Abdul Rashid Mohammed; Nasir Zulkifli, Abdul; Shafry Mohd Rahim, Mohd; Hafiz Mahayudin, Mohd

2014-06-01

This paper reviews on the 3D terrain visualisation of GIS data using game engines that are available in the market as well as open source. 3D terrain visualisation is a technique used to visualise terrain information from GIS data such as a digital elevation model (DEM), triangular irregular network (TIN) and contour. Much research has been conducted to transform the 2D view of map to 3D. There are several terrain visualisation softwares that are available for free, which include Cesium, Hftool and Landserf. This review paper will help interested users to better understand the current state of art in 3D terrain visualisation of GIS data using game engines.

Using game engine for 3D terrain visualisation of GIS data: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mat, Ruzinoor Che; Zulkifli, Abdul Nasir; Mahayudin, Mohd Hafiz; Shariff, Abdul Rashid Mohammed; Rahim, Mohd Shafry Mohd

2014-01-01

This paper reviews on the 3D terrain visualisation of GIS data using game engines that are available in the market as well as open source. 3D terrain visualisation is a technique used to visualise terrain information from GIS data such as a digital elevation model (DEM), triangular irregular network (TIN) and contour. Much research has been conducted to transform the 2D view of map to 3D. There are several terrain visualisation softwares that are available for free, which include Cesium, Hftool and Landserf. This review paper will help interested users to better understand the current state of art in 3D terrain visualisation of GIS data using game engines

Future of the Introductory Psychology Textbook: A Survey of College Publishers.

Science.gov (United States)

Buskit, William; Cush, David T.

1997-01-01

Examines aspects of the introductory psychology textbook market through a publishing house survey. Aspects covered are the current and future number of introductory texts, fewer textbook publishers, custom publishing, changing content, and computer technologies. Discusses the results of the publishers' responses and provides statistical tables of…

Semantics in Teaching Introductory Physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, H. Thomas

1999-01-01

Contends that the large vocabulary used for precise purposes in physics contains many words that have related but potentially confusing meanings in everyday usage. Analyzes the treatment of Newton's Laws of Motion in several well-known introductory textbooks for evidence of inconsistent language use. Makes teaching suggestions. (Contains 11…

Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Brian D.; Chaytor, Jason D.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Brothers, Daniel S.; Gardner, James V.; Lobecker, Elizabeth A.; Calder, Brian R.

2016-01-01

A bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin covering almost 725,000 square kilometers of seafloor from the New England Seamounts in the north to the Blake Basin in the south is compiled from existing multibeam bathymetric data for marine geological investigations. Although other terrain models of the same area are extant, they are produced from either satellite-derived bathymetry at coarse resolution (ETOPO1), or use older bathymetric data collected by using a combination of single beam and multibeam sonars (Coastal Relief Model). The new multibeam data used to produce this terrain model have been edited by using hydrographic data processing software to maximize the quality, usability, and cartographic presentation of the combined 100-meter resolution grid. The final grid provides the largest high-resolution, seamless terrain model of the Atlantic margin..

Computational Inquiry in Introductory Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Toews, Carl

2017-01-01

Inquiry-based pedagogies have a strong presence in proof-based undergraduate mathematics courses, but can be difficult to implement in courses that are large, procedural, or highly computational. An introductory course in statistics would thus seem an unlikely candidate for an inquiry-based approach, as these courses typically steer well clear of…

MRI Experiments for Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Taghizadeh, Sanaz; Lincoln, James

2018-01-01

The introductory physics classroom has long educated students about the properties of the atom and the nucleus. But absent from these lessons has been an informed discussion of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its parent science nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Physics teachers should not miss the opportunity to instruct upon this highly…

Object Georeferencing in UAV-Based SAR Terrain Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Łabowski Michał

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Synthetic aperture radars (SAR allow to obtain high resolution terrain images comparable with the resolution of optical methods. Radar imaging is independent on the weather conditions and the daylight. The process of analysis of the SAR images consists primarily of identifying of interesting objects. The ability to determine their geographical coordinates can increase usability of the solution from a user point of view. The paper presents a georeferencing method of the radar terrain images. The presented images were obtained from the SAR system installed on board an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV. The system was developed within a project under acronym WATSAR realized by the Military University of Technology and WB Electronics S.A. The source of the navigation data was an INS/GNSS system integrated by the Kalman filter with a feed-backward correction loop. The paper presents the terrain images obtained during flight tests and results of selected objects georeferencing with an assessment of the accuracy of the method.

TERRAIN Submission for Waushara Countywide DFIRM

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Middlesex County, NJ

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Seminole, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Stephens, OK

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Pointe Coupee PARISH, LA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Carter, OK

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Mono, CA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Terrain Sumbission for Howard County NE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN Submission for Outagamie Countywide DFIRM

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS - Coastal PMR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for HOUSTON COUNTY, ALABAMA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Clay County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, UPPER CUMBERLAND WATERSHED, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Terrain, CEDAR RAPIDS, LINN COUNTY, IA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Irwin, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Brazos TX

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Harris County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN Submission for CHISAGO COUNTY, MN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain for Jasper County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Garvin, OK

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Terrain Data, Queen Anne's COUNTY, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Gilmer County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Houston TX

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Marion County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Washington County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Sioux Falls

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Mohave, AZ

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Hancock County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Lincoln County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Greene County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CERRO GORDO COUNTY, IOWA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Merced, CA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Ouachita, AR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Pickens County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Williamson County, TX

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Clark, AR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Drew AR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Cobb County, GA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Missouri USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Logan, OK

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

GIS-based terrain analysis of linear infrastructure corridors in the Mackenzie River Valley, NWT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ednie, M.; Wright, J.F.; Duchesne, C.

2007-01-01

The impact of global warming on permafrost terrain was discussed with particular reference to the structural stability and performance reliability of the proposed pipelines and roads in the Mackenzie River Valley in the Northwest Territories. Engineers, regulators and decision makers responsible for the development of these networks must have access to information about current and future terrain conditions, both local and regional. The Geological Survey of Canada is developing an ArcGIS resident, multi-component terrain analysis methodology for evaluating permafrost terrain in terms of the probable geothermal and geomorphological responses to climate warming. A GIS-integrated finite-element transient ground thermal model (T-ONE) can predict local-regional permafrost conditions and future responses of permafrost to climate warming. The influences of surface and channel hydrology on local erosion potentials can be determined by analyzing the topographic and topologic characteristics of the terrain. A weights of evidence-based landscape-process model, currently under development, will consider multiple terrain factors for mapping terrain that is susceptible to slope failure, subsidence or erosion. This terrain analysis methodology is currently being applied to a 2 km buffer spanning the proposed Mackenzie Gas Pipeline right-of-way, and along winter and all-weather road networks in the Mackenzie River Valley. Initial ground thermal modeling has identified thermally sensitive terrain for which permafrost will either completely disappear or warm significantly to near isothermal conditions within the next 25 to 55 years

Terrain Extraction by Integrating Terrestrial Laser Scanner Data and Spectral Information

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, C. L.; Halim, S.; Zulkepli, M.; Azwan, A. M.; Tang, W. L.; Chong, A. K.

2015-10-01

The extraction of true terrain points from unstructured laser point cloud data is an important process in order to produce an accurate digital terrain model (DTM). However, most of these spatial filtering methods just utilizing the geometrical data to discriminate the terrain points from nonterrain points. The point cloud filtering method also can be improved by using the spectral information available with some scanners. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using the three-channel (red, green and blue) of the colour image captured from built-in digital camera which is available in some Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) for terrain extraction. In this study, the data acquisition was conducted at a mini replica landscape in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai campus using Leica ScanStation C10. The spectral information of the coloured point clouds from selected sample classes are extracted for spectral analysis. The coloured point clouds which within the corresponding preset spectral threshold are identified as that specific feature point from the dataset. This process of terrain extraction is done through using developed Matlab coding. Result demonstrates that a higher spectral resolution passive image is required in order to improve the output. This is because low quality of the colour images captured by the sensor contributes to the low separability in spectral reflectance. In conclusion, this study shows that, spectral information is capable to be used as a parameter for terrain extraction.

Autonomous terrain characterization and modelling for dynamic control of unmanned vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Talukder, A.; Manduchi, R.; Castano, R.; Owens, K.; Matthies, L.; Castano, A.; Hogg, R.

2002-01-01

This end-to-end obstacle negotiation system is envisioned to be useful in optimized path planning and vehicle navigation in terrain conditions cluttered with vegetation, bushes, rocks, etc. Results on natural terrain with various natural materials are presented.

An Effective Terrain Aided Navigation for Low-Cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ling; Cheng, Xianghong; Zhu, Yixian; Dai, Chenxi; Fu, Jinbo

2017-03-25

Terrain-aided navigation is a potentially powerful solution for obtaining submerged position fixes for autonomous underwater vehicles. The application of terrain-aided navigation with high-accuracy inertial navigation systems has demonstrated meter-level navigation accuracy in sea trials. However, available sensors may be limited depending on the type of the mission. Such limitations, especially for low-grade navigation sensors, not only degrade the accuracy of traditional navigation systems, but further impact the ability to successfully employ terrain-aided navigation. To address this problem, a tightly-coupled navigation is presented to successfully estimate the critical sensor errors by incorporating raw sensor data directly into an augmented navigation system. Furthermore, three-dimensional distance errors are calculated, providing measurement updates through the particle filter for absolute and bounded position error. The development of the terrain aided navigation system is elaborated for a vehicle equipped with a non-inertial-grade strapdown inertial navigation system, a 4-beam Doppler Velocity Log range sensor and a sonar altimeter. Using experimental data for navigation performance evaluation in areas with different terrain characteristics, the experiment results further show that the proposed method can be successfully applied to the low-cost AUVs and significantly improves navigation performance.

Rapid Optimal Generation Algorithm for Terrain Following Trajectory Based on Optimal Control

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

杨剑影; 张海; 谢邦荣; 尹健

2004-01-01

Based on the optimal control theory, a 3-dimensionnal direct generation algorithm is proposed for anti-ground low altitude penetration tasks under complex terrain. By optimizing the terrain following(TF) objective function,terrain coordinate system, missile dynamic model and control vector, the TF issue is turning into the improved optimal control problem whose mathmatical model is simple and need not solve the second order terrain derivative. Simulation results prove that this method is reasonable and feasible. The TF precision is in the scope from 0.3 m to 3.0 m,and the planning time is less than 30 min. This method have the strongpionts such as rapidness, precision and has great application value.

29 CFR 1977.1 - Introductory statement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970 General § 1977.1 Introductory statement. (a) The Occupational Safety and Health... Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... general application designed to regulate employment conditions relating to occupational safety and health...

Factors associated with the success of first-time African American freshmen taking introductory science lecture courses at a private HBCU

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kendra Leigh

This study had four purposes: (1) to investigate the relationship between performance in introductory biology or introductory chemistry lecture courses and their accompanying laboratory courses, (2) to investigate the relationship between performance in introductory biology or introductory chemistry lecture courses and a student's gender, (3) to investigate the relationship between performance in introductory biology or introductory chemistry lecture courses and a student's major, and (4) to investigate the relationship between performance in introductory biology or introductory chemistry lecture courses and a student's ACT scores. The sample consisted of 195 first--time freshmen who enrolled in and completed an introductory biology or an introductory chemistry lecture and laboratory courses during the fall semesters of 2007-2012. Of the 195 students, 61 were enrolled in introductory chemistry and 134 were enrolled in introductory biology courses. Logistic regression, via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), was utilized to analyze several variables as they related to success in the lecture courses. Data were extracted from the university's student information system (BANNER), and analyses were conducted on biology and chemistry separately. The dependent variable for this study was a dichotomous variable for success and nonsuccess in introductory biology or introductory chemistry lecture course. The independent variables analyzed were student's gender, major, final grade in an accompanying biology or chemistry laboratory course, and ACT test scores (composite, mathematics, and science). Results indicate that concurrent enrollment in a biology laboratory course increased the likelihood of success by 15.64 times in the lecture course. Gender was found to not be a significant predictor of success for either introductory biology or introductory chemistry lecture courses. STEM majors were 9.6 times more likely to be successful than non-STEM majors in

Realistic terrain visualization based on 3D virtual world technology

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Fengru; Lin, Hui; Chen, Bin; Xiao, Cai

2010-11-01

The rapid advances in information technologies, e.g., network, graphics processing, and virtual world, have provided challenges and opportunities for new capabilities in information systems, Internet applications, and virtual geographic environments, especially geographic visualization and collaboration. In order to achieve meaningful geographic capabilities, we need to explore and understand how these technologies can be used to construct virtual geographic environments to help to engage geographic research. The generation of three-dimensional (3D) terrain plays an important part in geographical visualization, computer simulation, and virtual geographic environment applications. The paper introduces concepts and technologies of virtual worlds and virtual geographic environments, explores integration of realistic terrain and other geographic objects and phenomena of natural geographic environment based on SL/OpenSim virtual world technologies. Realistic 3D terrain visualization is a foundation of construction of a mirror world or a sand box model of the earth landscape and geographic environment. The capabilities of interaction and collaboration on geographic information are discussed as well. Further virtual geographic applications can be developed based on the foundation work of realistic terrain visualization in virtual environments.

Flight-appropriate 3D Terrain-rendering Toolkit for Synthetic Vision, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The TerraBlocksTM 3D terrain data format and terrain-block-rendering methodology provides an enabling basis for successful commercial deployment of...

Terrain Commander: Unattended Ground-Based Surveillance System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Steadman, Bob

2000-01-01

.... Terrain Commander OASIS provides next generation target detection, classification, and tracking through smart sensor fusion of beamforming acoustic, seismic, passive infrared, and magnetic sensors...

Developing and validating a conceptual survey to assess introductory physics students’ understanding of magnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-03-01

Development of validated physics surveys on various topics is important for investigating the extent to which students master those concepts after traditional instruction and for assessing innovative curricula and pedagogies that can improve student understanding significantly. Here, we discuss the development and validation of a conceptual multiple-choice survey related to magnetism suitable for introductory physics courses. The survey was developed taking into account common students’ difficulties with magnetism concepts covered in introductory physics courses found in our investigation and the incorrect choices to the multiple-choice questions were designed based upon those common student difficulties. After the development and validation of the survey, it was administered to introductory physics students in various classes in paper-pencil format before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts. We compared the performance of students on the survey in the algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant magnetism concepts. We discuss the common difficulties of introductory physics students with magnetism concepts we found via the survey. We also administered the survey to upper-level undergraduates majoring in physics and PhD students to benchmark the survey and compared their performance with those of traditionally taught introductory physics students for whom the survey is intended. A comparison with the base line data on the validated magnetism survey from traditionally taught introductory physics courses and upper-level undergraduate and PhD students discussed in this paper can help instructors assess the effectiveness of curricula and pedagogies which is especially designed to help students integrate conceptual and quantitative understanding and develop a good grasp of the concepts. In particular, if introductory physics students’ average

Developing and validating a conceptual survey to assess introductory physics students’ understanding of magnetism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jing; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-01-01

Development of validated physics surveys on various topics is important for investigating the extent to which students master those concepts after traditional instruction and for assessing innovative curricula and pedagogies that can improve student understanding significantly. Here, we discuss the development and validation of a conceptual multiple-choice survey related to magnetism suitable for introductory physics courses. The survey was developed taking into account common students’ difficulties with magnetism concepts covered in introductory physics courses found in our investigation and the incorrect choices to the multiple-choice questions were designed based upon those common student difficulties. After the development and validation of the survey, it was administered to introductory physics students in various classes in paper–pencil format before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts. We compared the performance of students on the survey in the algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant magnetism concepts. We discuss the common difficulties of introductory physics students with magnetism concepts we found via the survey. We also administered the survey to upper-level undergraduates majoring in physics and PhD students to benchmark the survey and compared their performance with those of traditionally taught introductory physics students for whom the survey is intended. A comparison with the base line data on the validated magnetism survey from traditionally taught introductory physics courses and upper-level undergraduate and PhD students discussed in this paper can help instructors assess the effectiveness of curricula and pedagogies which is especially designed to help students integrate conceptual and quantitative understanding and develop a good grasp of the concepts. In particular, if introductory physics students’ average

Does Living near Classmates Help Introductory Economics Students Get Better Grades?

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

This article examines whether first-year students in introductory economics courses get better grades if they have other students in their on-campus residential unit who either are taking the same course or have taken the course in the past. The study uses nine years of data for the introductory economics course at Reed College. The author finds…

Terrain Mapping and Obstacle Detection Using Gaussian Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Morten; Massaro, Alessandro Salvatore; Bayramoglu, Enis

2011-01-01

In this paper we consider a probabilistic method for extracting terrain maps from a scene and use the information to detect potential navigation obstacles within it. The method uses Gaussian process regression (GPR) to predict an estimate function and its relative uncertainty. To test the new...... show that the estimated maps follow the terrain shape, while protrusions are identified and may be isolated as potential obstacles. Representing the data with a covariance function allows a dramatic reduction of the amount of data to process, while maintaining the statistical properties of the measured...... and interpolated features....

UAS applications in high alpine, snow-covered terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Bühler, Y.; Stoffel, A.; Ginzler, C.

2017-12-01

Access to snow-covered, alpine terrain is often difficult and dangerous. Hence parameters such as snow depth or snow avalanche release and deposition zones are hard to map in situ with adequate spatial and temporal resolution and with spatial continuous coverage. These parameters are currently operationally measured at automated weather stations and by observer networks. However such isolated point measurements are not able to capture the information spatial continuous and to describe the high spatial variability present in complex mountain topography. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have the potential to fill this gap by frequently covering selected high alpine areas with high spatial resolution down to ground resolutions of even few millimeters. At the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF we test different photogrammetric UAS with visual and near infrared bands. During the last three years we were able to gather experience in more than 100 flight missions in extreme terrain. By processing the imagery applying state-of-the-art structure from motion (SfM) software, we were able to accurately document several avalanche events and to photogrammetrically map snow depth with accuracies from 1 to 20 cm (dependent on the flight height above ground) compare to manual snow probe measurements. This was even possible on homogenous snow surfaces with very little texture. A key issue in alpine terrain is flight planning. We need to cover regions at high elevations with large altitude differences (up to 1 km) with high wind speeds (up to 20 m/s) and cold temperatures (down to - 25°C). Only a few UAS are able to cope with these environmental conditions. We will give an overview on our applications of UAS in high alpine terrain that demonstrate the big potential of such systems to acquire frequent, accurate and high spatial resolution geodata in high alpine, snow covered terrain that could be essential to answer longstanding questions in avalanche and snow hydrology

16 CFR 502.101 - Introductory offers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION RULES, REGULATIONS, STATEMENT OF GENERAL POLICY OR... FAIR PACKAGING AND LABELING ACT Retail Sale Price Representations § 502.101 Introductory offers. (a... retail sale at a price lower than the anticipated ordinary and customary retail sale price. (b) The...

Risk-Aware Planetary Rover Operation: Autonomous Terrain Classification and Path Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, Masahiro; Fuchs, Thoams J.; Steffy, Amanda; Maimone, Mark; Yen, Jeng

2015-01-01

Identifying and avoiding terrain hazards (e.g., soft soil and pointy embedded rocks) are crucial for the safety of planetary rovers. This paper presents a newly developed groundbased Mars rover operation tool that mitigates risks from terrain by automatically identifying hazards on the terrain, evaluating their risks, and suggesting operators safe paths options that avoids potential risks while achieving specified goals. The tool will bring benefits to rover operations by reducing operation cost, by reducing cognitive load of rover operators, by preventing human errors, and most importantly, by significantly reducing the risk of the loss of rovers.

CONTEXT-BASED URBAN TERRAIN RECONSTRUCTION FROM UAV-VIDEOS FOR GEOINFORMATION APPLICATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Bulatov

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Urban terrain reconstruction has many applications in areas of civil engineering, urban planning, surveillance and defense research. Therefore the needs of covering ad-hoc demand and performing a close-range urban terrain reconstruction with miniaturized and relatively inexpensive sensor platforms are constantly growing. Using (miniaturized unmanned aerial vehicles, (MUAVs, represents one of the most attractive alternatives to conventional large-scale aerial imagery. We cover in this paper a four-step procedure of obtaining georeferenced 3D urban models from video sequences. The four steps of the procedure – orientation, dense reconstruction, urban terrain modeling and geo-referencing – are robust, straight-forward, and nearly fully-automatic. The two last steps – namely, urban terrain modeling from almost-nadir videos and co-registration of models 6ndash; represent the main contribution of this work and will therefore be covered with more detail. The essential substeps of the third step include digital terrain model (DTM extraction, segregation of buildings from vegetation, as well as instantiation of building and tree models. The last step is subdivided into quasi- intrasensorial registration of Euclidean reconstructions and intersensorial registration with a geo-referenced orthophoto. Finally, we present reconstruction results from a real data-set and outline ideas for future work.

Wind farm layout optimization in complex terrain: A preliminary study on a Gaussian hill

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feng, Ju; Shen, Wen Zhong

2014-01-01

this problem for WFs in flat terrain or offshore has been investigated in many studies, it is still a challenging problem for WFs in complex terrain. In this preliminary study, the wind flow conditions of complex terrain without WTs are first obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation...

An Analysis of Learning Objectives and Content Coverage in Introductory Psychology Syllabi

Science.gov (United States)

Homa, Natalie; Hackathorn, Jana; Brown, Carrie M.; Garczynski, Amy; Solomon, Erin D.; Tennial, Rachel; Sanborn, Ursula A.; Gurung, Regan A. R.

2013-01-01

Introductory psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses and often serves as the gateway to choosing psychology as an academic major. However, little research has examined the typical structure of introductory psychology courses. The current study examined student learning objectives (SLOs) and course content in introductory…

Agricultural In-Service Needs of Introductory Level Career and Technical Education Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Jolene; Warnick, Brian K.; Spielmaker, Debra; Tarpley, Rudy S.; Straquadine, Gary S.

2009-01-01

This study identified and prioritized the agricultural in-service needs of introductory level career and technical education teachers in Utah. The Utah State Board of Education requires that all seventh grade students complete an introductory career and technical education course as their first formal career exploration experience. One component…

Emotion Instruction in Journalism Courses: An Analysis of Introductory News Writing Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Hopper, K. Megan; Huxford, John

2017-01-01

This study explores how introductory news writing textbooks address issues surrounding emotional labor and its consequences, both for journalists and for those they interview. Eighteen of the highest-selling introductory news-writing textbooks were selected for qualitative analysis. Results showed the term and concept of emotional labor--the…

Research and Teaching: Reenvisioning the Introductory Science Course as a Cognitive Apprenticeship

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Meredith M.; Pastorino, Lucia; Lee, Star; Lipton, Paul

2016-01-01

Introductory science courses play a critical role in the recruitment and retention of undergraduate science majors. In particular, first-year courses are opportunities to engage students in scientific practices and motivate them to consider scientific careers. We developed an introductory course using a semester-long series of established…

New Approach to Analyzing Physics Problems: A Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Teodorescu, Raluca E.; Bennhold, Cornelius; Feldman, Gerald; Medsker, Larry

2013-01-01

This paper describes research on a classification of physics problems in the context of introductory physics courses. This classification, called the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP), relates physics problems to the cognitive processes required to solve them. TIPP was created in order to design educational objectives, to develop…

I/O-Efficient Computation of Water Flow Across a Terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars Allan; Revsbæk, Morten; Zeh, Norbert

2010-01-01

). We present an I/O-efficient algorithm that solves this problem using O(sort(X) log (X/M) + sort(N)) I/Os, where N is the number of terrain vertices, X is the number of pits of the terrain, sort(N) is the cost of sorting N data items, and M is the size of the computer's main memory. Our algorithm...

Introductory Comments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Sujecka

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Introductory Comments The fifth yearly volume of the Colloquia Humanistica comprises a thematic section on Nation, Natsiya, Ethnie. The subject it discusses has thus far received little attention as a research problem in the Slavia Orthodoxa, the Slavia Romana, the Balkans but also in Central and Eastern Europe.   Uwagi wstępne Piąty numer rocznika "Colloquia Humanistica" przedstawia dział tematyczny, poświęcony kategoriom narodu, nacji i etni. Temat ten, w takiej perspektywie, którą proponujemy, nie spotkał się dotąd z należytym namysłem badawczym w sferze Slavia Otrhodoxa, Slavia Romana i na Bałkanach, jak też w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej.

Terrain and building effects on the transport of radioactive material at a nuclear site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hyojoon; Park, Misun; Jeong, Haesun; Hwang, Wontae; Kim, Eunhan; Han, Moonhee

2014-01-01

Highlights: • This study is to quantify the building and terrain effects on the atmospheric dispersion. • Statistical methods with AERMOD-PRIME and CFD were used. • To assess the risk in nuclear power plants, terrain and building effects have to be considered. - Abstract: This study identified the terrain and building effects on the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive materials at the Wolsong Nuclear Site. To analyze the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive materials, the AERMOD-PRIME model, CFD model and meteorological data from 2010 were used. The terrain and building effects on the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive materials within a 1 km radius of the site were statistically significant. The maximum concentration of the radioactive material increased by 7 times compared to the concentration when the terrain and building effects were not considered. It was found that the terrain and building influenced the decrease in the concentration of radioactive material in a concentric circle with a 914 m radius from the center of the site. The concentration of radioactive material in a concentric circle with a 350 m radius was two-times higher than the concentration estimated at the backside of the building, which is the downwind side, without any consideration of the terrain and building effects. In consideration of the Korean situation, in which multiple nuclear reactors are built on the same nuclear site, it is necessary to evaluate the risk that may affect workers and nearby residents by reflecting the terrain and building effects

Introductory Astronomy Course at the University of Cape Town: Probing Student Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Rajpaul, Vinesh; Allie, Saalih; Blyth, Sarah-Louise

2014-01-01

We report on research carried out to improve teaching and student engagement in the introductory astronomy course at the University of Cape Town. This course is taken by a diverse range of students, including many from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. We describe the development of an instrument, the Introductory Astronomy Questionnaire…

Planning Routes Across Economic Terrains: Maximizing Utility, Following Heuristics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hang; Maddula, Soumya V.; Maloney, Laurence T.

2010-01-01

We designed an economic task to investigate human planning of routes in landscapes where travel in different kinds of terrain incurs different costs. Participants moved their finger across a touch screen from a starting point to a destination. The screen was divided into distinct kinds of terrain and travel within each kind of terrain imposed a cost proportional to distance traveled. We varied costs and spatial configurations of terrains and participants received fixed bonuses minus the total cost of the routes they chose. We first compared performance to a model maximizing gain. All but one of 12 participants failed to adopt least-cost routes and their failure to do so reduced their winnings by about 30% (median value). We tested in detail whether participants’ choices of routes satisfied three necessary conditions (heuristics) for a route to maximize gain. We report failures of one heuristic for 7 out of 12 participants. Last of all, we modeled human performance with the assumption that participants assign subjective utilities to costs and maximize utility. For 7 out 12 participants, the fitted utility function was an accelerating power function of actual cost and for the remaining 5, a decelerating power function. We discuss connections between utility aggregation in route planning and decision under risk. Our task could be adapted to investigate human strategy and optimality of route planning in full-scale landscapes. PMID:21833269

PLANNING ROUTES ACROSS ECONOMIC TERRAINS: MAXIMIZING UTILITY, FOLLOWING HEURISTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hang eZhang

2010-12-01

Full Text Available We designed an economic task to investigate human planning of routes in landscapes where travel in different kinds of terrain incurs different costs. Participants moved their finger across a touch screen from a starting point to a destination. The screen was divided into distinct kinds of terrain and travel within each kind of terrain imposed a cost proportional to distance traveled. We varied costs and spatial configurations of terrains and participants received fixed bonuses minus the total cost of the routes they chose. We first compared performance to a model maximizing gain. All but one of 12 participants failed to adopt least-cost routes and their failure to do so reduced their winnings by about 30% (median value. We tested in detail whether participants’ choices of routes satisfied three necessary conditions (heuristics for a route to maximize gain. We report failures of one heuristic for 7 out of 12 participants. Last of all, we modeled human performance with the assumption that participants assign subjective utilities to costs and maximize utility. For 7 out 12 participants, the fitted utility function was an accelerating power function of actual cost and for the remaining 5, a decelerating power function. We discuss connections between utility aggregation in route planning and decision under risk. Our task could be adapted to investigate human strategy and optimality of route planning in full-scale landscapes.

Periodic spring–mass running over uneven terrain through feedforward control of landing conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

III, Luther R Palmer; Eaton, Caitrin E

2014-01-01

This work pursues a feedforward control algorithm for high-speed legged locomotion over uneven terrain. Being able to rapidly negotiate uneven terrain without visual or a priori information about the terrain will allow legged systems to be used in time-critical applications and alongside fast-moving humans or vehicles. The algorithm is shown here implemented on a spring-loaded inverted pendulum model in simulation, and can be configured to approach fixed running height over uneven terrain or self-stable terrain following. Offline search identifies unique landing conditions that achieve a desired apex height with a constant stride period over varying ground levels. Because the time between the apex and touchdown events is directly related to ground height, the landing conditions can be computed in real time as continuous functions of this falling time. Enforcing a constant stride period reduces the need for inertial sensing of the apex event, which is nontrivial for physical systems, and allows for clocked feedfoward control of the swing leg. (paper)

Periodic spring-mass running over uneven terrain through feedforward control of landing conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Luther R; Eaton, Caitrin E

2014-09-01

This work pursues a feedforward control algorithm for high-speed legged locomotion over uneven terrain. Being able to rapidly negotiate uneven terrain without visual or a priori information about the terrain will allow legged systems to be used in time-critical applications and alongside fast-moving humans or vehicles. The algorithm is shown here implemented on a spring-loaded inverted pendulum model in simulation, and can be configured to approach fixed running height over uneven terrain or self-stable terrain following. Offline search identifies unique landing conditions that achieve a desired apex height with a constant stride period over varying ground levels. Because the time between the apex and touchdown events is directly related to ground height, the landing conditions can be computed in real time as continuous functions of this falling time. Enforcing a constant stride period reduces the need for inertial sensing of the apex event, which is nontrivial for physical systems, and allows for clocked feedfoward control of the swing leg.

Item Analysis in Introductory Economics Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Tinari, Frank D.

1979-01-01

Computerized analysis of multiple choice test items is explained. Examples of item analysis applications in the introductory economics course are discussed with respect to three objectives: to evaluate learning; to improve test items; and to help improve classroom instruction. Problems, costs and benefits of the procedures are identified. (JMD)

The Nature of Introductory Economics Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Koscielniak, James

1975-01-01

A questionnaire was developed to determine the content, mode of instruction, approach, and textbook selection of instructors of introductory economics courses. The survey was distributed in 1974 to 143 economics instructors at two- and four-year colleges in Illinois. Results are presented here, and recommendations are made. (Author/NHM)

Learners Programming Language a Helping System for Introductory Programming Courses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUHAMMAD SHUMAIL NAVEED

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Programming is the core of computer science and due to this momentousness a special care is taken in designing the curriculum of programming courses. A substantial work has been conducted on the definition of programming courses, yet the introductory programming courses are still facing high attrition, low retention and lack of motivation. This paper introduced a tiny pre-programming language called LPL (Learners Programming Language as a ZPL (Zeroth Programming Language to illuminate novice students about elementary concepts of introductory programming before introducing the first imperative programming course. The overall objective and design philosophy of LPL is based on a hypothesis that the soft introduction of a simple and paradigm specific textual programming can increase the motivation level of novice students and reduce the congenital complexities and hardness of the first programming course and eventually improve the retention rate and may be fruitful in reducing the dropout/failure level. LPL also generates the equivalent high level programs from user source program and eventually very fruitful in understanding the syntax of introductory programming languages. To overcome the inherent complexities of unusual and rigid syntax of introductory programming languages, the LPL provide elementary programming concepts in the form of algorithmic and plain natural language based computational statements. The initial results obtained after the introduction of LPL are very encouraging in motivating novice students and improving the retention rate.

An improved method of continuous LOD based on fractal theory in terrain rendering

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lan; Li, Lijun

2007-11-01

With the improvement of computer graphic hardware capability, the algorithm of 3D terrain rendering is going into the hot topic of real-time visualization. In order to solve conflict between the rendering speed and reality of rendering, this paper gives an improved method of terrain rendering which improves the traditional continuous level of detail technique based on fractal theory. This method proposes that the program needn't to operate the memory repeatedly to obtain different resolution terrain model, instead, obtains the fractal characteristic parameters of different region according to the movement of the viewpoint. Experimental results show that the method guarantees the authenticity of landscape, and increases the real-time 3D terrain rendering speed.

DOGWOOD RUN TERRAIN, YORK COUNTY, PA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data includes digital elevation models, LIDAR derived contours, LIDAR three-dimensional spot elevations and breaklines, field surveyed ground elevations and...

TERRAIN DATA CAPTURE STANDARDS, Bedford PA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data includes digital elevation models, LIDAR derived contours, LIDAR three-dimensional spot elevations and breaklines, field surveyed ground elevations and...

Ranging error analysis of single photon satellite laser altimetry under different terrain conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jiapeng; Li, Guoyuan; Gao, Xiaoming; Wang, Jianmin; Fan, Wenfeng; Zhou, Shihong

2018-02-01

Single photon satellite laser altimeter is based on Geiger model, which has the characteristics of small spot, high repetition rate etc. In this paper, for the slope terrain, the distance of error's formula and numerical calculation are carried out. Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the experiment of different terrain measurements. The experimental results show that ranging accuracy is not affected by the spot size under the condition of the flat terrain, But the inclined terrain can influence the ranging error dramatically, when the satellite pointing angle is 0.001° and the terrain slope is about 12°, the ranging error can reach to 0.5m. While the accuracy can't meet the requirement when the slope is more than 70°. Monte Carlo simulation results show that single photon laser altimeter satellite with high repetition rate can improve the ranging accuracy under the condition of complex terrain. In order to ensure repeated observation of the same point for 25 times, according to the parameters of ICESat-2, we deduce the quantitative relation between the footprint size, footprint, and the frequency repetition. The related conclusions can provide reference for the design and demonstration of the domestic single photon laser altimetry satellite.

Walking on uneven terrain with a powered ankle prosthesis: A preliminary assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, Amanda H; Lawson, Brian E; Goldfarb, Michael

2015-01-01

A successful walking gait with a powered prosthesis depends heavily on proper timing of power delivery, or push-off. This paper describes a control approach which provides improved walking on uneven terrain relative to previous work intended for use on even (level) terrain. This approach is motivated by an initial healthy subject study which demonstrated less variation in sagittal plane shank angle than sagittal plane ankle angle when walking on uneven terrain relative to even terrain. The latter therefore replaces the former as the control signal used to initiate push-off in the powered prosthesis described herein. The authors demonstrate improvement in consistency for several gait characteristics, relative to healthy, as well as controller characteristics with the new control approach, including a 50% improvement in the consistency of the percentage of stride at which push-off is initiated.

Quantifying the Level of Inquiry in a Reformed Introductory Geology Lab Course

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, Elizabeth; Cervato, Cinzia

2016-01-01

As part of a campus-wide effort to transform introductory science courses to be more engaging and more accurately convey the excitement of discovery in science, the curriculum of an introductory physical geology lab course was redesigned. What had been a series of ''cookbook'' lab activities was transformed into a sequence of activities based on…

An Introductory Calculus-Based Mechanics Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Bradley

2017-01-01

One challenge for the introductory physics teacher is incorporating calculus techniques into the laboratory setting. It can be difficult to strike a balance between presenting an experimental task for which calculus is essential and making the mathematics accessible to learners who may be apprehensive about applying it. One-dimensional kinematics…

Macromod: Computer Simulation For Introductory Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Thomas

1977-01-01

The Macroeconomic model (Macromod) is a computer assisted instruction simulation model designed for introductory economics courses. An evaluation of its utilization at a community college indicates that it yielded a 10 percent to 13 percent greater economic comprehension than lecture classes and that it met with high student approval. (DC)

29 CFR 782.0 - Introductory statement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... one place general interpretations of the Administrator which will provide “a practical guide to... CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF MOTOR CARRIERS § 782.0 Introductory statement. (a) Since the enactment of the Fair... seek to apply it.” (Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134) (b) The interpretations contained in this...

29 CFR 531.25 - Introductory statement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... such interpretations of this Act “provide a practical guide to employers and employees as to how the... PAYMENTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 Interpretations § 531.25 Introductory statement. (a... responsibilities of administration and enforcement (Skidmore v. Swift, 323 U.S. 134). In order that these positions...

Blended Learning Versus Traditional Lecture in Introductory Nursing Pathophysiology Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Blissitt, Andrea Marie

2016-04-01

Currently, many undergraduate nursing courses use blended-learning course formats with success; however, little evidence exists that supports the use of blended formats in introductory pathophysiology courses. The purpose of this study was to compare the scores on pre- and posttests and course satisfaction between traditional and blended course formats in an introductory nursing pathophysiology course. This study used a quantitative, quasi-experimental, nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design. Analysis of covariance compared pre- and posttest scores, and a t test for independent samples compared students' reported course satisfaction of the traditional and blended course formats. Results indicated that the differences in posttest scores were not statistically significant between groups. Students in the traditional group reported statistically significantly higher satisfaction ratings than students in the blended group. The results of this study support the need for further research of using blended learning in introductory pathophysiology courses in undergraduate baccalaureate nursing programs. Further investigation into how satisfaction is affected by course formats is needed. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

The Development of a Set of Core Communication Competencies for Introductory Communication Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Engleberg, Isa N.; Ward, Susan M.; Disbrow, Lynn M.; Katt, James A.; Myers, Scott A.; O'Keefe, Patricia

2017-01-01

In most academic disciplines, there is "one" introductory course that presents an overview of the discipline and introduces fundamental, discipline-specific principles and competencies. However, in Communication Studies, the discipline recognizes and offers multiple course options that may serve as the introductory course. This project…

AAN Tactical Roles in Complex Urban Terrain

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Funkhouser, Anthony

1998-01-01

.... The infantryman will assume the responsibility for tasks such as mobility. However, many experts predict the future battlefields will consist of complex urban terrain where much of the world population is occupying...

The Mysteries and Curiosities of Mars: A Tour of Unusual and Unexplained Terrains

Science.gov (United States)

Kerber, L.

2017-12-01

The large amount of data available from orbiting satellites around Mars has provided a wealth of information about the Martian surface and geological history. The published literature tends to focus on regions of Mars for which there are ready explanations; however, many regions of Mars remain mysterious. In this contribution, we present some of the strangest and least explained terrains on Mars: The Taffy Terrain: This complex terrain, consisting of swirling layers with variably sized bands, is present mostly at the bottom of Hellas Basin, but versions of it can also be found on the floor of Melas Chasma and in the Medusae Fossae Formation near Apollinaris Sulci. While little has been written about the taffy terrain, hypotheses include "glacial features" and salt domes. The taffy terrain bears some resemblance to submarine salt domes in the Gulf of Mexico, glacial deposits with mixed ash and ice in Iceland, or chalk formations in Egypt's White Desert. The Fishscale Terrain: At the northern edge of Lucus Planum, the friable Medusae Fossae Formation transitions into a chaos-like terrain with hundreds of mesas forming a pattern like the scales of a fish. While chaos terrains are mysterious in general, this morphologically fresh, near-equatorial chaos is especially unusual. Polygonal Ridges in Gordii Dorsum: Also a part of the Medusae Fossae Formation, the ridges in Gordii Dorsum represent a negative image of the fishscale terrain—a intricate lattice of slender black ridges. These are thought to form via the embayment of the fishscale terrain with lava and the subsequent erosion of the original mesas. Horseshoe Features: These geomorphological features look like inverted barchan dunes, but they are actually pits eroded into the surface of the Medusae Fossae Formation. Channels surrounding Elysium Mons: These channel systems are among the most complex on Mars, but they appear on a young Amazonian lava surface. The channels cut through topography, anastomose, and

Polyhedral shape model for terrain correction of gravity and gravity gradient data based on an adaptive mesh

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zhikui; Chen, Chao; Tao, Chunhui

2016-04-01

Since 2007, there are four China Da yang cruises (CDCs), which have been carried out to investigate polymetallic sulfides in the southwest Indian ridge (SWIR) and have acquired both gravity data and bathymetry data on the corresponding survey lines(Tao et al., 2014). Sandwell et al. (2014) published a new global marine gravity model including the free air gravity data and its first order vertical gradient (Vzz). Gravity data and its gradient can be used to extract unknown density structure information(e.g. crust thickness) under surface of the earth, but they contain all the mass effect under the observation point. Therefore, how to get accurate gravity and its gradient effect of the existing density structure (e.g. terrain) has been a key issue. Using the bathymetry data or ETOPO1 (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/global.html) model at a full resolution to calculate the terrain effect could spend too much computation time. We expect to develop an effective method that takes less time but can still yield the desired accuracy. In this study, a constant-density polyhedral model is used to calculate the gravity field and its vertical gradient, which is based on the work of Tsoulis (2012). According to gravity field attenuation with distance and variance of bathymetry, we present an adaptive mesh refinement and coarsening strategies to merge both global topography data and multi-beam bathymetry data. The local coarsening or size of mesh depends on user-defined accuracy and terrain variation (Davis et al., 2011). To depict terrain better, triangular surface element and rectangular surface element are used in fine and coarse mesh respectively. This strategy can also be applied to spherical coordinate in large region and global scale. Finally, we applied this method to calculate Bouguer gravity anomaly (BGA), mantle Bouguer anomaly(MBA) and their vertical gradient in SWIR. Further, we compared the result with previous results in the literature. Both synthetic model

Inference and the Introductory Statistics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Pfannkuch, Maxine; Regan, Matt; Wild, Chris; Budgett, Stephanie; Forbes, Sharleen; Harraway, John; Parsonage, Ross

2011-01-01

This article sets out some of the rationale and arguments for making major changes to the teaching and learning of statistical inference in introductory courses at our universities by changing from a norm-based, mathematical approach to more conceptually accessible computer-based approaches. The core problem of the inferential argument with its…

"World Religions" in Introductory Sociology Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Michael P.

2017-01-01

A section on "world religions" (WRs) is now routinely included in the religion chapters of introductory sociology textbooks. Looking carefully at these WR sections, however, two things seem puzzling. The first is that the criteria for defining a WR varies considerably from textbook to textbook; the second is that these WRs sections…

DCS TERRAIN SUBMISSION FOR PUTNAM COUNTY, FL

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Dawes County, NE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CITY OF DALLAS, DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, Priest Lake, Bonner County, Idaho USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for LeFlore, OK

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Mason County, KY

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS TERRAIN SUBMISSION FOR VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Cass County, MO

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Bark River PMR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Lee County MS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Greer County, Oklahoma, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Angelina County, TX

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN DATA, CITY OF CARSON CITY, NV

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Fulton County, IN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Miami County, IN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Socorro County NM

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

Digital Terrain Submittal for Duval County, FL

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS TERRAIN SUBMISSION FOR KNOX COUNTY, TN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Cass County, TX

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Lancaster County, NE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Benton County, AR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Pike County, KY

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Winston County, AL

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Chemung County, NY

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Chippewa County, Wisconsin

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS TERRAIN SUBMISSION FOR SHELBY COUNTY, TN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Albany County NY

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Gunnison County, CO

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Lewis County, KY

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Lake County, Montana

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Missoula County,Montana

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Chariton County, MO

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Lagrange County, IN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS TERRAIN Submission for STEARNS COUNTY, MN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Making Introductory Quantum Physics Understandable and Interesting

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 10; Issue 1. Making Introductory Quantum Physics Understandable and Interesting. Ranjana Y Abhang. Classroom Volume 10 Issue 1 January 2005 pp 63-73. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Analysis of the Impact of Introductory Physics on Engineering Students at Texas A&M University

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Jonathan; Bassichis, William

Introductory physics forms a major part of the foundational knowledge of engineering majors, independent of discipline and institution. While the content of introductory physics courses is consistent from institution to institution, the manner in which it is taught can vary greatly due to professor, textbook, instructional method, and overall course design. This work attempts to examine variations in student success, as measured by overall academic performance in an engineering major, and matriculation rates, based on the type of introductory physics a student took while enrolled in an engineering degree at Texas A&M University. Specific options for introductory physics at Texas A&M University include two calculus based physics courses, one traditional (UP), and one more mathematically rigorous (DP), transfer credit, and high school (AP or dual) credit. In order to examine the impact of introductory physics on a student's degree progression, data mining analyses are performed on a data set of relatively comprehensive academic records for all students enrolled as an engineering major for a minimum of one academic term. Student data has been collected for years of entering freshman beginning in 1990 and ending in 2010. Correlations will be examined between freshman level courses, including introductory physics, and follow on engineering courses, matriculation rates, and time to graduation.

Transversality of Electromagnetic Waves in the Calculus--Based Introductory Physics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Burko, Lior M.

2009-05-01

Introductory calculus--based physics textbooks state that electromagnetic waves are transverse and list many of their properties, but most such textbooks do not bring forth arguments why this is so. Both physical and theoretical arguments are at a level appropriate for students of courses based on such books, and could be readily used by instructors of such courses. Here, we discuss two physical arguments (based on polarization experiments and on lack of monopole electromagnetic radiation), and the full argument for the transversality of (plane) electromagnetic waves based on the integral Maxwell equations. We also show, at a level appropriate for the introductory course, why the electric and magnetic fields in a wave are in phase and the relation of their magnitudes. We have successfully integrated this approach in the calculus--based introductory physics course at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Addressing terrain masking in orbital reconnaissance

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Sharad; Cico, Luke

2012-06-01

During aerial orbital reconnaissance, a sensor system is mounted on an airborne platform for imaging a region on the ground. The latency between the image acquisition and delivery of information to the end-user is critical and must be minimized. Due to fine ground pixel resolution and a large field-of-view for wide-area surveillance applications, a massive volume of data is gathered and imagery products are formed using a real-time multi-processor system. The images are taken at oblique angles, stabilized and ortho-rectified. The line-of-sight of the sensor to the ground is often interrupted by terrain features such as mountains or tall structures as depicted in Figure1. The ortho-rectification process renders the areas hidden from the line-of sight of the sensor with spurious information. This paper discusses an approach for addressing terrain masking in size, weight, and power (SWaP) and memory-restricted onboard processing systems.

Quasi-analytical treatment of spatially averaged radiation transfer in complex terrain

Science.gov (United States)

LöWe, H.; Helbig, N.

2012-10-01

We provide a new quasi-analytical method to compute the subgrid topographic influences on the shortwave radiation fluxes and the effective albedo in complex terrain as required for large-scale meteorological, land surface, or climate models. We investigate radiative transfer in complex terrain via the radiosity equation on isotropic Gaussian random fields. Under controlled approximations we derive expressions for domain-averaged fluxes of direct, diffuse, and terrain radiation and the sky view factor. Domain-averaged quantities can be related to a type of level-crossing probability of the random field, which is approximated by long-standing results developed for acoustic scattering at ocean boundaries. This allows us to express all nonlocal horizon effects in terms of a local terrain parameter, namely, the mean-square slope. Emerging integrals are computed numerically, and fit formulas are given for practical purposes. As an implication of our approach, we provide an expression for the effective albedo of complex terrain in terms of the Sun elevation angle, mean-square slope, the area-averaged surface albedo, and the ratio of atmospheric direct beam to diffuse radiation. For demonstration we compute the decrease of the effective albedo relative to the area-averaged albedo in Switzerland for idealized snow-covered and clear-sky conditions at noon in winter. We find an average decrease of 5.8% and spatial patterns which originate from characteristics of the underlying relief. Limitations and possible generalizations of the method are discussed.

Evaluation of terrain geomorphometric characteristics for ground clearance charts production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirko A. Borisov

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Geomorphometric exploration applied in the military terrain analysis is based on the GIS methodology of spatial analyses and is related primarily to military terrain analyses. It includes relief assessment aiming at producing ground clearance charts for the analysis of terrain maneuverability and its deployment, cover and concealment possibilities. An evaluation analysis of geomorphological parameters was performed for the Avala test area using a few terrain parameters (visibility, terrain aspect and slope as well as some terrain qualitative categories (e.g. vegetation density. Terrain slope Slope and aspect are morphometric terrain parameters that can be derived directly from the DTM using some GIS operations. Slope is the first derivative of a surface and has both magnitude and direction. Slope is perhaps the most important aspect of the surface form, since surfaces are formed completely of slopes, and slope angles control the gravitational force available for geomorphic work. Mathematically, the tangent of the slope angle is the first derivative of altitude, and it is a tangent or percent slope as this surface parameter is generally referred to. Slope is defined at each point as the slope of a plane tangent to the surface at that point. In practice, however, slope is generally measured over a finite distance, especially when data are obtained from a contour map. Terrain aspect Aspect is also the first derivative of a surface and has both magnitude and direction. The term aspect is defined as the direction of the biggest slope vector on the tangent plane projected onto the horizontal plane. Aspect is the bearing (or azimuth of the slope direction, and its angle ranges from 0 to 360°. Analyses of terrain slope and ground clearance for military forces The analysis of land assessment of the Avala test area included the definition of relief categories in relation to cover and concealment purposes with the aim to include the geomorphological basis

Enhancing the Teaching of Introductory Economics with a Team-Based, Multi-Section Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Beaudin, Laura; Berdiev, Aziz N.; Kaminaga, Allison Shwachman; Mirmirani, Sam; Tebaldi, Edinaldo

2017-01-01

The authors describe a unique approach to enhancing student learning at the introductory economics level that utilizes a multi-section, team-based competition. The competition is structured to supplement learning throughout the entire introductory course. Student teams are presented with current economic issues, trends, or events, and use economic…

Terrain Mapping and Classification in Outdoor Environments Using Neural Networks

OpenAIRE

Alberto Yukinobu Hata; Denis Fernando Wolf; Gustavo Pessin; Fernando Osório

2009-01-01

This paper describes a three-dimensional terrain mapping and classification technique to allow the operation of mobile robots in outdoor environments using laser range finders. We propose the use of a multi-layer perceptron neural network to classify the terrain into navigable, partially navigable, and non-navigable. The maps generated by our approach can be used for path planning, navigation, and local obstacle avoidance. Experimental tests using an outdoor robot and a laser sensor demonstra...

A Realistic Framework for Delay-Tolerant Network Routing in Open Terrains with Continuous Churn

Science.gov (United States)

Mahendran, Veeramani; Anirudh, Sivaraman K.; Murthy, C. Siva Ram

The conventional analysis of Delay-Tolerant Network (DTN) routing assumes that the terrain over which nodes move is closed implying that when the nodes hit a boundary, they either wrap around or get reflected. In this work, we study the effect of relaxing this closed terrain assumption on the routing performance, where a continuous stream of nodes enter the terrain and get absorbed upon hitting the boundary.

Exploring Urban America: An Introductory Reader.

Science.gov (United States)

Caves, Roger W.

This introductory text presents a collection of articles from urban-studies journals to introduce undergraduate students to the interdisciplinary field of urban studies. The book is divided into 9 parts as follows: Part 1: Cities and Urbanism; part 2: Urban History; part 3: Urban Policy; part 4: Economic Development; part 5: Community Services and…

A multi-mode real-time terrain parameter estimation method for wheeled motion control of mobile robots

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuankai; Ding, Liang; Zheng, Zhizhong; Yang, Qizhi; Zhao, Xingang; Liu, Guangjun

2018-05-01

For motion control of wheeled planetary rovers traversing on deformable terrain, real-time terrain parameter estimation is critical in modeling the wheel-terrain interaction and compensating the effect of wheel slipping. A multi-mode real-time estimation method is proposed in this paper to achieve accurate terrain parameter estimation. The proposed method is composed of an inner layer for real-time filtering and an outer layer for online update. In the inner layer, sinkage exponent and internal frictional angle, which have higher sensitivity than that of the other terrain parameters to wheel-terrain interaction forces, are estimated in real time by using an adaptive robust extended Kalman filter (AREKF), whereas the other parameters are fixed with nominal values. The inner layer result can help synthesize the current wheel-terrain contact forces with adequate precision, but has limited prediction capability for time-variable wheel slipping. To improve estimation accuracy of the result from the inner layer, an outer layer based on recursive Gauss-Newton (RGN) algorithm is introduced to refine the result of real-time filtering according to the innovation contained in the history data. With the two-layer structure, the proposed method can work in three fundamental estimation modes: EKF, REKF and RGN, making the method applicable for flat, rough and non-uniform terrains. Simulations have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method under three terrain types, showing the advantages of introducing the two-layer structure.

Teaching Quantum Mechanics on an Introductory Level.

Science.gov (United States)

Muller, Rainer; Wiesner, Hartmut

2002-01-01

Presents a new research-based course on quantum mechanics in which the conceptual issues of quantum mechanics are taught at an introductory level. Involves students in the discovery of how quantum phenomena deviate from classical everyday experiences. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/YDS)

Atmospheric processes over complex terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Banta, Robert M.; Berri, G.; Blumen, William; Carruthers, David J.; Dalu, G. A.; Durran, Dale R.; Egger, Joseph; Garratt, J. R.; Hanna, Steven R.; Hunt, J. C. R.

1990-06-01

A workshop on atmospheric processes over complex terrain, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, was convened in Park City, Utah from 24 vto 28 October 1988. The overall objective of the workshop was one of interaction and synthesis--interaction among atmospheric scientists carrying out research on a variety of orographic flow problems, and a synthesis of their results and points of view into an assessment of the current status of topical research problems. The final day of the workshop was devoted to an open discussion on the research directions that could be anticipated in the next decade because of new and planned instrumentation and observational networks, the recent emphasis on development of mesoscale numerical models, and continual theoretical investigations of thermally forced flows, orographic waves, and stratified turbulence. This monograph represents an outgrowth of the Park City Workshop. The authors have contributed chapters based on their lecture material. Workshop discussions indicated interest in both the remote sensing and predictability of orographic flows. These chapters were solicited following the workshop in order to provide a more balanced view of current progress and future directions in research on atmospheric processes over complex terrain.

The Effect of Terrain Inclination on Performance and the Stability Region of Two-Wheeled Mobile Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zareena Kausar

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Two-wheeled mobile robots (TWMRs have a capability of avoiding the tip-over problem on inclined terrain by adjusting the centre of mass position of the robot body. The effects of terrain inclination on the robot performance are studied to exploit this capability. Prior to the real-time implementation of position control, an estimation of the stability region of the TWMR is essential for safe operation. A numerical method to estimate the stability region is applied and the effects of inclined surfaces on the performance and stability region of the robot are investigated. The dynamics of a TWMR is modelled on a general uneven terrain and reduced for cases of inclined and horizontal flat terrain. A full state feedback (FSFB controller is designed based on optimal gains with speed tracking on a horizontal flat terrain. The performance and stability regions are simulated for the robot on a horizontal flat and inclined terrain with the same controller. The results endorse a variation in equilibrium points and a reduction in stability region for robot motion on inclined terrain.

Rough terrain motion planning for actively reconfigurable mobile robots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, Michael

2015-01-01

In the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and the nuclear meltdown at the power plant of Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, reconfigurable robots like the iRobot Packbot were deployed. Instead of humans, the robots were used to investigate contaminated areas. Other incidents are the two major earthquakes in Northern Italy in May 2012. Besides many casualties, a large number of historical buildings was severely damaged. Due to the imminent danger of collapse, it was too dangerous for rescue personnel to enter many of the buildings. Therefore, the sites were inspected by reconfigurable robots, which are able to traverse the rubble and debris of the partially destroyed buildings. This thesis develops a navigation system enabling wheeled and tracked robots to safely traverse rough terrain and challenging structures. It consists of a planning mechanism and a controller. The focus of this thesis, however, is on the contribution to motion planning. The planning scheme employs a hierarchical approach to motion planning for actively reconfigurable robots in rough environments. Using a map of the environment the algorithm estimates the traversability under the consideration of uncertainties. Based on this analysis, an initial path search determines an approximate solution with respect to the robot's operating limits.Subsequently, a detailed planning step refines the initial path where it is required. The refinement step considers the robot's actuators and stability in addition to the quantities of the first search. Determining the robot-terrain interaction is very important in rough terrain. This thesis presents two path refinement approaches: a deterministic and a randomized approach. The experimental evaluation investigates the separate components of the planning scheme, the robot-terrain interaction for instance.In simulation as well as in real world experiments the evaluation demonstrates the necessity of such a planning algorithm in rough terrain and it provides

Rough terrain motion planning for actively reconfigurable mobile robots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunner, Michael

2015-02-05

In the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and the nuclear meltdown at the power plant of Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, reconfigurable robots like the iRobot Packbot were deployed. Instead of humans, the robots were used to investigate contaminated areas. Other incidents are the two major earthquakes in Northern Italy in May 2012. Besides many casualties, a large number of historical buildings was severely damaged. Due to the imminent danger of collapse, it was too dangerous for rescue personnel to enter many of the buildings. Therefore, the sites were inspected by reconfigurable robots, which are able to traverse the rubble and debris of the partially destroyed buildings. This thesis develops a navigation system enabling wheeled and tracked robots to safely traverse rough terrain and challenging structures. It consists of a planning mechanism and a controller. The focus of this thesis, however, is on the contribution to motion planning. The planning scheme employs a hierarchical approach to motion planning for actively reconfigurable robots in rough environments. Using a map of the environment the algorithm estimates the traversability under the consideration of uncertainties. Based on this analysis, an initial path search determines an approximate solution with respect to the robot's operating limits.Subsequently, a detailed planning step refines the initial path where it is required. The refinement step considers the robot's actuators and stability in addition to the quantities of the first search. Determining the robot-terrain interaction is very important in rough terrain. This thesis presents two path refinement approaches: a deterministic and a randomized approach. The experimental evaluation investigates the separate components of the planning scheme, the robot-terrain interaction for instance.In simulation as well as in real world experiments the evaluation demonstrates the necessity of such a planning algorithm in rough terrain and it provides

Maintaining Contour Trees of Dynamic Terrains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agarwal, Pankaj K.; Mølhave, Thomas; Revsbæk, Morten

2015-01-01

We study the problem of maintaining the contour tree T of a terrain Sigma, represented as a triangulated xy-monotone surface, as the heights of its vertices vary continuously with time. We characterize the combinatorial changes in T and how they relate to topological changes in Sigma. We present ...

Knowledge-inducing Global Path Planning for Robots in Environment with Hybrid Terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-nan Guo

2010-09-01

Full Text Available In complex environment with hybrid terrain, different regions may have different terrain. Path planning for robots in such environment is an open NP-complete problem, which lacks effective methods. The paper develops a novel global path planning method based on common sense and evolution knowledge by adopting dual evolution structure in culture algorithms. Common sense describes terrain information and feasibility of environment, which is used to evaluate and select the paths. Evolution knowledge describes the angle relationship between the path and the obstacles, or the common segments of paths, which is used to judge and repair infeasible individuals. Taken two types of environments with different obstacles and terrain as examples, simulation results indicate that the algorithm can effectively solve path planning problem in complex environment and decrease the computation complexity for judgment and repair of infeasible individuals. It also can improve the convergence speed and have better computation stability.

A method to harness global crowd-sourced data to understand travel behavior in avalanche terrain.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrikx, J.; Johnson, J.

2015-12-01

To date, most studies of the human dimensions of decision making in avalanche terrain has focused on two areas - post-accident analysis using accident reports/interviews and, the development of tools as decision forcing aids. We present an alternate method using crowd-sourced citizen science, for understanding decision-making in avalanche terrain. Our project combines real-time GPS tracking via a smartphone application, with internet based surveys of winter backcountry users as a method to describe and quantify travel practices in concert with group decision-making dynamics, and demographic data of participants during excursions. Effectively, we use the recorded GPS track taken within the landscape as an expression of the decision making processes and terrain usage by the group. Preliminary data analysis shows that individual experience levels, gender, avalanche hazard, and group composition all influence the ways in which people travel in avalanche terrain. Our results provide the first analysis of coupled real-time GPS tracking of the crowd while moving in avalanche terrain combined with psychographic and demographic correlates. This research will lead to an improved understanding of real-time decision making in avalanche terrain. In this paper we will specifically focus on the presentation of the methods used to solicit, and then harness the crowd to obtain data in a unique and innovative application of citizen science where the movements within the terrain are the desired output data (Figure 1). Figure 1: Example GPS tracks sourced from backcountry winter users in the Teton Pass area (Wyoming), from the 2014-15 winter season, where tracks in red represent those recorded as self-assessed experts (as per our survey), and where tracks in blue represent those recorded as self-assessed intermediates. All tracks shown were obtained under similar avalanche conditions. Statistical analysis of terrain metrics showed that the experts used steeper terrain than the

Peer Learning as a Tool to Strengthen Math Skills in Introductory Chemistry Laboratories

Science.gov (United States)

Srougi, Melissa C.; Miller, Heather B.

2018-01-01

Math skills vary greatly among students enrolled in introductory chemistry courses. Students with weak math skills (algebra and below) tend to perform poorly in introductory chemistry courses, which is correlated with increased attrition rates. Previous research has shown that retention of main ideas in a peer learning environment is greater when…

Python and Roles of Variables in Introductory Programming: Experiences from Three Educational Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Nikula, Uolevi; Sajaniemi, Jorma; Tedre, Matti; Wray, Stuart

2007-01-01

Students often find that learning to program is hard. Introductory programming courses have high drop-out rates and students do not learn to program well. This paper presents experiences from three educational institutions where introductory programming courses were improved by adopting Python as the first programming language and roles of…

Behaviorism, latent learning, and cognitive maps: needed revisions in introductory psychology textbooks.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Robert

2006-01-01

This paper critically assesses the scholarship in introductory psychology textbooks in relation to the topic of latent learning. A review of the treatment of latent learning in 48 introductory psychology textbooks published between 1948 and 2004, with 21 of these texts published since 1999, reveals that the scholarship on the topic of latent learning demonstrated in introductory textbooks warrants improvement. Errors that persist in textbooks include the assertion that the latent learning experiments demonstrate unequivocally that reinforcement was not necessary for learning to occur, that behavioral theories could not account for the results of the latent learning experiments, that B. F. Skinner was an S-R association behaviorist who argued that reinforcement is necessary for learning to occur, and that because behavioral theories (including that of B. F. Skinner) were unable explain the results of the latent learning experiments the cognitive map invoked by Edward Tolman is the only explanation for latent learning. Finally, the validity of the cognitive map is typically accepted without question. Implications of the presence of these errors for students and the discipline are considered. Lastly, remedies are offered to improve the scholarship found in introductory psychology textbooks.

Integrated Circuits in the Introductory Electronics Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

English, Thomas C.; Lind, David A.

1973-01-01

Discusses the use of an integrated circuit operational amplifier in an introductory electronics laboratory course for undergraduate science majors. The advantages of this approach and the implications for scientific instrumentation are identified. Describes a number of experiments suitable for the undergraduate laboratory. (Author/DF)

Barriers to Teaching Introductory Physical Geography Online

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, Michael E.

2012-01-01

Learning geography online is becoming an option for more students but not without controversy. Issues of faculty resources, logistics, professional recognition, and pedagogical concerns are cited as barriers to teaching online. Offering introductory physical geography online presents special challenges. As a general education course, an…

Turbulent Characterization of atmospheric surface layer over non-homogeneous terrain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artinano Rodriguez de Torres, B.

1989-01-01

About 15000 wind and temperature profiles from a 100 m tower located in CEDER (Soria, Spain) have been analyzed. Using profiles in close neutral conditions, two main parameters of surface layer were obtained. Results show a great dependence of these parameters (Z 0 roughness length and u friction velocity) on flow conditions and terrain (tinctures. Difficulty finding neutral conditions in this type of terrain (gently rolling and scattered bush) and in this latitude , is also remarkable. (Author) 91 refs

A 21st century perspective as a primer to introductory physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtis, Lorenzo J, E-mail: ljc@physics.utoledo.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606 (United States)

2011-09-15

Much effort over many years has been devoted to the reform of the teaching of physics. This has led to many new and imaginative approaches in the content and delivery of material. Great strides have been made in the delivery, and the content has been continually supplemented. However, attempts to modernize the basic structure of the presentation have faced resistance, and the majority of introductory physics textbooks in wide adoption today have a general structure that has changed little in over 60 years. Thus, in comparison to biology, chemistry, geology, etc, physics is unique in that its introductory course is not a survey of the current status of the field. In an attempt to circumvent this problem in a tractable way, we have developed a qualitative front-end course designed to create a 21st century perspective that can be embedded into the beginning of a standard introductory physics sequence.

A 21st century perspective as a primer to introductory physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtis, Lorenzo J

2011-01-01

Much effort over many years has been devoted to the reform of the teaching of physics. This has led to many new and imaginative approaches in the content and delivery of material. Great strides have been made in the delivery, and the content has been continually supplemented. However, attempts to modernize the basic structure of the presentation have faced resistance, and the majority of introductory physics textbooks in wide adoption today have a general structure that has changed little in over 60 years. Thus, in comparison to biology, chemistry, geology, etc, physics is unique in that its introductory course is not a survey of the current status of the field. In an attempt to circumvent this problem in a tractable way, we have developed a qualitative front-end course designed to create a 21st century perspective that can be embedded into the beginning of a standard introductory physics sequence.

Just the Facts? Introductory Undergraduate Biology Courses Focus on Low-Level Cognitive Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Momsen, Jennifer L.; Long, Tammy M.; Wyse, Sara A.; Ebert-May, Diane

2010-01-01

Introductory biology courses are widely criticized for overemphasizing details and rote memorization of facts. Data to support such claims, however, are surprisingly scarce. We sought to determine whether this claim was evidence-based. To do so we quantified the cognitive level of learning targeted by faculty in introductory-level biology courses.…

Stimulating Situational Interest and Student Questioning through Three Types of Historical Introductory Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Logtenberg, Albert; van Boxtel, Carla; van Hout-Wolters, Bernadette

2011-01-01

This study investigates questions students ask related to an introductory text about a new topic in the history classroom. The effects of a narrative, problematizing, and expository introductory text on the situational interest of students and the number and type of student-generated questions, are compared. Participants are 174 students in higher…

A New Terrain Classification Framework Using Proprioceptive Sensors for Mobile Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Zhao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile robots that operate in real-world environments interact with the surroundings to generate complex acoustics and vibration signals, which carry rich information about the terrain. This paper presents a new terrain classification framework that utilizes both acoustics and vibration signals resulting from the robot-terrain interaction. As an alternative to handcrafted domain-specific feature extraction, a two-stage feature selection method combining ReliefF and mRMR algorithms was developed to select optimal feature subsets that carry more discriminative information. As different data sources can provide complementary information, a multiclassifier combination method was proposed by considering a priori knowledge and fusing predictions from five data sources: one acoustic data source and four vibration data sources. In this study, four conceptually different classifiers were employed to perform the classification, each with a different number of optimal features. Signals were collected using a tracked robot moving at three different speeds on six different terrains. The new framework successfully improved classification performance of different classifiers using the newly developed optimal feature subsets. The greater improvement was observed for robot traversing at lower speeds.

TouchTerrain: A simple web-tool for creating 3D-printable topographic models

Science.gov (United States)

Hasiuk, Franciszek J.; Harding, Chris; Renner, Alex Raymond; Winer, Eliot

2017-12-01

An open-source web-application, TouchTerrain, was developed to simplify the production of 3D-printable terrain models. Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) using 3D Printers can change how geoscientists, students, and stakeholders interact with 3D data, with the potential to improve geoscience communication and environmental literacy. No other manufacturing technology can convert digital data into tangible objects quickly at relatively low cost; however, the expertise necessary to produce a 3D-printed terrain model can be a substantial burden: knowledge of geographical information systems, computer aided design (CAD) software, and 3D printers may all be required. Furthermore, printing models larger than the build volume of a 3D printer can pose further technical hurdles. The TouchTerrain web-application simplifies DDM for elevation data by generating digital 3D models customized for a specific 3D printer's capabilities. The only required user input is the selection of a region-of-interest using the provided web-application with a Google Maps-style interface. Publically available digital elevation data is processed via the Google Earth Engine API. To allow the manufacture of 3D terrain models larger than a 3D printer's build volume the selected area can be split into multiple tiles without third-party software. This application significantly reduces the time and effort required for a non-expert like an educator to obtain 3D terrain models for use in class. The web application is deployed at http://touchterrain.geol.iastate.edu/

Relative chronology in high-grade crystalline terrain of the Eastern Ghats, India: new insights

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, S.; Kar, R.; Saw, A. K.; Das, P.

2011-01-01

The two major lithology or gneiss components in the polycyclic granulite terrain of the Eastern Ghats, India, are the supracrustal rocks, commonly described as khondalites, and the charnockite-gneiss. Many of the workers considered the khondalites as the oldest component with unknown basement and the charnockite-protoliths as intrusive into the khondalites. However, geochronological data do not corroborate the aforesaid relations. The field relations of the hornblende- mafic granulite with the two gneiss components together with geocronological data indicate that khondalite sediments were deposited on older mafic crustal rocks. We propose a different scenario: Mafic basement and supracrustal rocks were subsequently deformed and metamorphosed together at high to ultra-high temperatures - partial melting of mafic rocks producing the charnockitic melt; and partial melting of pelitic sediments producing the peraluminous granitoids. This is compatible with all the geochronological data as well as the petrogenetic model of partial melting for the charnockitic rocks in the Eastern Ghats Belt.

Research on 3-D terrain correction methods of airborne gamma-ray spectrometry survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yanyang; Liu Qingcheng; Zhang Zhiyong

2008-01-01

The general method of height correction is not effectual in complex terrain during the process of explaining airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data, and the 2-D terrain correction method researched in recent years is just available for correction of section measured. A new method of 3-D sector terrain correction is studied. The ground radiator is divided into many small sector radiators by the method, then the irradiation rate is calculated in certain survey distance, and the total value of all small radiate sources is regarded as the irradiation rate of the ground radiator at certain point of aero- survey, and the correction coefficients of every point are calculated which then applied to correct to airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data. The method can achieve the forward calculation, inversion calculation and terrain correction for airborne gamma-ray spectrometry survey in complex topography by dividing the ground radiator into many small sectors. Other factors are considered such as the un- saturated degree of measure scope, uneven-radiator content on ground, and so on. The results of for- ward model and an example analysis show that the 3-D terrain correction method is proper and effectual. (authors)

Bladed Terrain on Pluto: Possible origins and evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Jeffrey M.; Howard, Alan D.; Umurhan, Orkan M.; White, Oliver L.; Schenk, Paul M.; Beyer, Ross A.; McKinnon, William B.; Spencer, John R.; Singer, Kelsi N.; Grundy, William M.; Earle, Alissa M.; Schmitt, Bernard; Protopapa, Silvia; Nimmo, Francis; Cruikshank, Dale P.; Hinson, David P.; Young, Leslie A.; Stern, S. Alan; Weaver, Harold A.; Olkin, Cathy B.; Ennico, Kimberly; Collins, Geoffrey; Bertrand, Tanguy; Forget, François; Scipioni, Francesca; New Horizons Science Team

2018-01-01

Bladed Terrain on Pluto consists of deposits of massive CH4, which are observed to occur within latitudes 30° of the equator and are found almost exclusively at the highest elevations (> 2 km above the mean radius). Our analysis indicates that these deposits of CH4 preferentially precipitate at low latitudes where net annual solar energy input is lowest. CH4 and N2 will both precipitate at low elevations. However, since there is much more N2 in the atmosphere than CH4, the N2 ice will dominate at these low elevations. At high elevations the atmosphere is too warm for N2 to precipitate so only CH4 can do so. We conclude that following the time of massive CH4 emplacement; there have been sufficient excursions in Pluto's climate to partially erode these deposits via sublimation into the blades we see today. Blades composed of massive CH4 ice implies that the mechanical behavior of CH4 can support at least several hundred meters of relief at Pluto surface conditions. Bladed Terrain deposits may be widespread in the low latitudes of the poorly seen sub-Charon hemisphere, based on spectral observations. If these locations are indeed Bladed Terrain deposits, they may mark heretofore unrecognized regions of high elevation.

CFD three dimensional wake analysis in complex terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Castellani, F.; Astolfi, D.; Terzi, L.

2017-11-01

Even if wind energy technology is nowadays fully developed, the use of wind energy in very complex terrain is still challenging. In particular, it is challenging to characterize the combination effects of wind ow over complex terrain and wake interactions between nearby turbines and this has a practical relevance too, for the perspective of mitigating anomalous vibrations and loads as well improving the farm efficiency. In this work, a very complex terrain site has been analyzed through a Reynolds-averaged CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) numerical wind field model; in the simulation the inuence of wakes has been included through the Actuator Disk (AD) approach. In particular, the upstream turbine of a cluster of 4 wind turbines having 2.3 MW of rated power is studied. The objective of this study is investigating the full three-dimensional wind field and the impact of three-dimensionality on the evolution of the waked area between nearby turbines. A post-processing method of the output of the CFD simulation is developed and this allows to estimate the wake lateral deviation and the wake width. The reliability of the numerical approach is inspired by and crosschecked through the analysis of the operational SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) data of the cluster of interest.

Adaptive Pulsed Laser Line Extraction for Terrain Reconstruction using a Dynamic Vision Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian eBrandli

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile robots need to know the terrain in which they are moving for path planning and obstacle avoidance. This paper proposes the combination of a bio-inspired, redundancy-suppressing dynamic vision sensor with a pulsed line laser to allow fast terrain reconstruction. A stable laser stripe extraction is achieved by exploiting the sensor’s ability to capture the temporal dynamics in a scene. An adaptive temporal filter for the sensor output allows a reliable reconstruction of 3D terrain surfaces. Laser stripe extractions up to pulsing frequencies of 500Hz were achieved using a line laser of 3mW at a distance of 45cm using an event-based algorithm that exploits the sparseness of the sensor output. As a proof of concept, unstructured rapid prototype terrain samples have been successfully reconstructed with an accuracy of 2mm.

Application of Digital Terrain Model to volcanology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Achilli

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional reconstruction of the ground surface (Digital Terrain Model, DTM, derived by airborne GPS photogrammetric surveys, is a powerful tool for implementing morphological analysis in remote areas. High accurate 3D models, with submeter elevation accuracy, can be obtained by images acquired at photo scales between 1:5000-1:20000. Multitemporal DTMs acquired periodically over volcanic area allow the monitoring of areas interested by crustal deformations and the evaluation of mass balance when large instability phenomena or lava flows have occurred. The work described the results obtained from the analysis of photogrammetric data collected over the Vulcano Island from 1971 to 2001. The data, processed by means of the Digital Photogrammetry Workstation DPW 770, provided DTM with accuracy ranging between few centimeters to few decimeters depending on the geometric image resolution, terrain configuration and quality of photographs.

New formulation for interferometric synthetic aperture radar for terrain mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Jakowatz, Charles V., Jr.; Wahl, Daniel E.; Eichel, Paul H.; Thompson, Paul A.

1994-06-01

The subject of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) for high-accuracy terrain elevation mapping continues to gain importance in the arena of radar signal processing. Applications to problems in precision terrain-aided guidance and automatic target recognition, as well as a variety of civil applications, are being studied by a number of researchers. Not unlike many other areas of SAR processing, the subject of IFSAR can, at first glance, appear to be somewhat mysterious. In this paper we show how the mathematics of IFSAR for terrain elevation mapping using a pair of spotlight mode SAR collections can be derived in a very straightforward manner. Here, we employ an approach that relies entirely on Fourier transforms, and utilizes no reference to range equations or Doppler concepts. The result is a simplified explanation of the fundamentals of interferometry, including an easily-seen link between image domain phase difference and terrain elevation height. The derivation builds upon previous work by the authors in which a framework for spotlight mode SAR image formation based on an analogy to 3D computerized axial tomography (CAT) was developed. After outlining the major steps in the mathematics, we show how a computer simulator which utilizes 3D Fourier transforms can be constructed that demonstrates all of the major aspects of IFSAR from spotlight mode collections.

An Introductory Interprofessional Exercise for Healthcare Students

Science.gov (United States)

Rege, Saumitra V.; Misto, Kara; Dollase, Richard; George, Paul

2012-01-01

Objective. To evaluate healthcare students’ perceptions of an introductory interprofessional exercise and their team dynamics. Design. A workshop was developed, combining second-year medical students, fourth-year nursing students, and third-year pharmacy students to work as an interdisciplinary team. The teams alternated between working together on patient cases focusing on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, and on the evaluation of standardized pneumonia patients. Teams were given the patients' health information and no other instructions. A faculty member and the standardized patient evaluated the students using a teamwork global rating scale. Assessment. Student survey results showed a positive response to interprofessional teamwork. The faculty members and standardized patients reported that the students worked as a cohesive unit and demonstrated good team communication. Conclusions. This introductory interprofessional experience had a positive impact on the students’ understanding of collaboration and teamwork. This type of experience will help students foster future collaborations as healthcare providers. PMID:23129853

The Efficacy of Using Synthetic Vision Terrain-Textured Images to Improve Pilot Situation Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Uenking, Michael D.; Hughes, Monica F.

2002-01-01

The General Aviation Element of the Aviation Safety Program's Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) Project is developing technology to eliminate low visibility induced General Aviation (GA) accidents. SVS displays present computer generated 3-dimensional imagery of the surrounding terrain on the Primary Flight Display (PFD) to greatly enhance pilot's situation awareness (SA), reducing or eliminating Controlled Flight into Terrain, as well as Low-Visibility Loss of Control accidents. SVS-conducted research is facilitating development of display concepts that provide the pilot with an unobstructed view of the outside terrain, regardless of weather conditions and time of day. A critical component of SVS displays is the appropriate presentation of terrain to the pilot. An experimental study is being conducted at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to explore and quantify the relationship between the realism of the terrain presentation and resulting enhancements of pilot SA and performance. Composed of complementary simulation and flight test efforts, Terrain Portrayal for Head-Down Displays (TP-HDD) experiments will help researchers evaluate critical terrain portrayal concepts. The experimental effort is to provide data to enable design trades that optimize SVS applications, as well as develop requirements and recommendations to facilitate the certification process. In this part of the experiment a fixed based flight simulator was equipped with various types of Head Down flight displays, ranging from conventional round dials (typical of most GA aircraft) to glass cockpit style PFD's. The variations of the PFD included an assortment of texturing and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) resolution combinations. A test matrix of 10 terrain display configurations (in addition to the baseline displays) were evaluated by 27 pilots of various backgrounds and experience levels. Qualitative (questionnaires) and quantitative (pilot performance and physiological) data were collected during

Teaching Health Care in Introductory Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Cutler, David M.

2017-01-01

Health care is one of the economy's biggest industries, so it is natural that the health care industry should play some role in the teaching of introductory economics. There are many ways that health care can appear in such a context: in the teaching of microeconomics, as a macroeconomic issue, to learn about social welfare, and even to learn how…

Personality types and student performance in an introductory physics course

Science.gov (United States)

Harlow, Jason J. B.; Harrison, David M.; Justason, Michael; Meyertholen, Andrew; Wilson, Brian

2017-12-01

We measured the personality type of the students in a large introductory physics course of mostly life science students using the True Colors instrument. We found large correlations of personality type with performance on the precourse Force Concept Inventory (FCI), both term tests, the postcourse FCI, and the final examination. We also saw correlations with the normalized gain on the FCI. The personality profile of the students in this course is very different from the profile of the physics faculty and graduate students, and also very different from the profile of students taking the introductory physics course intended for physics majors and specialists.

RGB–D terrain perception and dense mapping for legged robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belter Dominik

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the issues of unstructured terrain modeling for the purpose of navigation with legged robots. We present an improved elevation grid concept adopted to the specific requirements of a small legged robot with limited perceptual capabilities. We propose an extension of the elevation grid update mechanism by incorporating a formal treatment of the spatial uncertainty. Moreover, this paper presents uncertainty models for a structured light RGB-D sensor and a stereo vision camera used to produce a dense depth map. The model for the uncertainty of the stereo vision camera is based on uncertainty propagation from calibration, through undistortion and rectification algorithms, allowing calculation of the uncertainty of measured 3D point coordinates. The proposed uncertainty models were used for the construction of a terrain elevation map using the Videre Design STOC stereo vision camera and Kinect-like range sensors. We provide experimental verification of the proposed mapping method, and a comparison with another recently published terrain mapping method for walking robots.

Enhancing fuzzy robot navigation systems by mimicking human visual perception of natural terrain traversibility

Science.gov (United States)

Tunstel, E.; Howard, A.; Edwards, D.; Carlson, A.

2001-01-01

This paper presents a technique for learning to assess terrain traversability for outdoor mobile robot navigation using human-embedded logic and real-time perception of terrain features extracted from image data.

Improving Introductory Astronomy Education in American Colleges and Universities: A Review of Recent Progress

Science.gov (United States)

Waller, William H.; Slater, Timothy F.

2011-01-01

Over the past 15 years, professional astronomers, their societies, and associated funding agencies have collaborated to improve astronomy teaching and learning at the introductory undergraduate level. Many nonscience majors and preservice teachers enroll in these introductory astronomy courses, thus meriting the focused attention. In this review…

Snow cover dynamics and water balance in complex high alpine terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Warscher, Michael; Kraller, Gabriele; Kunstmann, Harald; Strasser, Ulrich; Franz, Helmut

2010-05-01

The water balance in high alpine regions in its full complexity is so far insufficiently understood. High altitudinal gradients, a strong variability of meteorological variables in time and space, complex hydrogeological situations, unquantified lateral snow transport processes and heterogenous snow cover dynamics result in high uncertainties in the quantification of the water balance. To achieve interpretable modeling results we have complemented the deterministic hydrological model WaSiM-ETH with the high-alpine specific snow model AMUNDSEN. The integration of the new snow module was done to improve the modeling of water fluxes influenced by the dynamics of the snow cover, which greatly affect the water cycle in high alpine regions. To enhance the reproduction of snow deposition and ablation processes, the new approach calculates the energy balance of the snow cover considering the terrain-dependent radiation fluxes, the interaction between tree canopy and snow cover as well as lateral snow transport processes. The test site for our study is the Berchtesgaden National Park which is characterized by an extreme topography with mountain ranges covering an altitude from 607 to 2713 m.a.s.l. About one quarter of the investigated catchment area, which comprises 433 km² in total, is terrain steeper than 35°. Due to water soluble limestone being predominant in the region, a high number of subsurface water pathways (karst) exist. The results of several tracer experiments and extensive data of spring observations provide additional information to meet the challenge of modeling the unknown subsurface pathways and the complex groundwater system of the region. The validation of the new snow module is based on a dense network of meteorological stations which have been adapted to measure physical properties of the snow cover like snow water equivalent and liquid water content. We will present first results which show that the integration of the new snow module generates a

The Lasting Effects of Introductory Economics Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Philip

1980-01-01

Reports research which tests the Stigler Hypothesis. The hypothesis suggests that students who have taken introductory economics courses and those who have not show little difference in test performance five years after completing college. Results of the author's research illustrate that economics students do retain some knowledge of economics…

Beat the Instructor: An Introductory Forecasting Game

Science.gov (United States)

Snider, Brent R.; Eliasson, Janice B.

2013-01-01

This teaching brief describes a 30-minute game where student groups compete in-class in an introductory time-series forecasting exercise. The students are challenged to "beat the instructor" who competes using forecasting techniques that will be subsequently taught. All forecasts are graphed prior to revealing the randomly generated…

Holography and Introductory Science at Hampshire College.

Science.gov (United States)

Wirth, Frederick H.

1991-01-01

An introductory Natural Science course with a focus on the laboratory is described. The main function of the course is getting students prepared for required individual projects in science. A copy of the syllabus, a description of laboratory experiments, and the context of the course are included. (KR)

Teaching assistants’ performance at identifying common introductory student difficulties in mechanics revealed by the Force Concept Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru Maries

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The Force Concept Inventory (FCI has been widely used to assess student understanding of introductory mechanics concepts by a variety of educators and physics education researchers. One reason for this extensive use is that many of the items on the FCI have strong distractor choices which correspond to students’ alternate conceptions in mechanics. Instruction is unlikely to be effective if instructors do not know the common alternate conceptions of introductory physics students and explicitly take into account students’ initial knowledge states in their instructional design. Here, we discuss research involving the FCI to evaluate one aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge of teaching assistants (TAs: knowledge of introductory student alternate conceptions in mechanics as revealed by the FCI. For each item on the FCI, the TAs were asked to identify the most common incorrect answer choice of introductory physics students. This exercise was followed by a class discussion with the TAs related to this task, including the importance of knowing student difficulties in teaching and learning. Then, we used FCI pretest and post-test data from a large population (∼900 of introductory physics students to assess the extent to which TAs were able to identify alternate conceptions of introductory students related to force and motion. In addition, we carried out think-aloud interviews with graduate students who had more than two semesters of teaching experience in recitations to examine how they reason about the task. We find that while the TAs, on average, performed better than random guessing at identifying introductory students’ difficulties with FCI content, they did not identify many common difficulties that introductory physics students have after traditional instruction. We discuss specific alternate conceptions, the extent to which TAs are able to identify them, and results from the think-aloud interviews that provided valuable information

3D Fractal reconstruction of terrain profile data based on digital elevation model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Y.M.; Chen, C.-J.

2009-01-01

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) often makes it difficult for terrain reconstruction and data storage due to the failure in acquisition of details with higher resolution. If original terrain of DEM can be simulated, resulting in geographical details can be represented precisely while reducing the data size, then an effective reconstruction scheme is essential. This paper adopts two sets of real-world 3D terrain profile data to proceed data reducing, i.e. data sampling randomly, then reconstruct them through 3D fractal reconstruction. Meanwhile, the quantitative and qualitative difference generated from different reduction rates were evaluated statistically. The research results show that, if 3D fractal interpolation method is applied to DEM reconstruction, the higher reduction rate can be obtained for DEM of larger data size with respect to that of smaller data size under the assumption that the entire terrain structure is still maintained.

Estimation of potential solar radiation using 50m grid digital terrain model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurose, Y.; Nagata, K.; Ohba, K.; Maruyama, A.

1999-01-01

To clarify the spatial distribution of solar radiation, a model to estimate the potential incoming solar radiation with 50m grid size was developed. The model is based on individual calculation of direct and diffuse solar radiation accounting for the effect of topographic shading. Using the elevation data in the area with radius 25km, which was offered by the Digital Map 50m Grid, the effect of topographic shading is estimated as angle of elevation for surrounding configuration to 72 directions. The estimated sunshine duration under clear sky conditions agreed well with observed values at AMeDAS points of Kyushu and Shikoku region. Similarly, there is a significant agreement between estimated and observed variation of solar radiation for monthly mean conditions over complex terrain. These suggest that the potential incoming solar radiation can be estimated well over complex terrain using the model. Locations of large fields over complex terrain agreed well with the area of the abundant insolation condition, which is defined by the model. The model is available for the investigation of agrometeorological resources over complex terrain. (author)

Exploration of Extreme Terrain Using a Polyhedral Rover

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Exploring celestial bodies with extreme terrains in our solar system, like Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and asteroids, are of great importance to NASA because these...

Preduction of Vehicle Mobility on Large-Scale Soft-Soil Terrain Maps Using Physics-Based Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-02

Mechergui, Srinivas Sanikommu UNCLASSIFIED: Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. (#28138) Outline • Motivation ...Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. (#28138) Motivation /NRMM • Mobility measures include: – Speed-made...Index (CI). – Terrain uphill grade. • Rest of the terrain parameters will be considered in future work. 4 Terrain map (22 km x 22 km) colored by

Declarative terrain modeling for military training games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smelik, R.M.; Tutenel, T.; Kraker, J.K.. de; Bidarra, R.

2010-01-01

Military training instructors increasingly often employ computer games to train soldiers in all sorts of skills and tactics. One of the difficulties instructors face when using games as a training tool is the creation of suitable content, including scenarios, entities, and corresponding terrain

Comparing Student Success and Understanding in Introductory Statistics under Consensus and Simulation-Based Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Hldreth, Laura A.; Robison-Cox, Jim; Schmidt, Jade

2018-01-01

This study examines the transferability of results from previous studies of simulation-based curriculum in introductory statistics using data from 3,500 students enrolled in an introductory statistics course at Montana State University from fall 2013 through spring 2016. During this time, four different curricula, a traditional curriculum and…

Generating a Gender Balance: making introductory information systems courses a positive experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosemary Stockdale

2007-12-01

Full Text Available There is a growing shortfall of graduates entering the IT profession. The situation is exacerbated by the continuing decline in the number of women undertaking IT related degrees. However, there are an increasing number of students taking business degrees that have a small information systems component, although few students choose to major in IS. Using a qualitative reflective approach we identify the perceptions and experiences of female undergraduates taking introductory IS courses in two universities, one in Australia and one in New Zealand. We discuss ways of improving the delivery of introductory IS courses in order to make information systems more interesting to women undergraduates, thus enhancing their learning experiences and encouraging further uptake of IS majors. The paper concludes with some reflections on other influences that impact on the ability of IS departments to deliver appropriate introductory courses.

The Case for Infusing Quantitative Literacy into Introductory Geoscience Courses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer M. Wenner

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We present the case for introductory geoscience courses as model venues for increasing the quantitative literacy (QL of large numbers of the college-educated population. The geosciences provide meaningful context for a number of fundamental mathematical concepts that are revisited several times in a single course. Using some best practices from the mathematics education community surrounding problem solving, calculus reform, pre-college mathematics and five geoscience/math workshops, geoscience and mathematics faculty have identified five pedagogical ideas to increase the QL of the students who populate introductory geoscience courses. These five ideas include techniques such as: place mathematical concepts in context, use multiple representations, use technology appropriately, work in groups, and do multiple-day, in-depth problems that place quantitative skills in multiple contexts. We discuss the pedagogical underpinnings of these five ideas and illustrate some ways that the geosciences represent ideal places to use these techniques. However, the inclusion of QL in introductory courses is often met with resistance at all levels. Faculty who wish to include quantitative content must use creative means to break down barriers of public perception of geoscience as qualitative, administrative worry that enrollments will drop and faculty resistance to change. Novel ways to infuse QL into geoscience classrooms include use of web-based resources, shadow courses, setting clear expectations, and promoting quantitative geoscience to the general public. In order to help faculty increase the QL of geoscience students, a community-built faculty-centered web resource (Teaching Quantitative Skills in the Geosciences houses multiple examples that implement the five best practices of QL throughout the geoscience curriculum. We direct faculty to three portions of the web resource: Teaching Quantitative Literacy, QL activities, and the 2006 workshop website

The Introductory College Business Course: A New Dimension

Science.gov (United States)

Podell, Joel; And Others

1977-01-01

Describes various methodologies used at the Queensboro Community College, New York, to enrich some of the topics traditionally included in the introductory course such as union management relations, social responsibility and business ethics, internal organization structure, and small business management. (TA)

Wind resource assessment in heterogeneous terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderwel, C.; Placidi, M.; Ganapathisubramani, B.

2017-03-01

variance in thrust and power also appears to be significant in the presence of secondary flows. Finally, there are substantial differences in the dispersive and turbulent stresses across the terrain, which could lead to variable fatigue life depending on the placement of the turbines within such heterogeneous terrain. Overall, these results indicate the importance of accounting for heterogeneous terrain when siting individual turbines and wind farms. This article is part of the themed issue 'Wind energy in complex terrains'.

I/O-Efficient Algorithms for Problems on Grid-Based Terrains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars Allan; Toma, Laura; Vitter, Jeffrey Scott

2001-01-01

The potential and use of Geographic Information Systems is rapidly increasing due to the increasing availability of massive amounts of geospatial data from projects like NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. However, the use of these massive datasets also exposes scalability problems with existing GIS...... hydrologic attributes of a terrain. We present the results of an extensive set of experiments on real-life terrain datasets of different sizes and characteristics. Our experiments show that while our new algorithm scales nicely with dataset size, the previously known algorithm "breaks down" once the size...

DCS Terrain Submission for Gold Star Canyon Study

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Clay County, AR, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Monmouth County, New Jersey

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for McCook County, SD

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain submission for Washoe County NV PMR

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Thomas County, Georgia, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Roscommon County, MI (Countywide DFIRM)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, City of El Dorado, Butler County, KS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

Terrain Submission for Crawford County, MI (Countywide DFIRM)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

Terrain Submission for Dickinson County, MI (Countywide DFIRM)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Sumter County, Georgia, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Terrain Submission for Alcona County, MI (Countywide DFIRM)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Washburn County, Wisconsin, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Randolph County, AR, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for New Castle County, DE

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Dougherty County, Georgia, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Jackson County, AR, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Los Angeles County, CA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN DATA, DELANEY CREEK WATERSHED, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Lamar County, Georgia, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Mercer County New Jersey

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Washita County, Oklahoma, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submission for Hunterdon County New Jersey

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Pike County, Georgia, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain for Effingham Co GA (FY2010)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Terrain Submission for Mason County, MI (Countywide DFIRM)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describe the digital topographic data that were used to create...

TERRAIN submission for Rock River RiskMap DFIRM

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix N: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

TERRAIN, CITY OF GRAND PRAIRIE, DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

DCS Terrain Submittal for Harmon County, Oklahoma, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Terrain data, as defined in FEMA Guidelines and Specifications, Appendix M: Data Capture Standards, describes the digital topographic data that was used to create...

Towards a Virtual Teaching Assistant to Answer Questions Asked by Students in Introductory Computer Science

Science.gov (United States)

Heiner, Cecily

2009-01-01

Students in introductory programming classes often articulate their questions and information needs incompletely. Consequently, the automatic classification of student questions to provide automated tutorial responses is a challenging problem. This dissertation analyzes 411 questions from an introductory Java programming course by reducing the…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Opinions about the Difficulties in Understanding Introductory Quantum Physics Topics

Science.gov (United States)

Kizilcik, Hasan Sahin; Yavas, Pervin Ünlü

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to identify the opinions of pre-service physics teachers about the difficulties in introductory quantum physics topics. In this study conducted with twenty-five pre-service physics teachers, the case study method was used. The participants were interviewed about introductory quantum physics topics. The interviews were…

Instructional Practices in Introductory Geoscience Courses: Results of a National Faculty Survey

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, R.; Manduca, C. A.; Mogk, D. W.; Tewksbury, B. J.

2004-12-01

The NAGT professional development program "On the Cutting Edge" recently surveyed 7000 geoscience faculty in the United States to develop a snapshot of current instructional practices in undergraduate geoscience courses, faculty strategies for learning new content and new teaching approaches, and faculty involvement in the geoscience education community. Over 2200 faculty responded to the survey which was conducted by the American Institute of Physics. Results for introductory courses (814 responses) indicate that lecture is the most common teaching strategy used in courses of all sizes. Many faculty incorporate some interactive activities in their courses. Most commonly, they use questioning, demonstrations, discussions, and in-class exercises. Less common, but not rare, are small group discussion or think-pair-share and classroom debates or role-playing. Activities involving problem solving, using quantitative skills, working with data and primarily literature, and structured collaboration are incorporated by many faculty in introductory courses, suggesting efforts to teach the process of science. Activities in which students address a problem of national or local interest, analyze their own data, or address problems of their own design are less common but not rare. Field experiences are common but not ubiquitous for students in introductory courses. A wide variety of assessment strategies are used in introductory courses of all sizes, including exams, quizzes, problem sets, papers, oral presentations, and portfolios. While papers are used for assessment more extensively in small classes, a significant number of faculty use papers in large classes (greater than 81 students). A majority of faculty use rubrics in grading. Faculty report that in the past two years, approximately one-third have made changes in the content of their introductory courses while just under half have changed the teaching methods they use. While faculty learn about both new content and

Evolving Roles For Teaching Assistants In Introductory Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, R. W.; Egger, A. E.; Schwartz, J. K.

2008-12-01

As we bring new research-based learning approaches, curricular innovations, and student engagement practices into the introductory science classroom, expectations of teaching assistants (TAs) should have, and have, changed. Similarly, the 21st century teaching assistant has different expectations of us. Maintaining relevance in this context means bringing TAs into an integrated teaching team that supports effective learning for students and provides structured professional development opportunities for TAs. A number of support efforts on our campus, with counterparts at many other universities, seek to optimize the instructional impact of faculty and teaching assistants, thus opening the door to enhanced student engagement (e.g. the quality of effort students put forth, their persistence in science and/or engineering courses, and their perception of scientific relevance in everyday life). Among these efforts, School of Earth Sciences course development TAs work 1:1 in advance of the term with introductory course faculty to design exercises and course materials that meet clearly articulated student learning goals or pedagogical challenges. Throughout the process, TAs are mentored by the faculty as well as science pedagogy experts. Initially funded by a major teaching award, the School is now moving to institutionalize this successful program which has broadened the definition of the TA role. Another area of optimization, reflecting Shulman's concept of pedagogical content knowledge, is our campus mandate that TA development take place within a departmental, as well as general, context. Both Chemistry and Physics expect introductory course TAs to lead interactive, guided-inquiry or tutorial-style sections. Integrating these sections with lecture and positively reinforcing course goals requires TA buy-in and a set of pedagogical facilitation skills cultivated through course-specific training and active mentoring while teaching. To better support the mentoring process

Wind farm layout optimization in complex terrain: A preliminary study on a Gaussian hill

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, J; Shen, W Z

2014-01-01

One of the crucial problems for wind farm (WF) development is wind farm layout optimization. It seeks to find the optimal positions of wind turbines (WTs) inside a WF, so as to maximize and/or minimize a single objective or multiple objectives, while satisfying certain constraints. Although this problem for WFs in flat terrain or offshore has been investigated in many studies, it is still a challenging problem for WFs in complex terrain. In this preliminary study, the wind flow conditions of complex terrain without WTs are first obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, then an adapted Jensen wake model is developed by considering the terrain features and taking the inflow conditions as input. Using this combined method, the wake effects of WF in complex terrain are properly modelled. Besides, a random search (RS) algorithm proposed in previous study is improved by adding some adaptive mechanisms and applied to solve the layout optimization problem of a WF on a Gaussian shape hill. The layout of the WF with a certain number of WTs is optimized to maximize the total power output, which obtained steady improvements over expert guess layouts

Wind turbine wake measurement in complex terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Larsen, Gunner Chr.; Menke, Robert

2016-01-01

SCADA data from a wind farm and high frequency time series measurements obtained with remote scanning systems have been analysed with focus on identification of wind turbine wake properties in complex terrain. The analysis indicates that within the flow regime characterized by medium to large dow...

TERRAIN TECTONICS OF THE CENTRAL ASIAN FOLDED BELT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Buslov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The terrain analysis concept envisages primarily a possibility of approximation of fragments / terrains of various geodynamic settings which belong to different plates. The terrain analysis can supplement the theory of plate tectonics in solving problems of geodynamics and tectonics of regions of the crust with complex structures. The Central Asian belt is among such complicated regions. Terrain structures occurred as a result of combined movements in the system of 'frontal' and/or oblique subduction – collision. In studies of geological objects, it is required first of all to prove their (vertical and horizontal autochthony in relations to each other and then proceed to paleogeodynamic, paleotectonic and paleogeographic reconstructions. Obviously, such a complex approach needs data to be obtained by a variety of research methods, including those applied to study geologic structures, stratigraphy, paleontology, paleogeography, lithothlogy, geochemistry, geochronology, paleomagnetism etc. Only by correlating such data collected from inter-disciplinary studies of the regions, it is possible to establish reliable characteristics of the geological settings and avoid mistakes and misinterpretations that may be associated with the 'stratigraphic' approach to solutions of both regional and global problems of geodynamics and tectonics of folded areas. The terrain analysis of the Central Asian folded belt suggests that its tectonic structure combines marginal continental rock complexes that were formed by the evolution of two major oceanic plates. One of them is the plate of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. As the analogue of the current Indo-Atlantic segment of Earth, it is characterised by the presence of continental blocks in the composition of the oceanic crust and the formation of oceanic basins resulting from the breakup of Rodinia and Gondvana. In the course of its evolution, super-continents disintegrated, and the blocks were reunited into the Kazakhstan

Black Holes and Pulsars in the Introductory Physics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Orear, Jay; Salpeter, E. E.

1973-01-01

Discusses the phenomenon of formation of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes from dying stars for the purpose of providing college teachers with materials usable in the introductory physics course. (CC)

Cultural Diversity in Introductory Psychology Textbook Selection: The Case for Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs)

Science.gov (United States)

Whaley, Arthur L.; Clay, William A. L.; Broussard, Dominique

2017-01-01

The present study describes a culturally relevant approach to introductory psychology textbook selection for students attending a historically Black college/university (HBCU). The following multistage procedure was used: (1) a survey of HBCU psychology departments was conducted to ascertain how they selected their introductory psychology…

Effects of Team Teaching on Students Performance in Introductory ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

FIRST LADY

Students taught. Introductory Technology through team teaching approach performed ... Vocational education differs in both concept and status in different nations of ... completion of the course, can carry out simple daily maintenance of motor.

The Effect of "Clickers" on Attendance in an Introductory Statistics Course: An Action Research Study

Science.gov (United States)

Amstelveen, Raoul H.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to design and implement a Classroom Response System, also known as a "clicker," to increase attendance in introductory statistics courses at an undergraduate university. Since 2010, non-attendance had been prevalent in introductory statistics courses. Moreover, non-attendance created undesirable classrooms…

Characterizing Land Surface Anisotropic Reflectance over Rugged Terrain: A Review of Concepts and Recent Developments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianguang Wen

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Rugged terrain, including mountains, hills, and some high lands are typical land surfaces around the world. As a physical parameter for characterizing the anisotropic reflectance of the land surface, the importance of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF has been gradually recognized in the remote sensing community, and great efforts have been dedicated to build BRDF models over various terrain types. However, on rugged terrain, the topography intensely affects the shape and magnitude of the BRDF and creates challenges in modeling the BRDF. In this paper, after a brief introduction of the theoretical background of the BRDF over rugged terrain, the status of estimating land surface BRDF properties over rugged terrain is comprehensively reviewed from a historical perspective and summarized in two categories: BRDFs describing solo slopes and those describing composite slopes. The discussion focuses on land surface reflectance retrieval over mountainous areas, the difference in solo slope and composite slope BRDF models, and suggested future research to improve the accuracy of BRDFs derived with remote sensing satellites.

An Infiltration Exercise for Introductory Soil Science

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarick, K. A.; Ippolito, J. A.; Butters, G.; Sorge, G. M.

2005-01-01

One of the largest challenges in teaching introductory soil science is explaining the dynamics of soil infiltration. To aid students in understanding the concept and to further engage them in active learning in the soils laboratory course, we developed an exercise using Decagon Mini-Disk Infiltrometers with a tension head (h[subscript o]) of 2 cm.…

A Case-Based Curriculum for Introductory Geology

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, David W.

2011-01-01

For the past 5 years I have been teaching my introductory geology class using a case-based method that promotes student engagement and inquiry. This article presents an explanation of how a case-based curriculum differs from a more traditional approach to the material. It also presents a statistical analysis of several years' worth of student…

Allocating monitoring effort in the face of unknown unknowns

Science.gov (United States)

Wintle, B.A.; Runge, M.C.; Bekessy, S.A.

2010-01-01

There is a growing view that to make efficient use of resources, ecological monitoring should be hypothesis-driven and targeted to address specific management questions. 'Targeted' monitoring has been contrasted with other approaches in which a range of quantities are monitored in case they exhibit an alarming trend or provide ad hoc ecological insights. The second form of monitoring, described as surveillance, has been criticized because it does not usually aim to discern between competing hypotheses, and its benefits are harder to identify a priori. The alternative view is that the existence of surveillance data may enable rapid corroboration of emerging hypotheses or help to detect important 'unknown unknowns' that, if undetected, could lead to catastrophic outcomes or missed opportunities. We derive a model to evaluate and compare the efficiency of investments in surveillance and targeted monitoring. We find that a decision to invest in surveillance monitoring may be defensible if: (1) the surveillance design is more likely to discover or corroborate previously unknown phenomena than a targeted design and (2) the expected benefits (or avoided costs) arising from discovery are substantially higher than those arising from a well-planned targeted design. Our examination highlights the importance of being explicit about the objectives, costs and expected benefits of monitoring in a decision analytic framework. ?? 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Contrasting Grading Approaches in Introductory Physics and Quantum Mechanics: The Case of Graduate Teaching Assistants

Science.gov (United States)

Marshman, Emily; Sayer, Ryan; Henderson, Charles; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-01-01

At large research universities, physics graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are often responsible for grading in courses at all levels. However, few studies have focused on TAs' grading practices in introductory and advanced physics courses. This study was designed to investigate whether physics graduate TAs grade students in introductory physics…

Research and Teaching: From Gatekeeper to Gateway: Improving Student Success in an Introductory Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Amy N.; McNair, Delores E.; Lucas, Jonathan C.; Land, Kirkwood M.

2017-01-01

Introductory science, math, and engineering courses often have problems related to student engagement, achievement, and course completion. To begin examining these issues in greater depth, this pilot study compared student engagement, achievement, and course completion in a small and large section of an introductory biology class. Results based on…

SIGKit: Software for Introductory Geophysics Toolkit

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, S.; Bank, C. G.; Esmaeili, S.; Jazayeri, S.; Liu, S.; Stoikopoulos, N.

2017-12-01

The Software for Introductory Geophysics Toolkit (SIGKit) affords students the opportunity to create model data and perform simple processing of field data for various geophysical methods. SIGkit provides a graphical user interface built with the MATLAB programming language, but can run even without a MATLAB installation. At this time SIGkit allows students to pick first arrivals and match a two-layer model to seismic refraction data; grid total-field magnetic data, extract a profile, and compare this to a synthetic profile; and perform simple processing steps (subtraction of a mean trace, hyperbola fit) to ground-penetrating radar data. We also have preliminary tools for gravity, resistivity, and EM data representation and analysis. SIGkit is being built by students for students, and the intent of the toolkit is to provide an intuitive interface for simple data analysis and understanding of the methods, and act as an entrance to more sophisticated software. The toolkit has been used in introductory courses as well as field courses. First reactions from students are positive. Think-aloud observations of students using the toolkit have helped identify problems and helped shape it. We are planning to compare the learning outcomes of students who have used the toolkit in a field course to students in a previous course to test its effectiveness.

Simulation and Analysis of the Topographic Effects on Snow-Free Albedo over Rugged Terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalei Hao

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Topography complicates the modeling and retrieval of land surface albedo due to shadow effects and the redistribution of incident radiation. Neglecting topographic effects may lead to a significant bias when estimating land surface albedo over a single slope. However, for rugged terrain, a comprehensive and systematic investigation of topographic effects on land surface albedo is currently ongoing. Accurately estimating topographic effects on land surface albedo over a rugged terrain presents a challenge in remote sensing modeling and applications. In this paper, we focused on the development of a simplified estimation method for snow-free albedo over a rugged terrain at a 1-km scale based on a 30-m fine-scale digital elevation model (DEM. The proposed method was compared with the radiosity approach based on simulated and real DEMs. The results of the comparison showed that the proposed method provided adequate computational efficiency and satisfactory accuracy simultaneously. Then, the topographic effects on snow-free albedo were quantitatively investigated and interpreted by considering the mean slope, subpixel aspect distribution, solar zenith angle, and solar azimuth angle. The results showed that the more rugged the terrain and the larger the solar illumination angle, the more intense the topographic effects were on black-sky albedo (BSA. The maximum absolute deviation (MAD and the maximum relative deviation (MRD of the BSA over a rugged terrain reached 0.28 and 85%, respectively, when the SZA was 60° for different terrains. Topographic effects varied with the mean slope, subpixel aspect distribution, SZA and SAA, which should not be neglected when modeling albedo.

Large eddy simulation modeling of particle-laden flows in complex terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Salesky, S.; Giometto, M. G.; Chamecki, M.; Lehning, M.; Parlange, M. B.

2017-12-01

The transport, deposition, and erosion of heavy particles over complex terrain in the atmospheric boundary layer is an important process for hydrology, air quality forecasting, biology, and geomorphology. However, in situ observations can be challenging in complex terrain due to spatial heterogeneity. Furthermore, there is a need to develop numerical tools that can accurately represent the physics of these multiphase flows over complex surfaces. We present a new numerical approach to accurately model the transport and deposition of heavy particles in complex terrain using large eddy simulation (LES). Particle transport is represented through solution of the advection-diffusion equation including terms that represent gravitational settling and inertia. The particle conservation equation is discretized in a cut-cell finite volume framework in order to accurately enforce mass conservation. Simulation results will be validated with experimental data, and numerical considerations required to enforce boundary conditions at the surface will be discussed. Applications will be presented in the context of snow deposition and transport, as well as urban dispersion.

Investigation of controlled flight into terrain : descriptions of flight paths for selected controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) aircraft accidents, 1985-1997

Science.gov (United States)

1999-03-01

This report documents an investigation of the flight paths of 13 selected controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) aircraft accidents that occurred between 1985 and 1997. The Operations Assessment Division (DTS-43) and the Aviation Safety Division (DTS-...