Modeling A Green Decision Support System for Data Center Sustainability

The objective of this dissertation is developing more energy efficient data centers while focusing on the environment as well as meeting the increasing computing needs. Reliability of data centers will be the number one priority for management; however, the focus will be to implement a design by incorporating free cooling, applying thermal profiling, utilizing data mining, and continuing virtualization to create more efficient green data centers that are good for the environment. Since the fall of 2009, electrical consumption patterns were measured in the main data center for the servers and the air-conditioners at Montclair State University (MSU) to quantify the carbon footprint and the electrical costs. An important outcome of this work is to build a Decision Support System (DSS) for green computing in data centers. A DSS is a computer based application to assist in providing solutions with respect to decision-making to multifaceted problems. In summary, building on our measurements, the objective is to design a DSS for data centers to enhance energy efficiency, reduce the carbon footprint, and promote sustainability science across disciplines

Empowering citizens' cognition and decision making in smart sustainable cities

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Advances in Internet technologies have made it possible to gather, store, and process large quantities of data, often in real time. When considering smart and sustainable cities, this big data generates useful information and insights to citizens, service providers, and policy makers. Transforming this data into knowledge allows for empowering citizens' cognition as well as supporting decision-making routines. However, several operational and computing issues need to be taken into account: 1) efficient data description and visualization, 2) forecasting citizens behavior, and 3) supporting decision making with intelligent algorithms. This paper identifies several challenges associated with the use of data analytics in smart sustainable cities and proposes the use of hybrid simulation-optimization and machine learning algorithms as an effective approach to empower citizens' cognition and decision making in such ecosystemsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

HITECH Revisited

Assesses the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which offers incentives to adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records. Recommendations include revised criteria, incremental approaches, and targeted policies

Post-2015 WASH targets and indicators: a review from a Human Rights Perspective

Informe tècnicPreprin

Examining Interdisciplinary Sustainability Institutes at Major Research Universities: Innovations in Cross-Campus + Cross-Disciplinary Models

This is a study of the distinctive characteristics, activities, challenges and opportunities of a specific type of sustainability institute, one that spans the many disciplines of the university and, to do so, reports to upper administration (provost or vice president of research). Among research universities within the Association of American Universities (AAU), 19 were identified, and 18 agreed to participate in this study. Directors are sent a 71-question survey in January 2017 that covered issues of Governance, Research, Education, Engagement, Campus Operations and Best Practices

Implementation-effectiveness trial of an ecological intervention for physical activity in ethnically diverse low income senior centers.

BackgroundAs the US population ages, there is an increasing need for evidence based, peer-led physical activity programs, particularly in ethnically diverse, low income senior centers where access is limited.Methods/designThe Peer Empowerment Program 4 Physical Activity' (PEP4PA) is a hybrid Type II implementation-effectiveness trial that is a peer-led physical activity (PA) intervention based on the ecological model of behavior change. The initial phase is a cluster randomized control trial randomized to either a peer-led PA intervention or usual center programming. After 18 months, the intervention sites are further randomized to continued support or no support for another 6 months. This study will be conducted at twelve senior centers in San Diego County in low income, diverse communities. In the intervention sites, 24 peer health coaches and 408 adults, aged 50 years and older, are invited to participate. Peer health coaches receive training and support and utilize a tablet computer for delivery and tracking. There are several levels of intervention. Individual components include pedometers, step goals, counseling, and feedback charts. Interpersonal components include group walks, group sharing and health tips, and monthly celebrations. Community components include review of PA resources, walkability audit, sustainability plan, and streetscape improvements. The primary outcome of interest is intensity and location of PA minutes per day, measured every 6 months by wrist and hip accelerometers and GPS devices. Secondary outcomes include blood pressure, physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Implementation measures include appropriateness & acceptability (perceived and actual fit), adoption & penetration (reach), fidelity (quantity & quality of intervention delivered), acceptability (satisfaction), costs, and sustainability.DiscussionUsing a peer led implementation strategy to deliver a multi-level community based PA program can enhance program adoption, implementation, and sustainment.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, USA ( NCT02405325 ). Date of registration, March 20, 2015. This website also contains all items from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set

Sustainability and Replicability of Multiple-Use Water Systems (MUS)

The concept of multiple-use water services and systems (MUS) has received increasingattention in international water and development fora and has emerged as a promising wayto enhance the social and gender equity and productivity of water systems designed forsingle use, e.g. for irrigation or water supply. In Nepal, several MUS models have beenpiloted and implemented for more than a decade by the International DevelopmentEnterprises (iDE) and a few other development organizations. Whereas the short-termbenefits of these systems on gender relationships, women's empowerment, nutrition andhealth have been documented, the sustainability and resilience of these systems has not yetbeen analyzed. The latter is the focus of the research study presented in this report, whichwas conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Western Nepalas part of the USAID-funded Market Access and Water Technology for Women (MAWTW)project

Evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative Year 3 Report

Launched in 2010, the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative supports programs at three flagship Jewish institutions of higher education: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), and Yeshiva University (YU). As part of this initiative, HUC-JIR, JTS, and YU designed and piloted new programs, enhanced existing programs, and provided financial assistance to additional programs.American Institutes for Research (AIR) is conducting an independent evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative. This report is the third in a series of five annual reports that describe progress toward accomplishing the goals of the Education Initiative