MAP Selection Algorithms Based on Future Movement Prediction Capability in Synthetic and Realistic Environment

Efficient mobility management involves micromobility principles. The performance of the Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6) protocol, a representative micro-mobility approach, is affected by the Mobility Anchor Point (MAP) selection. In this paper, we propose a new selection method based on a prediction of the future movements of Mobile Nodes (MNs). The proposed algorithms exploit the information about the future availability of MAPs and choose those MAPs that assure a better service. An improvement to the evaluation methodology is also proposed. The algorithms are compared to each other not only in synthetic but also in realistic internet topologies, which has not been a practice in the past. The simulation results show promising improvements in terms of distance from chosen MAPs and frequency of MAP changes. Moreover, we showed that, for perceivable improvement of MAP selection, absolute accuracy of movement prediction is not required. As pioneers in the mobility management analysis in realistic environment, we ascertain that offering MAP services over more than one Autonomous System (AS) proves beneficial

Importance of Forest Ecosystem Services to Secondary School Students: a Case from the North-West Slovenia

Background and Purpose: Forest managers are facing challenges in balancing the demands for forest social services raised by the general public and forest productive services. Knowing local people’s attitudes, taking into account their needs and respecting their opinions, introducing social aspects should become a management priority to ensure success of conservational activities and sustainable use of natural resources. This study investigates the attitudes of one category from the general public which is secondary school students related to forest ecosystem services in order to determine and present a useful basis for further research of people’s attitudes towards forests and forest management. Materials and Methods: In 2013 and 2014 410 Slovenian students from secondary schools in the Vipava valley and Goriška area in northwestern Slovenia completed a questionnaire testing for the influence of gender and frequency of forest experiences on attitudes to forest ecosystem services. Students’ attitudes to forest ecosystem services were investigated via 15 statements about provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. The gathered data was analysed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), using ANOVA, Tukey post-hoc test, Spearman’s product moment correlation and the nonparametric Mann–Whitney (U) test. Results and Conclusions: Students acknowledged the high benefits of ecosystem services provided by forests, though not all forest ecosystem services hold the same importance to secondary school students. Students placed the highest importance on supporting services; especially on the value of forests as habitats for animal and plant species. Also the importance of forests for clean air production was emphasized. Students with more frequent experiences in the forest environment placed more importance on cultural services as well as regulating services, especially for clean water and air production. Gender differences were not significant, other than in the valuation of the forest as a place for relaxation and reflection, where female students were more supportive than male students

Siporek: a computer program for stimulating spills of hazardous chemicals in natural watercourses

Siporek is a computer program that was developed as a quick modelling tool for calculating the consequences of spills of hazardous chemicals in rivers. Basically, it is a 1-dimensional model, but it also enables us to take into account narrow accumulations (as it is the case in hydroelectric power plant constructions on rivers); it can be used in all cases where the flow is not explicitly 2- or 3-dimensional. The modelling results are in the form of a concentration curve along the channel and the speed of propagation of pollutants; for each calculation a c-t or a c-x graph is drawn. Additionally to advection and dispersion, the model takes into account evaporation and mechanical spreading of pollutants. Siporek can be used for modelling all types of rivers that can be found in Slovenia: from fast mountainous to slower flatland rivers. It is also possible to take into account a simplified representation of dams and waterfalls and their impact on river flow.\ud Siporek is a simple and user friendly program. It is written in C++, GUI is written in Qt 4.7. Computing time for one modelling case is about 1 second. Input data needed for computation are not many and not hard to acquire: simplified channel geometry data, channel slope, Manning's coefficient, discharge, data about pollutant spill dynamics. In general, a rectangular or a trapezoidal cross-section is used, while the axis of the watercourse is presented as a sum of linear segments with a uniform cross-section and constant parameter values. Moreover, to speed up the process of collecting the appropriate data in real cases, the chart of all Slovenian rivers broader than 5 m, on which all input parameters are shown, was prepared in advance.\u