Sheridan, Town of and IBT Local 264 (Town of Sheridan Highway Department)

In the Matter of Fact-finding between Town of Sheridan and IBT Local 264. PERB Case No. M2007-097. Before: Donna R. Beal, Mediator/Fact Finder

SPECTRASAT: A concept for the collection of global directional wave spectra

The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery from SEASAT revealed a rich tapestry of backscatter patterns from the surface of the ocean. Although still far from being fully understood, these patterns occurred on nearly all spatial scales accessible to the SAR, that is from its spatial resolution of 25 m to its full swath width of 100 km. Futhermore, the backscatter signature appear to reveal a large variety of atmospheric and oceanic processes that occur above, at, and below the ocean surface. Proper interpretation of these signatures of varying scales with respect to their underlying geophysical causes is a major objective of SAR ocean research. Even now, however, it is clear that SAR offers a unique means to monitor wind and waves over global scales. A properly designed, configured, and complimented orbiting SAR system should yield substantial improvements in operational forecasts vital to marine activities. Since wind and wave information is optimally extracted in the spectral domain, the name SPECTRASAT is proposed for this global collection scheme

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and IBT Local 264 (Blue Collar Unit)

In the Matter of Fact Finding Between Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and IBT Local 264 (Blue Collar Unit). PERB CASE NO. M2007-221. Before: Donna R. Beal

Town of Charlotte and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 264

In the matter of the fact-finding between the Town of Charlotte, employer, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 264, union. PERB case no. M2009-118. Before: Donna R. Beal, fact finder

Design Your Career - Design Your Life

This research investigates the current plague of unemployment and underemployment that nearly half of qualified individuals in the field of Visual Communications are met with after graduation. Students who major in this field dedicate a tremendous amount of time, money, and energy toward developing a broad skillset that resolves critical matters of communication through visual solutions. Research has demonstrated that despite conditions that are subject to ongoing change of economy, industry, and marketplace there are contributing factors that must be addressed to overcome un/underemployment regardless of circumstances. These include an underdeveloped network of professional contacts, deficiency in recognizing or responding to changing conditions, and a limited ability to customize one’s career around their unique specialization. The purpose of this study is to provide students who major in Visual Communications the information and tools needed to incorporate their ability to adapt and problem solve from their skillset into their search for work. To explore this issue, information was gathered through secondary research that involved data from federal databases, case studies, literature review, and secondary research in general. Return on investment for one’s education is measured in consideration of three primary themes: job satisfaction, income, and quality of life, which may provide hopeful opportunity for professionals in Visual Communications to overcome un/underemployment through career customization

Operational wave forecasting with spaceborne SAR: Prospects and pitfalls

Measurements collected in the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-B) Extreme Waves Experiment confirm the ability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to yield useful estimates of wave directional energy spectra over global scales, at least for shuttle altitudes. However, azimuth fall-off effects tend to become severe for wavelengths shorter than about 100 m in most sea states. Moreover, the azimuth fall-off problem becomes increasingly severe as the platform altitude increases beyond 300 km. The most viable solution to the global wave measurements problem may be a low altitude spacecraft containing a combination of both the SAR and the Radar Ocean Wave Spectrometry (ROWS). Such a combination could have a synergy which yield global spectral estimates superior to those of either instrument singly employed

A significant post-launch calibration experiment for the SEASAT-A SAR

A technique for periodically monitoring the impulse response function of the SEASAT-A synthetic aperture radar is outlined that yields most of the significant contributors to the overall instrument transfer function. The essential measurement involves exciting the total SAR system at L-band with a strong point source scatterer, receiving via the normal S-band analog data link, and finally sampling and processing only a small subset of data in the immediate vicinity of the strong point source

American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) Ecology Within Human-Dominated Landscapes

Urbanization is an ever-increasing threat to wildlife and their habitats, yet research has been limited to a small number of taxa. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is an apex predator that has surprisingly received minimal attention within urban areas. To investigate the potential effects of urban land use on spatial ecology, we conducted surveys of relative alligator abundance in nine tributaries surrounding the St. Johns River. We used these data to explore the potential effects of urban development on alligator spatial distribution and habitat selection. At the coarse scale, we found no correlation between percent developed land and relative alligator abundance. Instead, salinity is the primary driver of relative abundance. At the fine scale, we found that alligators prefer habitats characterized by more open water and highly vegetated shorelines and avoid anthropogenic structure. Only one out of 93 sighted individuals was an adult, and recent data suggests that adults are relatively rare in our study area. Thus, juveniles still occupy urban habitats because they are not being targeted and they face virtually no competition from adults. To investigate the potential effects of land development on trophic ecology, we performed gut content analysis on golf course alligators found on Jekyll Island, Georgia. We made comparisons with alligators found in more natural areas on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Percent index of relative importance values reveal that there may be functional differences in prey choice or availability, but analysis of similarity, non-metric multidimensional scaling, and simplified Morisita index analyses show no significant difference. Further land development and increasing human activity may therefore degrade available habitat and limit the distribution of breeding adult alligators in once suitable areas and possibly shift diets toward reliance on prey items usually of lesser importance. These potentially interacting spatial and trophic effects could lead to local population declines

Reigning in John Deere: Time for the Nebraska Unicameral to Enact Agricultural Right to Repair Legislation

Over the past several decades, manufacturers of agricultural equipment have made it increasingly difficult for agricultural producers to repair their own machines. This difficulty is partially the product of complex software that is itself difficult to repair as well as manufacturer imposed restrictions. These repair restrictions, the focus of this article, are being effected both legally (through contract and copyright law) as well as technologically (through encrypted software). These restrictions are harmful to Nebraska’s agricultural producers as well as its economy. Despite their pledges to the contrary, manufactures have continually failed to provide meaningful redress; notably, the memorandums of understanding signed by multiple manufactures of late are illusory and are not enforceable. Given also the absence of federal action to remedy this problem, the Nebraska Legislature needs to step up and enact legislation to protect its producers and promote economic growth. An Agricultural Right-to-Repair Act, as advanced in this article, appears to be fitting, necessary, and within the scope of the legislature’s authority

Tracking ocean wave spectrum from SAR images

An end to end algorithm for recovery of ocean wave spectral peaks from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images is described. Current approaches allow precisions of 1 percent in wave number, and 0.6 deg in direction