Evaluating High-Resolution Aerial Photography Acquired by Unmanned Aerial Systems for Use in Mapping Everglades Wetland Plant Associations

Mapping of vegetation patterns over large extents using remote sensing methods requires field sample collections for two different purposes: (1) the establishment of plant association classification systems from samples of relative abundance estimates; and (2) training for supervised image classification and accuracy assessment of satellite data derived maps. One challenge for both procedures is the establishment of confidence in results and the analysis across multiple spatial scales. Continuous data sets that enable cross-scale studies are very time consuming and expensive to acquire and such extensive field sampling can be invasive. The use of high resolution aerial photography (hrAP) offers an alternative to extensive, invasive, field sampling and can provide large volume, spatially continuous, reference information that can meet the challenges of confidence building and multi-scale analysis

Quantitative Comparison of Plant Community Hydrology Using Large-Extent, Long-Term Data

Large-extent vegetation datasets that co-occur with long-term hydrology data provide new ways to develop biologically meaningful hydrologic variables and to determine plant community responses to hydrology. We analyzed the suitability of different hydrological variables to predict vegetation in two water conservation areas (WCAs) in the Florida Everglades, USA, and developed metrics to define realized hydrologic optima and tolerances. Using vegetation data spatially co-located with long-term hydrological records, we evaluated seven variables describing water depth, hydroperiod length, and number of wet/dry events; each variable was tested for 2-, 4- and 10-year intervals for Julian annual averages and environmentally-defined hydrologic intervals. Maximum length and maximum water depth during the wet period calculated for environmentally-defined hydrologic intervals over a 4-year period were the best predictors of vegetation type. Proportional abundance of vegetation types along hydrological gradients indicated that communities had different realized optima and tolerances across WCAs. Although in both WCAs, the trees/shrubs class was on the drier/shallower end of hydrological gradients, while slough communities occupied the wetter/deeper end, the distribution ofCladium, Typha, wet prairie and Salix communities, which were intermediate for most hydrological variables, varied in proportional abundance along hydrologic gradients between WCAs, indicating that realized optima and tolerances are context-dependent

Democratizing New Product Development Through an Industry-Society Entrepreneurial Partnership

New products derive from the industry and the society as well. They can be created in the mind of anyone who sees a need that people can buy, as an outcome of knowledge creation and sharing. This paper presents the structure, concepts, methods and operations of a proposed framework that addresses a new approach on product knowledge registration, evolution and utilization. It explains the co-evolution of a democratic industry-society relationship between the large or small organizations and individuals and provides the process model to apply it in practice. The proposed framework adapts and uses the Company Democracy Model as the base for the development of a practical approach through the evolution of the new product development process over its six escalated stages. Starting from the first level of the idea creation within a knowledge sharing culture, until sixth level of the models which deals with globalization and internationalization strategies

Consulting Services to Determine the Effectiveness of Vegetation Classification Using WorldView 2 Satellite Data for the Greater Everglades

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the use of remote sensing 1) to detect and map Everglades wetland plant communities at different scales; and 2) to compare map products delineated and resampled at various scales with the intent to quantify and describe the quantitative and qualitative differences between such products. We evaluated data provided by Digital Globe’s WorldView 2 (WV2) sensor with a spatial resolution of 2m and data from Landsat’s Thematic and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (TM and ETM+) sensors with a spatial resolution of 30m. We were also interested in the comparability and scalability of products derived from these data sources. The adequacy of each data set to map wetland plant communities was evaluated utilizing two metrics: 1) model-based accuracy estimates of the classification procedures; and 2) design-based post-classification accuracy estimates of derived maps

Avoiding Post-Merger Corporate Downsize Restructuring: The Democratic Employee-Culture Fit Model (DeECFit)

One major challenge in Mergers and Acquisitions is the best possible utilization of the human resources organizations offer. The judgment on employee redundancy is often highly controversial and risky. It can impact the motivation of the remaining employees, the corporate culture, and the reputation of the firm in the market. This paper addresses this challenge by introducing the Democratic Employee-Culture Fit Model (DeECFit) for Post-Merger Corporate Restructuring to avoid downsizing practices and maximize the utilization of the available human resources and intellectual capital. The model describes the relationship between the definition of the cultural values and the concentration of democratic values needed for an employee of either company to effectively join the Merger and operate under a symbiotic model by utilizing their human recourses. The democratic approach of the DeECFit Model provides the opportunity to all employers from both organizations to prove and justify their place in the Merger