Groundwater management zones for conjunctive water conservation in Hays County and the Hill Country region of Central Texas

This report examines a provision of Texas groundwater law granting authority to Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) to create Groundwater Management Zones (GMZs) to address significant differences in hydrogeological conditions or groundwater use in specific areas of an aquifer. The report considers whether these management zones are effective tools for conserving groundwater in order to preserve surface water flows particularly in the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and, more generally, in the Hill Country region of Central Texas. It presents two case studies of existing GMZs in Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District and insights from interviews with GCD staff involved in establishing and refining these zones. The report then evaluates how effective the zones would be for protecting the Middle Trinity Aquifer in the area around Jacob’s Well Spring and the Cypress Creek Watershed. It concludes by providing a road map and recommendations based on best practices drawn from the findings described above.Community and Regional Plannin

Myths of place : the importance of landscape in the poetries of W.H. Auden and Seamus Heaney

Numerous studies of landscape in the works of Wordsworth and his predecessors exist; very few books, however, are concerned with its significance in modern and contemporary poetry. Works on Auden and Heaney make reference to local elements, but do not consider the overall and continuous importance of landscape in their writings. It is hoped that this study goes some way towards remedying these deficiencies.The philosophical and imaginative cohesiveness of successive poems relating to single specific landscapes in the works of Auden and Heaney suggests the term 'myths of place'. In according landscape a central role in the major dialectics of their poetries, Auden and Heaney make the most valuable contributions to the local mode since Wordsworth's advances beyond the picturesque.Important parallels exist in the developments of their myths of place. Each produces localized poems embodying radical ideologies and complements such work by mythologising landscape into a sanctuary for ideal values. Landscape constitutes a structural principle adequate to the sustained expression of the dominant psychological and ethical intuitions of their writings. Ultimately, Auden and Heaney neutralize their myths of place by deconstructing the significances that have accrued to their landscapes.Chapters One and Two consider Auden's varied treatments of the limestone moorland he knew in childhood; Chapters Three and Four investigate his figurative adaptations of landscape. Heaney's early utilisations of landscape and their culmination in his myth of the bogland form the subjects of Chapters Five and Six; Chapter Seven examines his idyllic localizations, while his imaginatively liberating re-evaluations of his native region are described in Chapter Eight. The study concludes with an assessment of the implications for present-day poetry of Auden's and Heaney's achievements in the use of landscape.Text-centred methods are used throughout, supplemented with geographical and biographical information where this is directly relevant

Endemic goitre: with special reference to its occurrence in the Loch Tay district of Perthshire

Section I. INTRODUCTION. Definition. Synonyms. Introductory remarks. Notes on the Climate, Topography, etc., etc., of the Loch Tay area of Perthshire. • Section II. HISTORICAL OUTLINE References by Greek and Roman writers. Endemic Goitre in the Middle Ages. Modern Investigators, etc. • Section III. DISTRIBUTION. Geographical Distribution - Europe, Asia, etc - die - tribution in Britain. Physiographical Distribution. Influence of factors - elevations, latitude, urban or rural, etc. Geological Distribution. • Section IV. A. ETIOLOGY. Influence of certain factors: -- Position in animal Kingdom; race; age; heredity; sex; etc. • Section IV. B. ETIOLOGY - ESSENTIAL CAUSE. Introduction. Water as the usual vehicle. Non-organic theories of Causation. Organic theories of causation. Epidemic goitre, etc. • Section V. PATHOLOGY. Pathology of the Thyroid Tumour. Haematological changes. Changes in the Iodine Content of the Gland. Probable pathogenesis of the condition. • Section VI. COURSE AND SYMPTOMS. • Section VII. OBJECTIVE SIGNS, DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS. Clinical appearance and palpation of the thyroid enlargement. Differential diagnosis. Prognosis. • Section VIII. TREATMENT. Palliative treatment. Curative and Palliative treatment. • Section IX. ADDITIONAL REMARK, ETC. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. • Section X. RECORDED CASES. • Section XI. APPENDIX. • Section XII BIBLIOGRAPHY • MAPS. I. Goitre Map of the World. II. Goitre Map of Scotland. III. Goitre Map of Perthshire (Distribution in School Children) IV. Goitre Map of the Loch Tay Endemic Area. V.& VI. Geological Map and Section of the Loch Tay Endemic Area

Self-Configuration and Self-Administration of Wireless Grids

A Wireless Grid is an augmentation of a wired grid that facilitates the exchange of information and the interaction between heterogeneous wireless devices. The ability of various grid layouts to handle interactions among the grid constituencies is contingent upon the efficient resolution of multiple technical challenges of the grid. These challenges arise due the added complexities of the wireless grid such as the limited power of the mobile devices, the limited bandwidth (including partial connectivity), and the increased dynamic nature of the interactions involved. This paper focuses on the configuration and administration issues of the wireless grid. The proposed grid topology and naming protocol can allow self-configuration and self-administration of various possible wireless grid layout

Hybrid Clamping in NTSC Digital Video Equipment

Two algorithms that are suitable for deriving the blanking level of a National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) composite video signal are described. One method consists of averaging digitized color-burst samples taken from successive scan lines. A second method involves processing a group of samples taken from a single burst interval. Either algorithm used in a hybrid clamping arrangement results in automatic drift compensation and the ability to tie the back porch or sync tip to a predetermined digital output code. This aids in matching the analog signal to the input of the analog-to-signal (A/D) converter for maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In analyzing the effect of additive noise and timing jitter, it was found that both algorithms are, generally, more vulnerable than a conventional keyed clamper

Missing Phases of Deliberation Dialogue for Real Applications

Models of deliberative dialogue are fundamental for developing autonomous systems that support human practical reasoning. However, we must consider whether these existing models are able to capture the complexity and richness of natural deliberation for developing real applications. In real contexts, circumstances relevant to the decision can change rapidly. In this paper, we introduce an extension to today\u27s leading model of deliberation dialogue to capture dynamic changes of circumstances during dialogue. Moreover, in natural deliberation, a dialogue may be successful even if a decision on what to do has not been made. A set of criteria is proposed to address the problem of when to close o the practical reasoning phase of dialogue. We then discuss some initial efforts to introduce those characteristics within an existing model of deliberation for agent collaboration. We believe that our extended model of dialogue may represent that richness of natural deliberative dialogue that is yet to be addressed in existing models of agent deliberatio

WIRELESS GRIDS: APPROACHES, ARCHITECTURES, AND TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

Grid computing and grid topologies are attracting a growing amount of attention. Originating as a concept for sharing computing resources among wired participants, the grid concept is gradually been extended into the wireless world. A Wireless Grid is an augmentation of a wired grid that facilitates the exchange of information and the interaction between heterogeneous wireless devices. While similar to the wired grid in terms of its distributed nature, the requirement for standards and protocols, and the need for adequate Quality of Service; a Wireless Grid has to deal with the added complexities of the limited power of the mobile devices, the limited bandwidth, and the increased dynamic nature of the interactions involved. Depending on the nature of the interactions among the constituencies served by the wireless grid, various layouts can be envisaged. The ability of these models to address needs at the enterprise, partner, and service levels is contingent upon the efficient resolution of multiple technical challenges of the gri

Towards a richer model of deliberation dialogue : closure problem and change of circumstances

This research was partially supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant 435-2012-0104. This research was also partially supported by the award made by the RCUK Digital Economy program to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub at the University of Aberdeen; award ref. : EP/G066051/1. Further refinements of this work were supported by the SICSA PECE scheme.Models of deliberative dialogue are fundamental for developing autonomous systems that support human practical reasoning. The question discussed in this paper is whether existing models are able to capture the complexity and richness of natural deliberation. In real-world contexts, circumstances relevant to the decision can change rapidly. We reflect on today's leading model of deliberation dialogue and we propose an extension to capture how newly exchanged information about changing circumstances may shape the dialogue.Moreover, in natural deliberation, a dialogue may be successful even if a decision on what to do has not been made. A set of criteria is proposed to address the problem of when to close off the practical reasoning phase of dialogue. We discuss some measures for evaluating the success of a dialogue after closure and we present some initial efforts to introduce the new deliberation features within an existing model of agent dialogue. We believe that our extended model of dialogue may contribute to representing that richness of natural deliberative dialogue that is yet to be addressed in existing models of agent deliberation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Speech Acts and Burden of Proof in Computational Models of Deliberation Dialogue

We argue that burden of proof (BoP) of the kind present in persuasion does not apply to deliberation. We analyze existing computational models showing that in deliberation agents may answer a critique but there is no violation of the protocol if they choose not to. We propose a norm-­‐‑governed dialogue where BoP in persuasion is modeled as an obligation to respond, and permissions capture the different types of constraint observed in deliberation