Predicting Flank Margin Cave Collapse in the Bahamas

Sinkhole collapse is a common karst land-use risk around the world. In the Bahamas cover-collapse sinkholes do not exist because soil cover is thin; almost all collapse is due to cave ceiling failure. The most common cave types in the Bahamas are flank margin caves and banana holes. Flank margin caves have three entrance types: dissolution pit, side breach, or ceiling collapse. Both side breach and ceiling collapse are the result of mass erosional forces; pits by focused dissolution. It was previously proposed that slope was a controlling factor in Bahamian cave collapse. This study demonstrated that 7.5 minute topographic maps cannot resolve slopes accurately enough to predict potential collapse locations. Field surveys with 1 m contours allowed for a more concise slope range in which each entrance type preferentially occurred; collapse breaches and pits were common on gentle slopes and side breaches on steep slopes

Prediksi Jumlah Hasil Produksi Madu Berdasarkan Ukuran Sarang Lebah Menggunakan Metode Image Processing

Lebah merupakan insekta penghasil madu yang telah lama dikenal manusia. Sejak zaman purba manusia berburu sarang lebah di goa-goa, di lubang-lubang pohon dan tempat-tempat lain untuk diambil madunya. Lebah juga menghasilkan produk yang yang sangat dibutuhkan untuk dunia kesehatan yaitu royal jelly, pollen, malam (lilin) dan sebagainya. Selanjutnya manusia mulai membudidayakan dengan memakai gelodog kayu dan yang yang sangat dibutuhkan untuk dunia kesehatan yaitu royal jelly, popada saat ini dengan sistem stup. Sarang lebah adalah sel-sel yang terbentuk hexagonal yang terdiri dari prisma hexagonal dan limas hexagonal yang dibuat dari malam lebah dan campuran perekat (propolis) yang berasal dari tumbuh-tumbuhan. Sarang lebah digunakan untuk meletakkan madu, tepung sari dan larva. Jumlah produksi madu ditentukan oleh banyaknya sel yang berisi madu. Untuk mengatahui jumlah produksinya, harus dilakukan perhitungan volume pembetuk sel yang dikalikan dengan jumlah sel yang berisi madu. Karena tidak semua sel berisi madu maka diperlukan deteksi sel mana saja yang berisi madu atau sel yang berisi selain madu. Banyak cara untuk mendeteksinya salah satunya menggunakan image processing. Dari hasil pengolahan Image processing maka akan diketahui jumlah sel yang berisi madu. Setelah diketahui jumlah selnya, tinggal dikalikan volume setiap sel maka akan diketahui hasil produksi madu dalam satuan milli liter (ml) untuk setiap sarang lebah.   &nbsp

Community Benefit Report Spending and Content Analysis

There is substantial debate regarding the community benefits provided by nonprofit hospitals in exchange for tax-exempt status at the federal and state levels. Despite the controversy surrounding this topic, research into community benefit spending is a relatively new area of academic research. This study examines community benefit reports from nonprofit hospitals in the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) database. We employ text-based content analysis to determine how the language used in current-year reports impacts community benefit spending in the following year. Our study contributes to the literature because it is the first paper that conducts text-based content analysis of community benefit reports using the following five textual characteristics: length, boilerplate, fog, specificity, and tone. We find that the length, specificity, and tone of the reports significantly impact community benefit spending

Essays on the Creation, Passage, and Effectiveness of Laws and Regulations

In the United States, individual states pass a variety of rules and regulations in order to create and enforce laws. My dissertation examines several key portions of this process, by focusing on regulations impacting the auto insurance industry. I construct three essays which examine strategies for passing such a regulation in state legislatures, factors affecting which states implement the regulation and at what time, and the effectiveness of the law itself. First, I evaluate the effect of state laws establishing electronically accessible statewide databases of insured drivers on uninsured driving and precaution. I find that the laws themselves do not cause a significant change in the rate of uninsured motorists. However, there is a consistent, but not statistically significant, decrease in the number of crashes and fatalities that occur after the law is implemented. This indicates that any effect the law has in encouraging drivers to obtain insurance is outweighed by those drivers who remain uninsured but drive more carefully in order to avoid detection and the resulting penalties. Second, I examine the market conditions associated with states\u27 implementation of these laws. I find that states with lower rates of uninsured driving are more likely to implement an insurance database law. In addition, states with higher levels of market concentration are less likely to implement the law. There is also some support for a diffusion theory where states are more likely to implement laws their neighboring states have passed. Last, I evaluate the use of sunset provisions as a legislative bargaining tool that could assist in gaining the majority needed to pass similar laws in additional states. I predict that, under conditions where it is preferable to limit a law\u27s durability rather than changing the content of the law, sunset provisions will be used more frequently when the makeup of the legislative body is more volatile, or when the majority is slim

The construction of a rural-urban index

2023/10/19: Added to KUSW

The use of apprenticeship learning via inverse reinforcement learning for musical composition

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. 14 August 2014.Reinforcement learning is a branch of machine learning wherein an agent is given rewards which it uses to guide its learning. These rewards are often manually specified in terms of a reward function. The agent performs a certain action in a particular state and is given a reward accordingly (where a state is a configuration of the environment). A problem arises when the reward function is either difficult or impossible to manually specify. Apprenticeship learning via inverse reinforcement learning can be used in these cases in order to ascertain a reward function, given a set of expert trajectories. The research presented in this document used apprenticeship learning in order to ascertain a reward function in a musical context. The agent then optimized its performance in terms of this reward function. This was accomplished by presenting the learning agents with pieces of music composed by the author. These were the expert trajectories from which the learning agent discovered a reward function. This reward function allowed the agents to attempt to discover an optimal strategy for maximizing its value. Three learning agents were created. Two were drum-beat generating agents and one a melody composing agent. The first two agents were used to recreate expert drum-beats as well as generate new drum-beats. The melody agent was used to generate new melodies given a set of expert melodies. The results show that apprenticeship learning can be used both to recreate expert musical pieces as well as generate new musical pieces which are similar to with the expert musical pieces. Further, the results using the melody agent indicate that the agent has learned to generate new melodies in a given key, without having been given explicit information about key signatures

Adoption Factors and Perceptions of Green Manure and Cover Crop Technologies Among Paraguayan Smallholder Farmers

Adoption of green manures and cover crops among Paraguayan smallholder farmers may be more easily achieved if researchers, extensionists, and stakeholders understand social processes that drive farmers to adopt these conservation agriculture practices. The purpose of this study was to characterize Paraguayan smallholder farmer attributes, determine characteristic independent variables that significantly influence adoption of green manures and cover crops, evaluate participants’ perceptions of the technologies, and characterize adoption-extent rates of green manures and cover crops among participants. The sample population (N = 76) consisted of southeastern Paraguayan smallholder farmers that participated in an oral survey with the researcher. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), bivariate correlation, and regression analysis to complete the research objectives. Findings of this study indicate: demographic conditions, variation between sample groups, relationships among the dependent and independent variables, and the influence of independent variables on the cultivation of green manure and cover crop technologies (user status, measured as the dependent variable). Decreased soil fertility is a significant constraint to production in fields, especially for smallholder farmers who lack access to inputs. The implementation of green manures and cover crops can be viewed as an erosion prevention tool for smallholder subsistence farmers. User participants are capable of managing green manures and cover crops for on-farm implementation or continued cultivation. Participants attributed the implementation of green manures and cover crops to increase crop production above all other potential benefits. Participants did not consider the technologies as an economically viable practice. However, the cultivation of green manures and cover crops were perceived to decrease farmer labor requirements. Chemical fertilizers positively influence adoption of the technologies. The availability of information, training attendance, and technical assistance all positively influence adoption of green manures and cover crops. Finally, participation in social organizations positively conditions adoption of the technologies. Researchers and extensionists should continue working with Paraguayan farmers to implement or determine appropriate soil conservation practices meanwhile keeping the beneficiaries’ input in consideration. Continued social research in green manure and cover crop technologies is warranted due to the lack of concise investigation efforts in a smallholder context

PENANGANAN KETIDAKSTABILAN KESEHATAN SHIP CREW ON STANDBY DI PT JASINDO DUTA SEGARA

ABSTRAKSI Pamungkas, Orry Syah Bayu Putra, 2023, 561911327418 K, “Penanganan Ketidakstabilan Kesehatan Ship Crew on Standby di PT Jasindo Duta Segara”, Skripsi Program Studi Tata Laksana Angkutan Laut dan Kepelabuhan Diplomasi IV, Politeknik Ilmu Pelayaran Semarang, Pembimbing I: Dr. Nur Rohmah, S.E., M.M Pembimbing II: Dr. F. Pambudi Widyatmaka, S.T., M.T. Ship crew on standby adalah crew yang sedang melaksanakan masa istirahat paska turun (sign off) dari kapal yang dikelola oleh PT Jasindo Duta Segara. Keadaan ship crew on standby sering mengalami ketidakstabilan kesehatan yang mengakibatkan terganggunya sistem perputaran crew yang telah direncanakan oleh PT Jasindo Duta Segara. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan faktor yang menyebabkan ketidakstabilan kesehatan ship crew on standby di PT Jasindo Duta Segara serta untuk menjelaskan upaya yang dilakukan PT Jasindo Duta Segara dalam menangani masalah ketidakstabilan kesehatan ship crew on standby. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada bulan September sampai dengan bulan Juli tahun 2023. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode kualitatif deskriptif. Sumber data penelitian diperoleh dari data primer dan data sekunder. Teknik pengumpulan data melalui observasi, studi pustaka, dokumentasi, dan wawancara. Teknik keabsahan data dengan teknik triangulasi sumber. Hasil penelitian bahwa faktor yang menyebabkan ketidakstabilan kesehatan ship crew on standby di PT Jasindo Duta Segara yaitu kurangnya kesadaran dari ship crew on standby tentang pentingnya menjaga kesehatan paska turun kapal (vacation) dan tidak adanya sistem monitoring kesehatan yang terpadu dari PT. Jasindo Duta Segara. Upaya penanggulangan ketidakstabilan kesehatan ship crew on standby di PT Jasindo Duta Segara yaitu melakukan medical check-up lebih awal minimal satu bulan sebelum keberangkatan serta selalu menjaga kesehatan selama didarat dan menyelenggarakan senam Zumba secara online

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTS' BEHAVIOR AND CARIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Background: Caries is a disease of dental hard tissue which is characterized by demineralization and followed by damage to organic matter. The prevalence of dental caries in children in 2018 in Indonesia is still very high, especially at the age of 3-4 years, the prevalence of caries reaches 36.4%, while at the age of 5-9 years it is 54%. The behavior of parents, especially mothers, has an influence on children's oral health, because mothers are role models as well as children's closest figures since birth. There are still many parents who do not know that their behavior affects their child's behavior, and do not consider it important to take care of their child's teeth.Method: This study aims to analyze the relationship between parental behavior on the caries index in children, and also to determine the effect of caries on the quality of life of preschool children. The search for journal literature in this study used 3 databases, namely Google Scholar, Pubmed and NCBI according to keywords, then screened and selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria.Result: The behavior of parents, especially mothers, will determine the health of children's teeth. In addition, children's behavior also plays a significant role in maintaining the health of their teeth, one of which is in terms of brushing teeth, diet.Conclusion: Parents who have poor behavior in maintaining dental health have a higher risk of developing dental caries than mothers who have a good attitude

PERIOD DETERMINATION FOR NEA (162421) 2000 ET70

Lightcurve analysis for (162421) 2000 ET70 was performed in collaboration with observers in Uruguay, Australia, and the United States from observations obtained during the asteroid’s favorable opposition in 2012. The synodic rotation period was found to be 8.947 ± 0.001 h and the lightcurve amplitude was 0.60 ± 0.07 mag