Line arrangements and direct sums of free groups

We show that if the fundamental groups of the complements of two line arrangements in the complex projective plane are isomorphic to the same direct sum of free groups, then the complements of the arrangements are homotopy equivalent. For any such arrangement, we construct another arrangement that is complexified-real, the intersection lattices of the arrangements are isomorphic, and the complements of the arrangements are diffeomorphic.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

The Frequency of Implementation of Lasallian Pedagogy in Traditional College-Preparatory High Schools Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers in the United States

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the De La Salle Christian Brothers have re-examined the charism of their founder, St. John Baptist De La Salle, and the meaning of their founding documents in light of modern circumstances. Only recently have Lasallian scholars (Campos & Sauvage, 1981, 1999; Lauraire, 2004, 2006; Poutet, 1997; Van Grieken, 1995, 1999) been bridging the gap between the spiritual awareness of the Lasallian charism and the implications for classroom practice. This study established a baseline measurement for the frequency of implementation of Lasallian pedagogy according to the seven dimensions of Lasallian pedagogy, as defined by White (2007): student-centeredness, holistic education, constructive scaffolding, collaboration, social justice, relevancy, and discipleship. Using survey research with selected follow-up interviews, 137 academic department chairs at 21 traditional college-preparatory Lasallian high schools provided data on the frequency with which they incorporated the above-noted pedagogical dimensions in their curricular and instructional practice. These data were reported out both in relation to the dimensions of Lasallian pedagogy, as well as demographic categories established in the survey. Recommendations for both research and practice were presented based on identified strengths and growth areas derived from the research findings. The results indicated that student-centeredness, holistic education, and constructive scaffolding were incorporated into curriculum and instruction multiple times per week. Collaboration, however, was only incorporated two to four times per month. Those educators with the most experience and least experience in the classroom were more student-centered educators. Members of visual/performing arts departments and Mission Assembly (a quadrennial gathering of Lasallian educators) participants incorporated holistic education frequently, whereas members of mathematics departments incorporated holistic education less frequently. Lasallian Leadership Institute participants were more likely to collaborate than those survey respondents who did not participate in this formation program. Members of religious studies departments and those respondents who attended either a Huether Conference or a Mission Assembly incorporated social justice more frequently into their curriculum and instruction, whereas members of mathematics departments incorporated social justice less frequently. Respondents with doctoral degrees maintained high levels of relevancy in their curriculum and instruction, whereas respondents with teaching credentials maintained low levels of relevancy

A geographical perspective on the Aral Sea crisis: three interpretations of an image

The Aral Sea crisis has gained global notoriety as a human-induced environmental disaster. This paper contextualizes this crisis within a broad geographical framework. Three interpretations of a single photographic image emblematic of the desiccation of the Aral Sea are related to general foci within the academic discipline of geography. These interpretations serve to guide a framing of the Aral Sea crisis within a geographical context. This is presented as a geographical problem, incorporating elements and processes salient to physical geography, human geography, and human-environment interaction. With ecological and societal sustainability in the immediate Aral Sea region still a pressing concern, geographers are well positioned to contribute relevant, research-driven insights

Assessing the Utility of 3-km Land Information System Soil Moisture Data for Drought Monitoring and Hydrologic Applications

The NASA Short term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center in Huntsville, AL has been running a real-time configuration of the Noah land surface model within the NASA Land Information System (LIS) since June 2010. The SPoRT LIS version is run as a stand-alone land surface model over a Southeast Continental U.S. domain with 3-km grid spacing. The LIS contains output variables including soil moisture and temperature at various depths, skin temperature, surface heat fluxes, storm surface runoff, and green vegetation fraction (GVF). The GVF represents another real-time SPoRT product, which is derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites. These data have demonstrated operational utility for drought monitoring and hydrologic applications at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Huntsville, AL since early 2011. The most relevant data for these applications have proven to be the moisture availability (%) in the 0-10 cm and 0-200 cm layers, and the volumetric soil moisture (%) in the 0-10 cm layer. In an effort to better understand their applicability among locations with different terrain, soil and vegetation types, SPoRT is conducting the first formal assessment of these data at NWS offices in Houston, TX, Huntsville, AL and Raleigh, NC during summer 2014. The goal of this assessment is to evaluate the LIS output in the context of assessing flood risk and determining drought designations for the U.S. Drought Monitor. Forecasters will provide formal feedback via a survey question web portal, in addition to the NASA SPoRT blog. In this presentation, the SPoRT LIS and its applications at NWS offices will be presented, along with information about the summer assessment, including training module development and preliminary results

Expansion of the Real-Time SPoRT-Land Information System for NOAA/National Weather Service Situational Awareness and Local Modeling Applications

The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center in Huntsville, AL is running a real-time configuration of the Noah land surface model (LSM) within the NASA Land Information System (LIS) framework (hereafter referred to as the "SPoRT-LIS"). Output from the real-time SPoRT-LIS is used for (1) initializing land surface variables for local modeling applications, and (2) displaying in decision support systems for situational awareness and drought monitoring at select NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS) partner offices. The experimental CONUS run incorporates hourly quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) from the National Severe Storms Laboratory Multi- Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) which will be transitioned into operations at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) in Fall 2014.This paper describes the current and experimental SPoRT-LIS configurations, and documents some of the limitations still remaining through the advent of MRMS precipitation analyses in the SPoRT-LIS land surface model (LSM) simulations

The Utility of the Real-Time NASA Land Information System Data for Drought Monitoring Applications

Measurements of soil moisture are a crucial component for the proper monitoring of drought conditions. The large spatial variability of soil moisture complicates the problem. Unfortunately, in situ soil moisture observing networks typically consist of sparse point observations, and conventional numerical model analyses of soil moisture used to diagnose drought are of coarse spatial resolution. Decision support systems such as the U.S. Drought Monitor contain drought impact resolution on sub-county scales, which may not be supported by the existing soil moisture networks or analyses. The NASA Land Information System, which is run with 3 km grid spacing over the eastern United States, has demonstrated utility for monitoring soil moisture. Some of the more useful output fields from the Land Information System are volumetric soil moisture in the 0-10 cm and 40-100 cm layers, column-integrated relative soil moisture, and the real-time green vegetation fraction derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) swath data that are run within the Land Information System in place of the monthly climatological vegetation fraction. While these and other variables have primarily been used in local weather models and other operational forecasting applications at National Weather Service offices, the use of the Land Information System for drought monitoring has demonstrated utility for feedback to the Drought Monitor. Output from the Land Information System is currently being used at NWS Huntsville to assess soil moisture, and to provide input to the Drought Monitor. Since feedback to the Drought Monitor takes place on a weekly basis, weekly difference plots of column-integrated relative soil moisture are being produced by the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center and analyzed to facilitate the process. In addition to the Drought Monitor, these data are used to assess drought conditions for monthly feedback to the Alabama Drought Monitoring and Impact Group and the Tennessee Drought Task Force, which are comprised of federal, state, and local agencies and other water resources professionals

River Flood Prediction Using a Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network

No abstract availabl

Exploring the Use of Machine Learning to Develop a Predictive Model for Future Fire Seasons

No abstract availabl

VIIRS Impact to Operational Nowcasts/Forecasts via User Assessments by NASA SPoRT

No abstract availabl