Indirect Wayfinding Navigation System for the Elderly

Difficulty in wayfinding is one of the signs of ageing. Different types of people have the same difficulty in navigation including older people, people with mild dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and head injury. These problems do not only impact the person’s life and expose them to different risks, but their caregivers also report personal issues such as depression. This study aims to address this issue by creating a smart phone application called Indirect Wayfinding (IW) that helps affected people and their caregivers by acting as a guide to the elderly person. This paper reviews and summarizes the shortages of the current GPS-based solutions that need to be overcome, and then proposes a solution that mainly uses geofencing technology. This paper outlines the conceptual design, the mobile application, an algorithm to detect the direction of the user, feedback on the design from the caregivers, and an evaluation of the geofencing technology

Big Social Data and GIS: Visualize Predictive Crime

Social media is a desirable Big Data source used to examine the relationship between crime and social behavior. Observation of this connection is enriched within a geographic information system (GIS) rooted in environmental criminology theory, and produces several different results to substantiate such a claim. This paper presents the construction and implementation of a GIS artifact producing visualization and statistical outcomes to develop evidence that supports predictive crime analysis. An information system research prototype guides inquiry and uses crime as the dependent variable and a social media tweet corpus, operationalized via natural language processing, as the independent variable. This inescapable realization of social media as a predictive crime variable is prudent; researchers and practitioners will better appreciate its capability. Inclusive visual and statistical results are novel, represent state-of-the-art predictive analysis, increase the baseline R2 value by 7.26%, and support future predictive crime-based research when front-run with real-time social media

Evaluating Local Government Usage of GIS: A New Maturity Model

GIS is a technology with the potential to transform government by enhancing business processes and providing a platform to manage spatial and non-spatial data, which is expected to result in better decision-making. However, little is known about how this technology is actually implemented organization-wide and the environment surrounding its use. Current GIS maturity models have not examined usage broadly or in-depth, lack empirical validation, and measurement tools to diagnose maturity are not readily available. Based on GIS, maturity models, and system usage literature this study presents a more comprehensive maturity model for evaluating local government usage of GIS along with a measurement tool. The study followed De Bruin guidelines for developing maturity models. This new model was discussed with practitioners and academics, was pilot-tested, and then widely tested on Southern California local governments through an online questionnaire. Results show support for the validity of the model and demonstrate its utility

An Organizational Perspective On GIS Payoffs for the Public Sector: Is Usage the Missing Link?

GIS offers a unique way of layering spatial data, and its related tabular data, that can be visualized through a single map. This feature has made GIS attractive for governments, and especially local governments, as they work with such data on daily basis. Many local governments are currently using GIS and are planning to expand their usage; many are expected to follow in kind. Now is the time to ask the question, “What benefits have the public sector gained from GIS?” This study seeks to answer this question and investigates the role of GIS usage in determining GIS value at the organizational level. A survey was carried out with Southern California local governments. Results suggest that increasing actual GIS usage leads to an increase in GIS value. Results further show that efficiency and effectiveness benefits of GIS are mostly realized, however, societal benefits of GIS are small

You Can Have Your Pudding: A Service-Oriented Approach to Process Standardization

Since the emergence of the Theory of Scientific Management, a key dimension against which business processes have been judged is by their repeatability, consistency and efficiency. Transformational “manufacturing” processes have been designed with emphasis on controlling both the process in action (sequence), and the outcome (product). Conventional process standardization focuses on the avoidance of and control of exceptions in the name of quality. However, when dealing with service delivery, in which delivery quality is impacted by the ability to accommodate exceptions rather than by avoidance, a new approach to process standardization is needed, one that ensures that process services provided are performed consistently, while embracing the flexibility in delivery sequence and product composition required in service delivery. In this paper, using an analytic model we illustrate the limitations of the conventional process standardization approach vary with both the number of service providers and the amount of provided services

Monitoring Relative Abundance of American Shad in Virginia Rivers 2009 Annual Report

Concern about the decline in landings of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) along the Atlantic coast prompted the development of an interstate fisheries management plan (FMP) under the auspices of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Management Program (ASMFC 1999). Legislation enables imposition of federal sanctions on fishing in those states that fail to comply with the FMP. To be in compliance, coastal states are required to implement and maintain fishery-dependent and fishery-independent monitoring programs as specified by the FMP. For Virginia, these requirements include spawning stock assessments, the collection of biological data on the spawning run (e.g., age-structure, sex ratio, and spawning history), estimation of total mortality, indices of juvenile abundance, biological characterization of permitted by-catch and evaluation of restoration programs by detection and enumeration of hatchery-released fish. This annual report documents continued compliance with Federal law. Since 1998, scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science have monitored the spawning run of American shad in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers. The information resulting from this program is reported annually to the ASMFC, has formed the basis for a significant number of technical papers published in the professional literature, formed the basis for a recent coast-wide stock assessment and peer review for American shad (ASMFC 2007a, 2007b) and is contributing substantially to our understanding of the status and conservation of this important species. A number of individuals make significant contributions to the monitoring program and the preparation of this report. Commercial fishermen Tony Kellum, Raymond Kellum, Marc Brown and Jamie Sanders construct, set, and fish the sampling gear and offer helpful advice. They have participated in the sampling program since its beginning in 1998. Their contributions as authors of historic log books of commercial catches during the 1980s and as expert shad fishermen are essential elements of the monitoring program. We also extend our appreciation to several commercial fishers for their cooperation in our studies of by-catch of American Shad. In 2009, these individuals include: Kenneth Heath, Joseph Hinson, Demtri Hionis, George Trice, Robert Weagley, and Charles Williams. In 2009, the staff and students of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who participated in the program were: B. Watkins, P. Crewe, A. Rhea, and R. Harris. Their dedication, consistent attention to detail and hard work in the field and in the laboratory are appreciated. B. Watkins determined ages of fish. B. Watkins and A. Rhea determined hatchery origins of fish. Fish products from the sentinel fishery are donated to the Food Bank of Newport News, Virginia. We offer thanks to the Hunters for the Hungry (Virginia Hunters Who Care) organization for their assistance

"A Tolerable State of Order": The United States, Taiwan, and the Recognition of the People's Republic of China, 1949-1979

American policy toward the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China from 1949-1979 was geared primarily toward the accomplishment of one objective: to achieve a reorientation of Chinese Communist revolutionary foreign policy that would contribute to the establishment of a "tolerable state of order" in the international community based on the principles of respect for each nations' territorial integrity and political sovereignty. China's revolutionary approach to its foreign relations constituted a threat to this objective. During the 1960s and '70s, however, Beijing gradually began accepting views conducive to the achievement of the "tolerable state of order" that Washington hoped to create, thus contributing significantly to the relaxation of Sino-American tensions and the normalization of relations in 1979. From this basic thesis four subsidiary arguments emerge. First, the seven presidential administrations from Harry Truman to Jimmy Carter pursued a common set of objectives toward which their respective China policies conformed, thus granting American China policy a degree of consistency that historians of Sino-American relations have not previously recognized. Second, the most significant dilemma American officials faced was striking an effective balance between containment (to punish aggression) and engagement (to emphasize the benefits of cooperation). Third, American policy toward the ROC throughout virtually the entire period in question remained a function of Washington's effort to reorient Beijing's foreign policy approach. Fourth, domestic American opinion was of secondary importance in determining the nature and implementation of American China policy

The Effects of Nitrogen and Tillage on Denitrification Rates and the Yield of Corn, Oats, and Soybeans in Eastern South Dakota

Two field experiments were established in 1983 to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N) on corn, oats and soybeans grown under various tillage sytems [sic] in east central South Dakota. A corn-oats rotation was grown under moldboard plow (MP), chisel plow (CH), and no-till (NT) tillage systems in a Poinsett silty clay loam soil (Udic Haplaboroll, fine-silty, mixed). In southeast South Dakota a corn-soybean rotation and a continous [sic] corn rotation were grown under MP NT and till plant (TP) and MP CH and NT systems, respectively on an Egan silty clay loam soil (Udic Haplustoll fine silty mixed). Nitrogen was applied at 4 rates (including a check) as either topdressed ammonium nitrate or injected urea-ammonium nitrate. Denitrification at the east central site in 1984 measured 11, 16, and 25 kg N ha-1 in MP, CH, and NT systems in which 112 kg N ha-1 was topdressed, respectively. Rates of denitrification in the NT system were significantly reduced by injecting 112 kg N ha-1. However, missing data prevented the difference from being accurately estimated. Nitrogen mineralization rates appeared to be higher under MP tillage than under reduced tillage in both years at both locations. This difference was estimated to be 24 kg N ha-1 at the east central site (ave of oats and corn) in 1983. Leaching prevented accurate N mineralization rate calculations [sic] at the other sites/years. At the Poinsett site, total N requirement of corn at optimum yield was the same for different tillage systems. However, N required per Mg of grain was slightly lower for the MP system because of the slightly higher optimal yield compared to the reduced tillage systems. Oat yield under reduced tillage resulted in a slightly lower yield potential and slightly higher N requiremnt [sic] than under MP tillage. Two unusually wet springs occurred at the southeast site which delayed the planting of corn. This coupled with very dry summers resulted in low yields in both years. The CH system yielded significantly less corn grain and silage in 1983 and significantly more silage in 1984 than other sytems [sic] in the continuous [sic] corn rotation. Tillage method did not affect yield of corn in the corn-soybean rotation in either year. Soybean yield was significantly higher in the TP system than the MP and NT systems in 1983, but significantly lower than in to [sic] the MP system in 1984