Computers in Planning: A Knoxville Example

The availability of computers at the local level of government has been steadily increasing. With this increase, planners are in a unique position to utilize computer capabilities to assist in the full range of planning activities. The problem to date seems to be one of a lack of understanding as to what computer applications are being used and how these applications can be useful to planners. This research is, therefore, oriented towards presenting an overview of computer applications used in planning agencies. Attempts are made to show how these applications are used and how they relate to planning needs. An extensive literature search and review provided much of the pertinent information relating to computer applications. For specific information on Knoxville\u27s computer applications, interviews were conducted with Metropolitan Planning Commission staff members and with representatives of the Department of Information Systems. The computer applications reported in the literature and the extent of computer utilization in Knoxville reported in the interviews were then compared. While computer utilization has been increasing since the late 1950\u27s, the applications currently utilized represent the automation of routine, repetitive, mechanical tasks such as utility billing, budgeting, accounting, or payroll. Knoxville fits into this characterization of computer utilization, although Knoxville began using the computer relatively late for a community of its population. Computer applications have been expected to increase in areas of particular interest and importance to planning, however, the increases have not been as rapid or comprehensive as anticipated by some. Information systems and data base development holds interest for planners and other governmental officials, as do modeling techniques, computer mapping and graphics, and simulation. A paradox is evident here in that such systems are highly desirable, but the actual resources needed to begin planning and implementation have not been forthcoming. While computers do have a place in planning activities, there is no danger of complete computerization of planning operations. Planners are not the ultimate decision makers so until local officials are convinced that the high investment and long range commitment necessary to develop a system of planning related computer applications are worthwhile, applications are likely to continue on a piecemeal basis especially in Knoxville

Evidence-based instruction: a classroom experiment comparing nominal and brainstorming groups

Interactive brainstorming groups consistently produce fewer ideas, and fewer high quality ideas, than nominal groups, whose members work alone before pooling their ideas. Yet, brainstorming continues to be regarded as an effective method for enhancing creativity. This paper describes an engaging classroom ‘‘experiment’’ that reliably demonstrates the superiority of nominal over brainstorming groups for generating more ideas. Analyses of data from 105 student groups, collected from 12 classes, show that typical differences between the two group methods are sizable. Beyond lessons about group techniques, this exercise shows students the limits of intuition and the value of evidence-based management practices

Setting Goals in Different Roles: Applying Key Results From the Goal-Setting Literature

Decades of research have demonstrated that managers can effect substantial performance improvements by setting challenging and specific performance goals (Locke & Latham, 2002), providing goal-relevant feedback on a regular basis (Karakowsky & Mann, 2008), and, when appropriate, involving subordinates in goal setting (Stansfield & Longenecker, 2006). This article reviews core findings from the goal setting literature, and presents a collaborative exercise in which teams of students apply these findings to address management problems in five fictitious scenarios. Debriefing tips cite additional research evidence to allow for more nuanced classroom discussion of goal setting. A pretest indicated that prior to completing the goal-setting exercise, only a minority of students had a strong intuitive sense of how to set effective goals; a posttest following its completion demonstrated substantial improvement. Students rated the exercise as both challenging and effective in improving their knowledge of goal setting

Community-engaged faculty activity: A resource guidefor department chairs

The purpose of this document is to share important and updated information aboutcommunity engagement in higher education with department chairs and other academicleaders who seek to support community-engaged scholars and teachers. The documentprovides strategies and links to resources these leaders may use to support communityengagement in their disciplines, departments, and schools. For chairs who themselves arecommunity-engaged or who are experienced in mentoring community-engaged faculty,this document will introduce the latest best practices and strategies. For chairs who arenew to their role of mentoring community-engaged faculty, this document serves as aprimer and guide, offering foundational definitions and examples as well as links tohelpful resources. Chairs are encouraged to use this information to build their ownknowledge, promote discussion within their department, and use their professionaljudgment in implementing only those suggestions that fit the departmental anduniversity contexts in which they work

Does More And Better Information Enhance Student Performance On Marketing Projects?

There is some controversy over the amount of guidance students need to complete course projects.  One school of thought argues that students should have maximum information at their disposal, resulting in a better learning process and thus a better project.  The other school of thought suggests that by giving the students too much guidance, the professor is stifling their creativity and original thought.  This research examines both scenarios.  The results indicate that minimum information provided by the professor encourages students to learn more.  However, should the professor decide to provide the students with additional information, such information should be developed by the professor

Use of aerial survey and aerophotogrammetry methods in monitoring manatee populations

We evaluated the use of strip-transect survey methods for manatees through a series of replicate aerial surveys in the Banana River, Brevard County, Florida, during summer 1993 and summer 1994. Transect methods sample a representative portion of the total study area, thus allowing for statistical extrapolation to the total area. Other advantages of transect methods are less flight time and less cost than total coverage, ease of navigation, and reduced likelihood of double-counting. Our objectives were: (1) to identify visibility biases associated with the transect survey method and to adjust the counts accordingly; (2) to derive a population estimate with known variance for the Banana River during summer; and (3) to evaluate the potential value of this survey method for monitoring trends in manatee population size over time. (51 page document

4D Seismic to Image a Thin Carbonate Reservoir During a Miscible CO2 Flood: Hall-Gurney Field, Kansas, USA

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from "http://mr.crossref.org".The movement of miscible CO2 injected into a shallow (900 m) thin (3.6-6m) carbonate reservoir was monitored using the high-resolution parallel progressive blanking (PPB) approach. The approach concentrated on repeatability during acquisition and processing, and use of amplitude envelope 4D horizon attributes. Comparison of production data and reservoir simulations to seismic images provided a measure of the effectiveness of time-lapse (TL) to detect weak anomalies associated with changes in fluid concentration. Specifically, the method aided in the analysis of high-resolution data to distinguish subtle seismic characteristics and associated trends related to depositional lithofacies and geometries and structural elements of this carbonate reservoir that impact fluid character and EOR efforts. Additional Publication Detail

Structure and Dynamics of Superconducting NaxCoO(2) Hydrate and Its Unhydrated Analog

Neutron scattering has been used to investigate the crystal structure and lattice dynamics of superconducting Na0.3CoO2 1.4(H/D)2O, and the parent Na0.3CoO2 material. The structure of Na0.3CoO2 consists of alternate layers of CoO2 and Na and is the same as the structure at higher Na concentrations. For the superconductor, the water forms two additional layers between the Na and CoO2, increasing the c-axis lattice parameter of the hexagonal P63/mmc space group from 11.16 A to 19.5 A. The Na ions are found to occupy a different configuration from the parent compound, while the water forms a structure that replicates the structure of ice. Both types of sites are only partially occupied. The CoO2 layer in these structures is robust, on the other hand, and we find a strong inverse correlation between the CoO2 layer thickness and the superconducting transition temperature (TC increases with decreasing thickness). The phonon density-of-states for Na0.3CoO2 exhibits distinct acoustic and optic bands, with a high-energy cutoff of ~100 meV. The lattice dynamical scattering for the superconductor is dominated by the hydrogen modes, with librational and bending modes that are quite similar to ice, supporting the structural model that the water intercalates and forms ice-like layers in the superconductor.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Phys. Rev. B (in press). Minor changes + two figures removed as requested by refere

From Quantum Systems to L-Functions: Pair Correlation Statistics and Beyond

The discovery of connections between the distribution of energy levels of heavy nuclei and spacings between prime numbers has been one of the most surprising and fruitful observations in the twentieth century. The connection between the two areas was first observed through Montgomery's work on the pair correlation of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. As its generalizations and consequences have motivated much of the following work, and to this day remains one of the most important outstanding conjectures in the field, it occupies a central role in our discussion below. We describe some of the many techniques and results from the past sixty years, especially the important roles played by numerical and experimental investigations, that led to the discovery of the connections and progress towards understanding the behaviors. In our survey of these two areas, we describe the common mathematics that explains the remarkable universality. We conclude with some thoughts on what might lie ahead in the pair correlation of zeros of the zeta function, and other similar quantities.Comment: Version 1.1, 50 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Open Problems in Mathematics", Editors John Nash and Michael Th. Rassias. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0909.491

Scarring Effects on Tunneling in Chaotic Double-Well Potentials

The connection between scarring and tunneling in chaotic double-well potentials is studied in detail through the distribution of level splittings. The mean level splitting is found to have oscillations as a function of energy, as expected if scarring plays a role in determining the size of the splittings, and the spacing between peaks is observed to be periodic of period {$2\pi\hbar$} in action. Moreover, the size of the oscillations is directly correlated with the strength of scarring. These results are interpreted within the theoretical framework of Creagh and Whelan. The semiclassical limit and finite-{$\hbar$} effects are discussed, and connections are made with reaction rates and resonance widths in metastable wells.Comment: 22 pages, including 11 figure