Cost-Efficient Valuation of Aesthetic Amenities

In order to avoid costly data collection practices common in hedonic valuation of aesthetic amenities, easy-to-collect secondary County tax and geospatial data are used to derive estimates for spatial effects on residential land values. Three Georgia Counties were selected due to data availability: Clarke, Henry, and Richmond. All properties meeting panel-design criterion are included in analysis samples. Large datasets prompt the omission of traditional hedonic model variables such as property characteristics. The focus of analysis is directed toward Canopy and Impervious land-cover estimates. Focal means are calculated at different ranges for immediate and neighborhood-wide assessment of surrounding cover. Community variables designed to describe neighborhood composition are included. Class, the measure of average size and Density, the average distance between nearby homes, are calculated at same neighborhood ranges as Focal means. Regressors also include distances to Schools, Hospitals, Airports, and Highways. Pooled Ordinary Least Squares performed with data normalized by log-transformation yields practical, statistically significant results. Consistency of estimates among Counties provides assurance of model viability, while variety is still strong between all Counties. Some concerns of data reliability and appropriateness of goodness-of-fit measure are voiced for any future analysis.Land Economics/Use,

History of the Lake Washington Canal (Concluded)

"...Chapter 2 is a story of the building of the canal…Chapter 3 is a story of later developments.

History of the Lake Washington Canal (Concluded)

"...Chapter 2 is a story of the building of the canal…Chapter 3 is a story of later developments.

History of the Lake Washington Canal

"Chapter1 is brief introduction of Seattle and the Lake Washington Region…Chapter 2 is the story of the building of the canal.

Design guidelines for assessing and controlling spacecraft charging effects

The need for uniform criteria, or guidelines, to be used in all phases of spacecraft design is discussed. Guidelines were developed for the control of absolute and differential charging of spacecraft surfaces by the lower energy space charged particle environment. Interior charging due to higher energy particles is not considered. A guide to good design practices for assessing and controlling charging effects is presented. Uniform design practices for all space vehicles are outlined

Changes in intergenerational eating patterns and the impact on childhood obesity

The objective of this study was to examine intergenerational eating patterns within two sets of families, those with an obese child and those with a normal weight child, and to assess the impact of intergenerational influences on children's eating. A qualitative study design was used, incorporating focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Sixteen focus groups took place and 27 semi-structured interviews were held with different generations. Focus groups were conducted in the community with grandparents, parents and children from different families. This was followed by semi-structured interviews, involving individuals from three generations within families with an obese child and within families with a normal weight child. An examination of intergenerational eating has shown that eating patterns have changed regardless of whether or not families have children who are obese. The grandparent's eating patterns were more structured, whereas the children's eating patterns were less so. There have been more changes, and eating is less structured, within those families with an obese child than those families with a normal weight child. It is recommended that approaches to tackling childhood obesity concentrate on the family setting and the ways in which professionals can support families to change eating practices. Future research should formally test the relationship between the concept 'structured eating' and the 'what' of eating, in order to determine whether there is a link between intergenerational eating patterns and childhood obesity. © The Author(s) 2010

Estimating radar positions using unmanned air vehicle teams engaged in cooperative deception

Standard TDOA (time-difference of arrival) estimation techniques are modified and applied to locate networked enemy radars using a cooperative team of unmanned electronic combat air vehicles (ECAVs). The team is engaged in deceiving the radars, which limits where the ECAVs can fly and requires accurate radar positions to be known. Two TDOA measurements of radar pulses taken by two ECAV pairs are used to estimate the position of the middle radar. A nonlinear system model for estimation is formulated and used to perform simulations with "noisy" TDOAs; a linearized time-varying model for straight nominal ECAV trajectories is derived from the nonlinear model. The choice of optimal ECAV trajectories and an observer to minimize the variance of the middle radar position - using the linearized model is addressed. Application of a time-varying Kalman filter to the linearized system shows drastic improvement in reducing the variance of position estimates when compared to the original nonlinear system via simulations

The Effect of Manipulated Conservation Margins in Intensively Grazed Dairy Paddocks on the Biodiversity of Pteromalidae and Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Parasitica)

Conserving field margins provides an opportunity to enhance biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. The parasitoid Hymenoptera represent one of the most diverse and biologically specialised of all insect groups and play an important role in insect pest control (LaSalle & Gauld, 1993). The diversity of parasitiods in any habitat is theoretically likely to reflect the diversity of host taxa. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of field margin manipulations on the diversity of parasitoids as a wider indication of effects on general arthropod diversity

R-matrix theory of driven electromagnetic cavities

Resonances of cylindrical symmetric microwave cavities are analyzed in R-matrix theory which transforms the input channel conditions to the output channels. Single and interfering double resonances are studied and compared with experimental results, obtained with superconducting microwave cavities. Because of the equivalence of the two-dimensional Helmholtz and the stationary Schroedinger equations, the results present insight into the resonance structure of regular and chaotic quantum billiards.Comment: Revtex 4.