THE INTERBASIN TRANSFER OF WATER: AN ISSUE OF EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY

ABSTRACT

Interbasin water transfers provide the option of redirecting water supplies to areas of high demand. Yet, water transfers may involve environmental damage or the loss of economic opportunity within the donor basin. It is essential, therefore, that a means for assessing potential impacts associated with proposed transfers and for accommodating damages be instituted to assure that water resources are being put to their highest and best use.

The following paper reviews recent experience in the United States with regard to interbasin transfers. It then presents a conceptual framework for assessing potential benefits and costs associated with water transfers and offers an approach for resolving conflicts that may allow for mutual benefit on the part of the affected parties.     

Nodal DG-FEM solution of high-order Boussinesq-type equations

A discontinuous Galerkin finite-element method (DG-FEM) solution to a set of high-order Boussinesq-type equations for modelling highly nonlinear and dispersive water waves in one horizontal dimension is presented. The continuous equations are discretized using nodal polynomial basis functions of arbitrary order in space on each element of an unstructured computational domain. A fourth-order explicit Runge-Kutta scheme is used to advance the solution in time. Methods for introducing artificial damping to control mild nonlinear instabilities are also discussed. The accuracy and convergence of the model with both h (grid size) and p (order) refinement are confirmed for the linearized equations, and calculations are provided for two nonlinear test cases in one horizontal dimension: harmonic generation over a submerged bar, and reflection of a steep solitary wave from a vertical wall. Test cases for two horizontal dimensions will be considered in future work.     

The effect of hydrogen in the mechanism of aluminum-induced crystallization of sputtered amorphous silicon using scanning Auger microanalysis

The metal-induced crystallization (MIC) of hydrogenated sputtered amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) using aluminum has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning Auger microanalysis (SAM). Hydrogenated, as well as non-hydrogenated, amorphous silicon (a-Si) films were sputtered on glass substrates, then capped with a thin layer of Al. Following the depositions, the samples were annealed in the temperature range 200 °C to 400 °C for varying periods of time. Crystallization of the samples was confirmed by XRD. Non-hydrogenated films started to crystallize at 350 °C. On the other hand, crystallization of the samples with the highest hydrogen (H₂) content initiated at 225 °C. Thus, the crystallization temperature is affected by the H₂ content of the a-Si. Material structure following annealing was confirmed by SAM. In this paper, a comprehensive model for MIC of a-Si is developed based on these experimental results.     

When does generation enhance memory for location?

Generation is thought to enhance both item-specific and relational processing of generated targets as compared with read words (M. A. McDaniel & P. J. Waddill, 1990). Generation facilitates encoding of the cue-target relation and sometimes boosts encoding of relations across list items. Of interest is whether generation can also increase the encoding of target-location associations. Because the literature on this point is mixed, 3 procedural differences between 2 studies (E. J. Marsh, G. Edelman, & G. H. Bower, 2001; N. W. Mulligan, 2004) were identified and manipulated. A positive generation effect was found for location memory, but this effect was reduced when subjects wrote down the study words and when the filler task involved generation. Generation can enhance location memory in addition to item memory but only if the experimental parameters do not interfere with the processing benefits of generation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternally modulated infant separation responses are regulated by D2-family dopamine receptors.

Although dopamine is necessary for mammalian adult pair-bond formation and maternal behavior, its function in infant social behavior and attachment has been less thoroughly explored. The vocalization rate of an isolated rat pup is influenced by recent social contact. Interactions with the dam potentiate vocalization rate. Interactions with littermates or adult males do not. Systemic administration of the D2-family agonist quinpirole specifically blocked maternal potentiation at doses that did not alter vocalization rate in an isolation prior to dam contact. This result was not explained by quinpirole's effects on body temperature or locomotion. The results are consistent with a role for dopamine in infant social behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breaking Symmetries and Constraints: Transitions from 2D to 3D in Passive Walkers

The inherent dynamics of bipedal, passive mechanisms are studiedto investigate the relation between motions constrained to two-dimensional (2D)planes and those free to move in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. Inparticular, we develop numerical and analytical techniques usingdynamical-systems methodology to address the persistence and stabilitychanges of periodic, gait-like motions due to the relaxation ofconfiguration constraints and the breaking of problem symmetries. Theresults indicate the limitations of a 2D analysis to predictthe dynamics in the 3D environment. For example, it is shownhow the loss of constraints may introduce characteristically non-2Dinstability mechanisms, and how small symmetry-breaking terms may result inthe termination of solution branches.     

Low-frequency quadrature mode birdcage resonator

The birdcage resonator is frequently used in conventional MRI because of its excellent attributes. Its use in low-field MRI is restricted to field strengths higher than, for example, 0.1 T, dependent on the size of the coil. This is because of the intrinsically low inductance value of the birdcage coils. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the birdcage at low field strengths is significantly lower when compared to, for example, the solenoid. Both problems can be overcome with the multiturn technique and a novel wound birdcage coil. The quadrature mode wound birdcage coil presented in this paper can be used at frequencies as low as 100 kHz. Its sensitivity is also increased when compared to the conventional strip-ring birdcage. Homogeneity effective volume, and methods to increase the resonator bandwidth to match the signal bandwidth are left intact. The latter is a typical low-field problem.     

Information Exchange in Virtual Communities: A Comparative Study

As more and more consumers spend more money on the Internet, traditional retailers and manufacturers as well as entrepreneurial dot-coms are jousting to explore and shape this new business opportunity. Their long-term survival and profitability may be determined by how well the Web site helps form and sustain positive attitudes toward the site and, eventually, toward the product or the company. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to examine if and how attitude toward the Web site (A_st) affects consumer brand choice; and (2) to examine the association between A_st and consumers' confidence in choice, and the moderating effect of consumer product knowledge in its relationship. The study asked participants to choose a laptop brand after visiting three laptop manufacturer Web sites for a total of 30 minutes. Their product knowledge and attitude toward the three Web sites were also measured. The study found that attitude toward the Web site is a good predictor of consumer brand choice. In addition, confidence in choice seemed to be affected by A_st, depending on product knowledge. For a group with low product knowledge (novices), A_st was likely to influence confidence in choice. For a group with high product knowledge (experts), however, A_st did not seem to affect confidence in choice.     

Explaining Paradoxical Relations Between Academic Self-Concepts and Achievements: Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Internal/External Frame of Reference Predictions Across 26 Countries.

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model explains a seemingly paradoxical pattern of relations between math and verbal self-concepts and corresponding measures of achievement, extends social comparison theory, and has important educational implications. In a cross-cultural study of nationally representative samples of 15-year-olds from 26 countries (total N = 55,577), I/E predictions were supported in that (a) math and verbal achievements were highly correlated, but math and verbal self-concepts were nearly uncorrelated; (b) math achievement had positive effects on math self-concept, but negative effects on verbal self-concept; and (c) verbal achievement had positive effects on verbal self-concept, but negative effects on math self-concept. Supporting the cross-cultural generalizability of predictions, multigroup structural equation models demonstrated good support for the generalizabilify of results across 26 countries participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment project sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)