Evaluating the Application of the Mental Model Mapping Tool (M-Tool)

Mental models influence how individuals think and act in relation to their external environment and have been identified as leverage points to address sustainability challenges. Given the importance of mental models, a new tool to assess mental models has been developed: the Mental Model Mapping Tool (M-Tool). M-Tool was designed to have a standardized format and to be user-friendly for low literacy populations, using pictograms and audio instructions. In this paper, we evaluate M-Tool’s application in two studies with Tanzanian fishers. In Study 1, we investigated M-tool’s convergent validity compared to standard interviewing methods (n = 30). Study 2 investigated M-Tool’s construct validity by relating mental model complexity to participants’ education level (n = 185), a relationship that has been well established. The findings show that (1) mental models produced with M-Tool are more complex than mental models obtained through interviewing techniques; (2) model composition is similar across the two methods; and (3) participants with higher levels of education tend to produce more complex mental models with M-Tool than participants with lower levels of education, in line with previous research. These findings suggest that M-Tool can successfully capture mental models among diverse participants. This tool offers researchers and practitioners an instrument to map and compare perceptions of (conservation) challenges across groups.

The Analysis and Display Method of Digital Substation Network Based on Business Chains

In this paper, the status of digital substation network monitoring and message analysis is introduced, the procedures and execution process of the typical business chains are analyzed such as control business chain, relay action business chain, measurement business chain, and the analysis and display method of digital substation network based on business chains is proposed. Taking the control business chain as an example, the model mapping method of business chain and the key information points of the protocols are illustrated. The function of the analysis and display method of digital substation network based on business chains is realized via multi-protocols association analysis. The verification instance is presented, the beneficial effects and further improvement of the method are summarized.

The normalised Sentinel-1 Global Backscatter Model, mapping Earth’s land surface with C-band microwaves

We present a new perspective on Earth’s land surface, providing a normalised microwave backscatter map from spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations. The Sentinel-1 Global Backscatter Model (S1GBM) describes Earth for the period 2016–17 by the mean C-band radar cross section in VV- and VH-polarisation at a 10 m sampling. We processed 0.5 million Sentinel-1 scenes totalling 1.1 PB and performed semi-automatic quality curation and backscatter harmonisation related to orbit geometry effects. The overall mosaic quality excels (the few) existing datasets, with minimised imprinting from orbit discontinuities and successful angle normalisation in large parts of the world. Regions covered by only one or two Sentinel-1 orbits remain challenging, owing to insufficient angular variation and not yet perfect sub-swath thermal noise correction. Supporting the design and verification of upcoming radar sensors, the obtained S1GBM data potentially also serve land cover classification and determination of vegetation and soil states. Here, we demonstrate, as an example of its potential use, the mapping of permanent water bodies and evaluate against the Global Surface Water benchmark.

Prospek Pengembangan Usaha Handline Tuna di Perairan D.I. Yogyakarta: Tinjauan Sumber Daya dan Investasi

In 2018, tuna production in D.I. Yogyakarta reached 371.66 tons, of which 75-82% were captured using the handline. The dominance of the tuna caught has led to the development of the handline that highly dependent on the potential of tuna resources. Investment prospects are also important because they become a reference for investors in investing in the tuna handline busineses. This study aims to analyze the potential of tuna fish resources including the spread of its fishing ground and analyze the feasibility of developing tuna handline buseneses in the waters of D.I. Yogyakarta. The data of this study were analyzed using the Schaefer model, mapping using geographic information system (GIS), and investment feasibility analysis. The potential of tuna fish production in the waters of D.I. Yogyakarta reached 628,53 tons/year, while the average production was 427,32 tons/year, so it is still prospective to be developed. Potential fishing ground for tuna handline was spreaded in the waters of Bantul Regency until the western border waters of Gunung Kidul Regency, and in the eastern waters of Gunung Kidul Regency. The tuna handline was also prospective to be developed its investment in D.I. Yogyakarta. The value of NPV, IRR, ROI, and B/C ratio of tuna handline were very good, i.e., IDR 425,121,064; 36.49%; 9,36; and 1.22 respectively. Keywords: fish resource, geographic information system, investment, the waters of D.I. Yogyakarta, tuna handline

Operational Context Change Propagation Prediction on Autonomous Vehicles Architectures

Autonomous Vehicles (AV) are designed to operate in a specific Operational Context (OC), and the adaptability of the vehicle's architecture to its OC is considered a significant success criterion of the design. AV design projects are rarely started from scratch and are often based on reference architectures. As such, the reference architecture must be modified and adapted to the OC. The current literature on engineering change propagation does not provide a method to identify and anticipate the impact of OC changes on the AV reference architecture. This paper proposes a two-step method for OC change propagation: (1) Analyzing the direct impact of OC change and (2) evaluate the probabilities of indirect change propagation. The direct impact is assessed following a propagation path based upon a model mapping between an OC Ontology, operational situations, and Functional Chains. The effects of Functional Chain changes on the AV components are analyzed and evaluated by domain experts with Types of Changes and associated probabilities. A Bayesian Network is proposed to calculate the probabilities of indirect change propagation between component Types of Changes. The method's applicability and efficiency are validated on a real case design of AV architecture where the probabilities of the system components undergoing Types of Changes are evaluated.

Mapping the pH and Salinity Values for Paddy Field Area in East Coast Malaysia using Kriging Interpolation Technique

In paddy farming, the condition of soil is one of the important factors to promote a healthy growing plant. Certain pH and salinity levels are required in order to have soil condition which suits the microorganism life and promotes nutrient opportunity to the plant. Currently, the method used to identify the pH and salinity levels of the soil is by embedding a sensor on the soil which requires cost and time. Furthermore, it will only show the pH and salinity values at only one point and there are limitations if the area of interest is difficult to be accessed. In this research, a method was studied by using Kriging interpolation technique to map soil salinity and pH near Kelantan and Terengganu paddy cultivation area. Ground truth data were pre-processed to generate an image model mapping which consists of acidity, neutral, alkalinity and level of salinity at coordinates of interest using ArcGIS Pro software. As a result, the estimated pH and salinity value range were between 3.9 to 5.9 and 0.48 to 0.71 ds m-1 respectively. To test the accuracy of the model, analysis of RMSE was done for pH (0.854) and salinity (0.057). This research shall contribute as a preliminary study to model the soil pH and salinity values for monitoring purpose and as an aid to the farmers.

APLICAÇÃO DO MÉTODO DE ANÁLISE HIERÁRQUICA DE PROCESSOS (AHP) COMO MODELO PREDITIVO PARA MAPEAMENTO DOS SÍTIOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS NA ILHA DE SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO

O artigo aborda a aplicação da Análise Hierárquica de Processos (AHP) como uma proposta de modelo preditivo para identificação de sítios arqueológicos na Ilha de São Luís – Maranhão, por meio da construção e avaliação de parâmetros hipotéticos com base em sete atributos e suas classes, comumente utilizados nas pesquisas arqueológicas: os indicadores fisiográficos e ambientais. A pesquisa considerou o conhecimento arqueológico já existente para a região, que contabiliza a existência de 105 sítios arqueológicos. As duas fontes de dados foram correlacionadas com os atributos selecionados. Após o modelamento pelo método do AHP foi possível gerar mapas com diferentes graus de potencialidades, que permitiram averiguar e validar a eficácia da proposta por meio de prospecção de superfície in situ, indicando ou não os compartimentos com a maior probabilidade para ocorrência de bens arqueológicos, auxiliando na sua proteção e preservação. Palavras-chave: Análise Hierárquica de Processos (AHP). Modelo preditivo. Mapeamento. Sítios arqueológicos. Ilha de São Luís. APPLICATION OF THE HIERARCHICAL PROCESS ANALYSIS (HPA) METHOD AS A PREDICTIVE MODEL FOR MAPPING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE ISLAND OF SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO Abstract: The article discusses the application of Hierarchical Process Analysis (AHP) as a predictive model for the identification of archaeological sites in the island of São Luís - Maranhão, through the construction and evaluation of hypothetical parameters based on seven attributes and their classes, commonly used in archaeological research: the physiographic and environmental indicators. The research considered the existing archaeological knowledge for the region, which counts the existence of 105 archaeological sites. The two data sources were correlated with the selected attributes. After the modeling by the AHP method it was possible to generate maps with different degrees of potentialities, which allowed to verify and validate the effectiveness of the proposal by means of surface prospecting in situ, indicating or not the compartments with the highest probability for occurrence of archaeological, assisting in its protection and preservation. Keywords: Hierarchical Process Analysis (HPA). Predictive model. Mapping. Archaeological sites. Island of São Luís. APLICACIÓN DEL MÉTODO DE ANÁLISIS JERÁRQUICO DE PROCESOS (AHP) COMO MODELO PREDICTIVO PARA MAPEAMIENTO DE LOS SITIOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS EN LA ISLA DE SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO Resumen: El artículo aborda la aplicación del análisis jerárquico de procesos (AHP) como una propuesta de modelo predictivo para la identificación de sitios arqueológicos en la Isla de São Luís - Maranhão, por medio de la construcción y evaluación de parámetros hipotéticos basados en siete atributos y sus clases, comúnmente utilizados en las investigaciones arqueológicas: los indicadores fisiográficos y ambientales. La investigación consideró el conocimiento arqueológico ya existente para la región, que contabiliza la existencia de 105 sitios arqueológicos. Las dos fuentes de datos se correlacionaron con los atributos seleccionados. Después del modelado por el método del AHP fue posible generar mapas con diferentes grados de potencialidades que permitieron averiguar y validar la eficacia de la propuesta por medio de prospección de superficie in situ, indicando o no los compartimentos con la mayor probabilidad para ocurrencia de bienes arqueológicos, ayudando en su protección y preservación. Palabras clave: Análisis jerárquico de procesos (AHP). Modelo predictivo. Mapeo. Sitios arqueológicos. Isla de San Luis.