Statistical Study Based on the Kriging Method and Geographic Mapping in Rigid Pavement Defects in Southern Chile

ASTM D6433 is used to assess the need for maintenance of pavement sections. Although the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) factor calculation method provides reliable values, this method analyzes sections and defects individually and indicates current maintenance needs, but it cannot be used to predict the occurrence of new defects. Therefore, it is necessary to complement this method by considering variables that influence the occurrence of faults, among which are the geospatial distribution and the specific characteristics of the slabs. This research focuses on the identification of multiple types of disturbances that exist in Portland Cement Pavements (PCC), located in a high traffic area in the city of Valdivia (Chile). A spatial geostatistical relationship is established through visual inspection using geographical maps, as well as distribution, using the kriging method. This technique makes use of variograms that allow quantifying the parameters used in this study, thus expressing the spatial autocorrelation of the faults analyzed. From the results obtained by spatial geostatistics and kriging, it is possible to generate a data correlation for the distribution and characteristics of the streets considered. In addition, a co-kriging method is established instead of an ordinary kriging method. The relationship between observed and predicted values improved from 0.3327 to 0.5770. The width of the slabs, as well as some streets, is shown in our analysis to be unimportant. For better model accuracy, the number of covariates associated with the type of vehicle traffic, the age and shape of the slabs, and the construction techniques used for the pavement needs to increase.

The effectiveness of using contemporary techniques in teaching geography from the point of view of public elementary school teachers in Marka Directorate of Jordan: فاعلية استخدام التقنيات المعاصرة في تدريس الجغرافيا من وجهة نظر معلمي المدارس الأساسية الحكومية في لواء ماركا بالأردن

This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of using contemporary techniques in teaching geography course in government basic schools in Marka Directorate of Jordan: 1- That (46 out of 65, and the rate of 70.76%) confirmed the effectiveness of the use of information and communication technology in teaching geography, and that (44 out of 65, and the rate of 67.7%) confirmed the effectiveness of the use of geographical maps in the teaching of geography, and that (43 out of 65, and the rate of 66.15%) They emphasized the effectiveness of the use of geographical information systems in the teaching of geography. 2- That (19 out of 65, and a percentage of 29.24%) confirmed the ineffectiveness of using information and communication technology in teaching geography, and that (21 out of 65, and a percentage of 32.3%) confirmed the ineffectiveness of using geographical maps in teaching geography, and that (22 out of 65, and a percentage of 33.85%) confirmed the ineffectiveness of using geographical information systems in teaching geography. In light of the results, a number of recommendations and suggestions were presented, including: developing the skills of geography teachers to use information and communication, geographic maps, and geographical information systems in teaching.

Solar Monitoring of the NEXRAD WSR-88D Network using Operational Scan Data

Solar monitoring is a method in which solar interferences, recorded during operational scanning of a radar, are used to monitor antenna pointing, identify signal processor issues, track receiver chain stability, and check the balance between horizontal and vertical polarization receive channels. The method is used by Eumetnet to monitor more than 100 radars in twenty European countries and it has been adopted by many national weather services across the world. NEXRAD is a network of 160 similar S-band weather radars (WSR-88Ds), which makes it most suitable for assessing the capability of the solar monitoring method on a continental scale. The NEXRAD Level-II data contain radial-by-radial noise power estimates. An increase in this estimate is observed when the antenna points close to the sun. Our decoding software extracts these noise power estimates for the horizontal and vertical receive channels (converted to solar flux units) and other relevant metadata, including azimuth, elevation, observation time and radar location. Here we present results of analyzing one year of solar-monitoring data generated by 142 radars from the contiguous United States. We show monitoring results, geographical maps, and statistical outcomes on antenna pointing, solar fluxes, and differential reflectivity biases. We also assess the quality of the radars by defining a Figure of Merit, which is calculated from the solar monitoring results. The results demonstrate that the solar method provides great benefit for routine monitoring and harmonization of national and transnational operational radar networks.

The Evaluation of the Fourth Grade Students' Performance in Preparing and Drawing Maps of Iraq

The aim of the research is to evaluate the performance of fourth grade students in departments of Geography in drawing geographical maps and identifying geographical phenomena in a precise scientific manner, with emphasis on the need to use (map elements) in drawing. The map of Iraq was the sample used in the research. The researcher adopted the field study (tests) in the department of Geography in three colleges at University of Baghdad, namely (Arts, Education (Ibn Rushd), and Education for Girls). The sample size was about (125) students in each department, so the total number of students was (375) students, which contributed to give a clear picture about students' performance. The main point at which the research reached is that there are good aspects in drawing maps and identifying geographical phenomena, but not at the required level. Still some other aspects are met with a great failure due to a number of reasons such as adopting old methods, the lack of financial support, and the lack of new scientific programs which contribute in raising the level of students' performance in drawing maps. Another reasons why students are not at the required level is ascribed to the fact of not adopting the tests in drawing maps, and also the absence of specialized professors as in the Department of Geography (College of Education for Girls).

Perubahan Baseline Negara Kepulauan Akibat Perubahan Iklim dalam Hukum Internasional

Climate change is a natural phenomenon that occur through a complicated and an evolutionary process. The impact of such natural phenomena is expected to shift the state's baseline following the geographical condition, consequently, it will also change the maritime zone owned by the state. The Law of the Sea has not regulated such impacts of the shifting baselines caused by natural phenomena which indicates a legal vacuum on this matter. This legal research examines the regulations and its implications which can be the basis of an archipelagic state’s shifting baselines coverage due to natural phenomena. States have the discretion to establish their coordinates point and geographical maps, moreover, based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), States are required to make official map deposits to the United Nations Secretary-General. The deposited baseline is permanent as long as the state does not make any updates.Keywords: Baseline; Climate Change; Archipelagic States; Law of The Sea.AbstrakPermukaan air laut yang meningkat menjadi salah satu akibat dari perubahan iklim. Fenomena meningkatnya permukaan air laut merupakan peristiwa alami yang terjadi secara evolusi sehingga proses terjadinya memerlukan jangka waktu yang lama. Dampak dari fenomena alam tersebut dapat mengakibatkan terjadinya pergeseran baseline negara mengikuti kondisi geografis yang terdampak sehingga terjadi perubahan wilayah negara atas laut. Hukum Laut belum mengatur mengenai kemungkinan terjadinya pergeseran baseline akibat fenomena alam ini sehingga merupakan suatu kekosongan hukum yang dapat menjadi potensi sengketa antar negara. Penelitian ini mengkaji atas dampak dan pengaturan yang dapat menjadi landasan apabila terjadi perubahan baseline negara terutama negara kepulauan seperti Indonesia yang sangat rentan akibat fenomena alam. Setiap Negara memiliki diskresi untuk menetapkan koordinat serta peta geografisnya mengingat kondisi wilayah yang berbeda-beda, dan berdasarkan Konvensi Hukum Laut 1982 (UNCLOS 1982), negara wajib melakukan deposit peta resmi ke Sekretaris Jenderal PBB. Baseline yang telah didepositkan merupakan baseline yang tetap selama negara tidak melakukan pembaharuan.Kata Kunci: Baseline; Perubahan Iklim; Negara Kepulauan; Hukum Laut.

Geographic analysis of military health system (MHS) buprenorphine prescribers and patients

Objective: To demonstrate the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the military health system (MHS), geographically map OUD patients and providers, and offer policy recommendations to help increase buprenorphine waiver prescribing.Design: This study was a retrospective review of data from the MHS records. Deidentified records of MHS OUD patients receiving buprenorphine were utilized. Secondary data with nonpersonally identifiable information (PII) were used for pulling records of buprenorphine prescribing providers within the direct care system (MHS providers) and providers from the purchased care system (civilian facilities accepting TRICARE beneficiaries).Setting: This study reviewed records of individuals within the MHS, in the United States, and its territories.Patients and participants: Patients within the MHS system with a diagnosis of OUD. Providers, within the MHS or purchased care, who had prescribed buprenorphine were selected.Main outcome measured: The number of OUD patients in the MHS and providers caring for these OUD patients. In addition, geographical maps illustrating the dispersion of OUD patients, and prescribers were created.Results: The vast majority of MHS OUD patients receive their care from purchase care. Between 2015 and 2018, there has been a shift in the number OUD diagnosed patients by region, and the number of OUD prescribers.Conclusion: The MHS population, particularly active duty, is a transient population. As such, it is not a surprise that the population of OUD patients or prescribers varied by region during that time period. Furthermore, results demonstrate that there is a need to increase the number of buprenorphine-waivered prescribers within the MHS. Changes in policy may encourage more providers to obtain the waiver or increase patient load.

Scientific Libraries of Yakutia in the Pre-Revolutionary Period (1853—1917)

The article considers the history of foundation and development of scientific libraries in Yakutia. In many ways, the opening of libraries was caused by the scientific interest in Siberia, the emergence of scientific and cultural-educational societies. Libraries strengthened the status of the societies and provided information support for their activities. The first scientific libraries were opened at the Yakut Regional Statistical Committee (1853), the Yakut Regional Museum (1891), the Yakut Department of the Agricultural Society (1899) and the Yakut Branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1913).The article notes the contribution of the State Public Scientific and Technical Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Library of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to the study of history of libraries and librarianship in Siberia, including Yakutia. Particularly, the author describes the influence of political exiles on the formation of libraries and the development of culture in the region. The author focuses on the activities of the Yakut Regional Statistical Committee, which established one of the first special libraries, which later became the main one for scientific libraries. The article considers its activities as an integral part of scientific research in the Eastern Siberia, since the Committee not only collected statistical data on the region, but also supported research institutions, took part in organizing expeditions to study the region, etc. The author describes the role of the Secretary of the Committee, S.F. Saulsky, in the ordering and systematization of the library’s collection, as well as the role of A.I. Popov, state councillor, full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, in the organization of the Yakut Regional Museum. The article reveals the activities of the museum library on selection of books and periodicals of scientific societies, Sibirika, local history literature and manuals for the identification of collections and their systematization. The library kept valuable materials: manuscripts, archival files, geographical maps, route maps, plans of cities, villages, dwellings of foreigners, etc. Academic expeditions of the 18th — first half of the 19th century made an invaluable contribution to the study of Siberia; and the Academy of Sciences gradually transferred the functions of specialized stationary scientific body to the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. The author attempts to trace the origins of the library at the Yakut Branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Attention is paid to the activities of the governor of affairs N.N. Gribanovsky, who identified one of the main directions of the library activity — creation of local history reference and bibliographic apparatus that reflects the literature about Yakutia.The article notes the general trends of scientific libraries: insufficient financing; acquisitions mostly consisted of donations and book exchange; involvement of political exiles in the work; limited access of readers (only for the staff or members of societies). The author reveals the fate of the first scientific libraries, whose collections were distributed among the libraries of Yakutsk and partially preserved in the historically formed library holdings.

Application of GIS and Earth Remote Sensing Data for the Evaluation of the Spatiotemporal Spread of Rabies in Eastern Trans-Baikal Region

The aim of the study was to improve monitoring of natural foci of rabies based on the use of modern technologies of cartographic analysis.Materials and methods. A retrospective study was carried out on the data of official registration of rabies in the Trans-Baikal Territory (Eastern Trans-Baikal Region) for 1950–2020. The spatial spread of rabies among animals was compared for two time periods: 1972–1978 (n=157 cases) and 2014–2020 (n=61 cases). Software packages QGIS 3.16.0, ArcMap 10.8.1, ArcScene 10.8.1 and electronic landscape-geographical maps of the world “Natural Earth”, “OpenStreetMap” were used for the mapping. Analyzed territorial units (ATUs) tied to a degree grid (0,5º × 0,5º) were marked on the cartograms. The interdependence between the localization of rabies cases and landscape elements was assessed statistically, comparing between the rabies free and the rabies affected ATUs.Results and discussion. Differences in the landscape confinedness of rabies epizootics in Eastern Trans-Baikal Region at different periods of time have been established. Until 1983, dog rabies prevailed, and epizootics spread beyond the forest-steppe zone. In 1984–2013 rabies among animals was not recorded. In 2014–2020 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were the main source of the rabies virus. The area of the epizootic has more than halved in comparison with 1972–1978. The main manifestations of rabies were observed at the junction of lowland and mountainous, steppe and forest areas. The rabies affected ATUs were characterized by more pronounced landscape variables. Possible routes of cross-border spread of the rabies virus have been identified. The connection between the features of the spatiotemporal spread of rabies and genetic variants of the virus, climate change, animal migrations and anthropogenic factors in Eastern Trans-Baikal Region in 1950–2020 is discussed. The results of the study are proposed to be used to adjust the programs for barrier oral vaccination of the foxes.