We develop an improved mass tracer for clusters of galaxies from optically observed parameters, and calibrate the mass relation using weak gravitational lensing measurements. We employ a sample of ∼13 000 optically selected clusters from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) maxBCG catalogue, with photometric redshifts in the range 0.1–0.3. The optical tracers we consider are cluster richness, cl...

Mini-grids powered by photovoltaic generators or other renewable energy sources have the potential to bring electricity to the 17% of the world’s population, mainly in rural areas, that are currently un-served. However, designing and managing a mini-grid so that it is reliable and economically sustainable is difficult because of the high variability of demand that arises from the small populati...

In this thesis, we carried out evaluation tests to verify the effectiveness of SDSS: Smart Diet Support System, which has been developed on the basis of our research findings on meal intake and mental alertness. The evaluation tests were planned to verify system effectiveness by score variation of the exams and workbooks distributed in the open market. The results showed that the hypotheses of ...

The realization that GRBs release a constant amount of energy implies that the post jet-break afterglow evolution would be largely universal. For a given redshift all afterglows should be detected up to a fixed observer angle. We estimate the observed magnitude and the implied detectability of orphan afterglows. We show that for reasonable limiting magnitudes (mlim = 25) orphan afterglows would...

This paper describes the application of data mining techniques in a Geo-spatial Decision Support System, which focuses on drought risk management. Association rule discovery is one of the widely used approaches in data mining. This paper highlights the rule discovery algorithms that we have developed and used for discovering useful patterns in ocean parameters and climatic indices to monitor dr...

The Integration of Spatial Analysis Techniques and Decision Support Systems for Natural Resource Management

This paper describes a prototype spatial decision support system (SDSS) designed to assist Housing Choice Voucher Program clients, with the guidance of housing counselors, make better quality decisions about neighborhoods in which to search for rental housing and specific rental units to evaluate for occupancy. This application also serves as a marketing tool for public housing authorities (PHA...

According to choice models in economics, consumer choice can be modeled as a two-stage process, starting with the choice of feasible alternatives, called the screening process, followed by compensatory evaluation of the remaining alternatives. Although spatial decision support systems used in various application areas support the screening process by allowing users to impose constraints on alte...

The framework of a geospatial semantic web-based spatial decision support system for Digital Earth Chuanrong Zhang a; Tian Zhao b;Weidong Li ac a Department of Geography and Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA b Department of Computer Science, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA c College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Ag...

With increased understanding and realisation that climate variability exists at a number of timescales and that climate variability and climate change can impact greatly on any community (i.e., impose major drought periods as well as provide opportunities associated with more beneficial periods), it is not surprising that climate information and climate forecasts have proliferated over past dec...