Progress 02/01/01 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Work was conducted with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Africa Bureau to determine the efficacy of NetWeaver in development of Results Frameworks and for assistance in structuring and evaluating National Environmental Action Plans (NEAP). Additional work was performed with USAID Africa Bureau to train southern African natural resource managers in the use of NetWeaver and Geo-NetWeaver in Johannesburg, SA. Countries represented in this training included Madagascar, Burkina-Faso, Namibia, Botswana, and Uganda. Several working meetings were held in Washington DC, and pilot projects are currently being evaluated for demonstration of the utility of knowledge engineering approaches to assessment of environmental/sociological trends in Africa. Other training sessions were conducted in State College, PA, for natural resource managers from Botswana, and in Dakar, Senegal where all participants were Senegalese. In support of the research with USAID, a social
science model that assesses an African community's capacity to implement natural resource management activities was developed. This model was taken to the field in Zambia, where the investigator participated in the Mid Term Evaluation of the World Bank's Environmental Support Programme. Work with the East Europe/Eurasia Bureau of USAID led to the development of a prototype model for this international region. This model was directed towards a comparison of the ecological sustainability of economic development efforts in the various countries in this region. The Air Quality Information Management System (AQUIMS) was renamed SYNTHESIS in late 1999 and has been adopted as the data management/interpretation standard for the U.S. Dept. of Interior's natural resource management efforts. At the present time, Synthesis Centers are being established for regional support for U.S. Dept. of the Interior installations. Development of the information management system, SYNTHESIS was completed in
2004 and made available for use throughout the National Park Service by moving it to the Internet. SYNTHESIS was made compatible with the TIC data bases of the National Park service in order to more fully integrate the data management standards for park use. GeoNetWeaver was developed to provide a spatial display capability for NetWeaver models. GeoNetWeaver was used by the U.S. Forest Service in its Local Unit Criterion Identification and Development (LUCID) program. Six national forests were identified for pilot model development directed toward determining the extent to which the forests were being sustainably managed. Sociological, economic, and ecological sustainability were developed as components of the overall forest models. A week long workshop was held in 2004 at The Redlands Institute and the headquarters of ESRI to explore how best to implement NetWeaver and GeoNetWeaver into the 'Model Builder' environment of ArcView GIS. Work is underway to use GeoNetWeaver to assist the
Hopewell Big Woods program in development of a long term ecological management framework.
Impacts
Knowledge engineering approaches are emerging as the only method for integrating and interpreting complex multidisciplinary data sets. Ecological analyses, land use planning, pollution assessment, preservation of threatened and endangered species, and environmental maintenance and restoration will all be enhanced by incorporation of this paradigm. The software based modeling approaches developed in support of this project are being used throughout the U.S. Forest Service, USDI National Park Service, and internationally by the US Agency for International Development.
Publications
- Saunders, M. C., Sullivan, T. J., Nash, B. L., Tonnessen, K. A. and Miller, B. J. 2005. A knowledge-based approach for classifying lake water chemistry. Knowledge Based Systems. 18: 47-54.
- Sullivan, T. J., Saunders, M. C., Tonnessen, K. A., Nash, B. L. and Miller, B. J. 2005. Application of a regionalized knowledge-based model for classifying the impacts of nitrogen, sulfur, and organic acids on lakewater chemistry Knowledge Based Systems. Vol 18: 55-68.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
Development of the information management system SYNTHESIS was completed and has been made available for use throughout the National Park Service by moving it to the Internet. SYNTHESIS was made compatible with the TIC data bases of the National Park service in order to more fully integrate the data management standards for park use. GeoNetWeaver was further refined to provide enhanced spatial display capabilities for NetWeaver models. A week long workshop was held at The Redlands Institute and the headquarters of ESRI to explore how best to implement NetWeaver and GeoNetWeaver into the 'Model Builder' environment of ArcView GIS. Work is underway to use GeoNetWeaver to assist the Hopewell Big Woods program in development of a long term ecological management framework.
Impacts
Ecological analyses, land use planning, pollution assessment, preservation of threatened and endangered species, and environmental maintenance and restoration will all be enhanced by incorporation of knowledge-based modeling approaches. The software based modeling approaches developed in support of this project are still being used throughout the U.S. Forest Service, USDI National Park Service, and internationally by the US Agency for International Development. Under new versions of ARC-VIEW geographic information system, NetWeaver and GeoNetWeaver are now compatible with the Model Builder function and therefore available for use by spatial model builders that rely on the ARCVIEW system.
Publications
- Parker, J. K., Saunders, M. C., Miller, B. J. and Tegler, B. 2003. Multivalent Analysis Tools (MATS) Project: A Description of NetWeaver(tm) and GeoNetWeaver(tm) and of the MATS Training Program and Preliminary Outputs, HG-03-109 /September 15, 2003. Georgetown, DE: The Heron Group, LLC http://www.herongroupllc.com/docs/Report109.pdf
- Parker, J. K., Miller, B. J., Saunders, M. C. and McFadden, M. W. 2001. GeoNetWeaver(tm) USAID E&E Bureau SO 1.6 Model an Application in Results-Oriented Planning and Monitoring. HG-01-107 /May 15, 2001. Georgetown, DE: The Heron Group, LLC.http://www.herongroupllc.com/docs/Report107.pdf
- Parker, J. K., Miller, B. J., Saunders, M. C. and McFadden, M. W. 2001. Annotated Briefing NetWeaver(tm) and GeoNetWeaver(tm): Decision Support Tools for Sustainable Development. Kathy Parker, Michael C. Saunders, Bruce J. Miller, and Max W. McFadden HG-01-106 /May 1, 2001. Georgetown, DE: The Heron Group, LLC. http://www.herongroupllc.com/docs/Report106.pdf
- Parker, J. K., Miller, B. J., Saunders, M. C. and McFadden, M. W. 2000. Knowledge Engineering Process Steps: NetWeaver(tm) Applied to Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Africa. HG-00-105 /November 3, 2000. Georgetown, DE: The Heron Group, LLC. http://www.herongroupllc.com/docs/Report105.pdf
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Work was conducted with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Africa Bureau to train natural resource managers in West Africa in the use of NetWeaver and Geo-NetWeaver in Dakar, Senegal. Several working meetings were held in Washington DC, and pilot projects are currently being evaluated for demonstration of the utility of knowledge engineering approaches to assessment of environmental/sociological trends in Africa. SYNTHESIS has been made available for use throughout the National Park Service by moving it to the Internet. Additionally, SYNTHESIS was installed at Valley Forge National Historic Site, and the Penn State SYNTHESIS support center provided internships for two students to travel to Acadia National Park to assist in the entry of park data into SYNTHESIS. GeoNetWeaver was developed to provide a spatial display capability for NetWeaver models. GeoNetWeaver has been incorporated into the Ecosystem Management Decision System, developed by the U.S.
Forest Service, and many units in North America presently use EMDS for the development of natural resource management models.
Impacts
Knowledge engineering approaches are emerging as the only method for integrating and interpreting complex multidisciplinary data sets. Ecological analyses, land use planning, pollution assessment, preservation of threatened and endangered species, and environmental maintenance and restoration will all be enhanced by incorporation of this paradigm. The software based modeling approaches developed in support of this project are being used throughout the U.S. Forest Service, USDI National Park Service, and internationally by the US Agency for International Development.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
Work was conducted with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Africa Bureau to train natural southern African resource managers in the use of NetWeaver and Geo-NetWeaver in Johannesburg, SA. Countries represented in this training included Madagascar, Burkina-Faso, Namibia, Botswana, and Uganda. Several working meetings were held in Washington DC, and pilot projects are currently being evaluated for demonstration of the utility of knowledge engineering approaches to assessment of environmental/sociological trends in Africa. The Air Quality Information Management System (AQUIMS) was renamed SYNTHESIS in late 1999 and has been adopted as the data management/interpretation standard for the U.S. Dept. of Interior's natural resource management efforts. At the present time, Synthesis Centers are being established for regional support for U.S. Dept. of the Interior installations. Penn State has been established as the Synthesis Support Center for the
northeastern United States. GeoNetWeaver was developed to provide a spatial display capability for NetWeaver models. GeoNetWeaver was used by the U.S. Forest Service in its Local Unit Criterion Identification and Development (LUCID) program. Six national forests were identified for pilot model development directed toward determining the extent to which the forests were being sustainably managed. Sociological, economic, and ecological sustainability were developed as components of the overall forest models.
Impacts
Knowledge engineering approaches are emerging as the only method for integrating and interpreting complex multidisciplinary data sets. Ecological analyses, land use planning, pollution assessment, preservation of threatened and endangered species, and environmental maintenance and restoration will all be enhanced by incorporation of this paradigm. The software based modeling approaches developed in support of this project are being used throughout the U.S. Forest Service, USDI National Park Service, and internationally by the US Agency for International Development.
Publications
- Bi, C. 2002. Pattern classification of the 'Rhagoletis pomonella'(Diptera: Tephritidae) species complex. Ph.D. Thesis. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 162 pp.
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Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01
Outputs
Work was conducted with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Africa Bureau to determine the efficacy of NetWeaver in development of Results Frameworks and for assistance in structuring and evaluating National Environmental Action Plans (NEAP). Several working meetings were held in Washington DC, and pilot projects are currently being evaluated for demonstration of the utility of knowledge engineering approaches to assessment of environmental/sociological trends in Africa. In support of the research with USAID, a social science model that assesses an African community's capacity to implement natural resource management activities was developed. This model was taken to the field in Zambia, where the investigator participated in the Mid Term Evaluation of the World Bank's Environmental Support Programme. Feedback from District environmental facilitators and coordinators in Zambia will be used to further refine the model. Work with the East Europe/Eurasia
Bureau of USAID led to the development of a prototype model for this international region. This model was directed towards a comparison of the ecological sustainability of economic development efforts in the various countries in this region. The Air Quality Information Management System (AQUIMS) was renamed SYNTHESIS in late 1999 and has been adopted as the data management/interpretation standard for the U.S. Dept. of Interior's natural resource management efforts. At the present time, Synthesis Centers are being established for regional support for U.S. Department of the Interior installations. GeoNetWeaver was developed to provide a spatial display capability for NetWeaver models. GeoNetWeaver was used by the U.S. Forest Service in its Local Unit Criterion Identification and Development (LUCID) program. Six national forests were identified for pilot model development directed toward determining the extent to which the forests were being sustainably managed. Sociological, economic,
and ecological sustainability were developed as components of the overall forest models.
Impacts
Knowledge engineering approaches are emerging as the only method for integrating and interpreting complex multidisciplinary data sets. Ecological analyses, land use planning, pollution assessment, preservation of threatened and endangered species, and environmental maintenance and restoration will all be enhanced by incorporation of this paradigm. The software based modeling approaches developed in support of this project are being used throughout the U.S. Forest Service, USDI National Park Service, and internationally by the US Agency for International Development.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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