Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “rural communities”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

Improving Student Achievement in Math and Science

As the new millennium approaches, a long anticipated reckoning for the education system of the United States is forthcoming, Years of school reform initiatives have not yielded the anticipated results. A particularly perplexing problem involves the lack of significant improvement of student achievement in math and science. Three "Partnership" projects represent collaborative efforts between Xavier University (XU) of Louisiana, Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO), Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Stennis Space Center (SSC), to enhance student achievement in math and science. These "Partnerships" are focused on students and teachers in federally designated rural and urban empowerment zones and enterprise communities. The major goals of the "Partnerships" include: (1) The identification and dissemination of key indices of success that account for high performance in math and science; (2) The education of pre-service and in-service secondary teachers in knowledge, skills, and competencies that enhance the instruction of high school math and science; (3) The development of faculty to enhance the quality of math and science courses in institutions of higher education; and (4) The incorporation of technology-based instruction in institutions of higher education. These goals will be achieved by the accomplishment of the following objectives: (1) Delineate significant ?best practices? that are responsible for enhancing student outcomes in math and science; (2) Recruit and retain pre-service teachers with undergraduate degrees in Biology, Math, Chemistry, or Physics in a graduate program, culminating with a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction; (3) Provide faculty workshops and opportunities for travel to professional meetings for dissemination of NASA resources information; (4) Implement methodologies and assessment procedures utilizing performance-based applications of higher order thinking via the incorporation of Global Learning Observations To Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), Mission to Planet Earth and the use of Geographic Imaging Systems into the K-12th grade curriculum.

Sullivan, Nancy G.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Identifying Geographic Areas at Risk of Soil-transmitted Helminthes Infection Using Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems: Boaco, Nicaragua as a Case Study

Several types of intestinal nematodes, that can infect humans and specially school-age children living in poverty, develop part of their life cycle in soil. Presence and survival of these parasites in the soil depend on given environmental characteristics like temperature and moisture that can be inferred with remote sensing (RS) technology. Prevalence of diseases caused by these parasitic worms can be controlled and even eradicated with anthelmintic drug treatments and sanitation improvement. Reliable and updated identification of geographic areas at risk is required to implement effective public health programs; to calculate amount of drug required and to distribute funding for sanitation projects. RS technology and geographical information systems (GIS) will be used to analyze for associations between in situ prevalence and remotely sensed data in order to establish RS proxies of environmental parameters that indicate the presence of these parasits. In situ data on helminthisasis will be overlaid over an ecological map derived from RS data using ARC Map 9.3 (ESRI). Temperature, vegetation, and distance to bodies of water will be inferred using data from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat TM and ETM+. Elevation will be estimated with data from The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Prevalence and intensity of infections are determined by parasitological survey (Kato Katz) of children enrolled in rural schools in Boaco, Nicaragua, in the communities of El Roblar, Cumaica Norte, Malacatoya 1, and Malacatoya 2). This study will demonstrate the importance of an integrated GIS/RS approach to define clusters and areas at risk. Such information will help to the implementation of time and cost efficient control programs and sanitation efforts.

Moreno, Max J.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analysis of Association Between Remotely Sensed (RS) Data and Soil Transmitted Helminthes Infection Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS): Boaco, Nicaragua

Soil-transmitted helminths are intestinal nematodes that can infect all members of a population but specially school-age children living in poverty. Infection can be significantly reversed with anthelmintic drug treatments and sanitation improvement. Implementation of effective public health programs requires reliable and updated information to identify areas at higher risk and to calculate amount of drug required. Geo-referenced in situ prevalence data will be overlaid over an ecological map derived from RS data using ARC Map 9.3 (ESRI). Prevalence data and RS data matching at the same geographical location will be analyzed for correlation and those variables from RS data that better correlate with prevalence will be included in a multivariate regression model. Temperature, vegetation, and distance to bodies of water will be inferred using data from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat TM and ETM+. Elevation will be estimated with data from The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Prevalence and intensity of infections are determined by parasitological survey (Kato Katz) of children enrolled in rural schools in Boaco, Nicaragua, in the communities of El Roblar, Cumaica Norte, Malacatoya 1, and Malacatoya 2). This study will demonstrate the importance of an integrated GIS/RS approach to define sampling clusters without the need for any ground-based survey. Such information is invaluable to identify areas of high risk and to geographically target control programs that maximize cost-effectiveness and sanitation efforts.

MorenoMadrinan, Max J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A telemedicine health care delivery system

The Interactive Telemedicine Systems (ITS) system was specifically developed to address the ever widening gap between our medical care expertise and our medical care delivery system. The frustrating reality is that as our knowledge of how to diagnose and treat medical conditions has continued to advance, the system to deliver that care has remained in an embryonic stage. This has resulted in millions of people being denied their most basic health care needs. Telemedicine utilizes an interactive video system integrated with biomedical telemetry that allows a physician at a base station specialty medical complex or teaching hospital to examine and treat a patient at multiple satellite locations, such as rural hospitals, ambulatory health centers, correctional institutions, facilities caring for the elderly, community hospital emergency departments, or international health facilities. Based on the interactive nature of the system design, the consulting physician at the base station can do a complete history and physical examination, as if the patient at the satellite site was sitting in the physician's office. This system is described.

Sanders, Jay H.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Non-Official Roads Dilemma in Amazonia

At the beginning of this millennium, "non-official" roads predominate in Amazonia. The opening of these roads, a phenomenon that has not been studied in depth, represents a major dilemma - it generates environmental and social impacts, but it helps to reduce the isolation of the communities in Amazonia and to improve the quality of life for those rural populations. The combined positive and negative aspects of this dilemma mean that it is a matter of crucial importance for the government at last to do a proper job in building these roads; if this is disregarded, in the future, the environment and the Brazilians living in that region will be at risk.

Perz, Stephen G.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Advanced Life Systems for Extreme Environments: An Arctic Application

The problems of obtaining adequate pure drinking water and disposing of liquid and solid waste in the U.S. Arctic, a region where virtually all water is frozen solid for much of the year, has led to unsanitary solutions (U.S. Arctic Research Commission). These solutions are also damaging to the environment. Sanitation and a safe water supply are particularly problems in rural villages. About one-fourth of Alaska's 86.000 Native residents live in these communities. They are without running water and use plastic buckets for toilets. The outbreak of diseases is believed to be partially attributable to exposure to human waste. Villages with the most frequent outbreaks of disease are those in which running water is difficult to obtain (Office of Technology Assessment, 1994). Waste is emptied into open lagoons, rivers, or onto the sea coast. It does not degrade rapidly and in addition to affecting human health, can be harmful to the fragile ecology of the Arctic and the indigenous wildlife and fish populations. Advanced Life Systems for Extreme Environments (ALSEE) provides a solution to sanitation and safe water problems. The system uses an advanced integrated technology developed for Antarctic and space applications. ALSEE uses the systems approach to address more than waste and water problems. By incorporating hydroponic horticulture and aquaculture into the waste treatment system, ALSEE addresses the quality and quantity of fresh foods available to Arctic residents. A temperate climate is required for year-round plant growth. ALSEE facilities can be designed to include a climate controlled area within the structure. This type of environment is a change from the long periods of darkness and cold found in the Arctic and can help alleviate stress so often associated with these extremes. While the overall concept of ALSEE projects is advanced, system facilities can be operated by village residents with appropriate training. ALSEE provides continuing training and education as a part of the project. Not only is this desirable but necessary. There is ample evidence in "gravoyard" throughout rural Alaska of technologies which failed not because they were not applic4tble, but because they were not integrated and could not be operated or repaired by village residents. Waste streams in villages will vary depending on the human diet and the non-food waste stream. ALSEE units can be adapted to different village situations once the content of the waste stream is known. Units located in population hubs can serve as research, education. and demonstration centers. Appropriate modifications can be determined at these centers to transfer technology to more remote locations where waste stream conditions may differ.

Lewis, Carol E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Results of thin-route satellite communication system analyses including estimated service costs

Ways for determining optimum satellite and terrestrial system architectures and parameters for providing the most economical telephone service to remote areas of the U.S. are explored. Several configurations for an isolated rural telephone system, covering all the states plus Alaska, employing satellites is considered. Both direct-to-the-user and community-type of systems are evaluated using UHF and Ku-band RF equipment for the rural/satellite links. The effect of multiple spot beams, outage, signal quality, modulation method, satellite accessing, forward error correction, and the number of users are also evaluated. The total cost for a 5-minute call from an isolated rural user to a TELCO user was shown to be as low as $1.30 for a system with 1.8 X 10 to the sixth rural users.

Wright, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Rural Outreach Project

The Rural Outreach Project was designed to increase the diversity of NASA's workforce by: 1) Conducting educational research designed to investigate the most effective strategies for expanding innovative, NASA-sponsored pre-college programs into rural areas; 2) Field-testing identified rural intervention strategies; 3) Implementing expanded NASA educational programs to include 300 rural students who are disabled, female and/or minority; and 4) Disseminating project strategies. The Project was a partnership that included NASA Langley Research Center's Office of Education, Norfolk State University, Cooperative Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering (CHROME) and Paul D. Camp Community College. There were four goals and activities identified for this project; 1) Ascertain effective strategies for expanding successful NASA-sponsored urban-based, pre-college programs into rural settings; 2) Field test identified rural intervention strategies; 3) Publish or disseminate two reports, concerning project research and activities at a national conference; 4) Provide educational outreach to 300, previously underserved, rural students who are disabled, female and /or minority.

Coleman, Clarence D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Community Noise Impact of Urban Air Mobility Vehicle Operations

Advanced air mobility (AAM) missions, carried out by electrically driven air vehicles, are characterized by ranges of less than about 300-500 nm (about 500-900 km) and include both rural and urban operations. The missions may include public transportation, cargo delivery, air taxi, and emergency response. While the urban air mobility (UAM) subset of AAM is projected to have high economic benefit, it is also the most difficult to develop because it must overcome many barriers, including those associated with the airspace system, safety, and community noise. This presentation focuses on the utilization of UAM source noise data for assessment of community noise impact. Although a limited number of acoustic flight measurement campaigns have been made to characterize the source noise of prototype and preproduction UAM aircraft, prediction-based approaches are primarily considered herein. Following conceptual design, in which the vehicle is appropriately sized for its intended mission, a comprehensive analysis must be performed for a range of operating conditions spanning the flight envelope to determine the corresponding configurations of the vehicle, that is, the trimmed states. For each trimmed state, the noise produced by each source, for example, steady and unsteady rotor noise, may be computed and so-called source noise (hemi)spheres generated. These source data may subsequently be used in various community noise impact analyses. Several use cases are presented including those supporting noise certification and those for auralizations that may, in turn, be used as part of a perception-influenced design process. Land use planning tools for generating noise exposure maps, including those using simulation and integrated modeling approaches, are also presented. Finally, use cases supporting development of low noise flight operations, including an acoustic flight simulator and acoustically aware flight control, are considered.

aircraft community noise↗
NASA NTRS1975

Use of communications

Progress in the field of satellite communications is reviewed, and useful services which may be provided by future satellite communications systems are considered. Recommendations are made with regard to mobile communications for use on land and at sea, position determination, mineral and energy exploration, the possibility of using electronic means to assist in main delivery, education and health-care experiments, and the use of satellite telecommunications to enhance the quality of life in rural areas by making available a full range of educational and entertainment programs. The needs of the amateur radio community are also considered.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1979

Description of photovoltaic village power systems in the United States and Africa

Photovoltaic power systems in remote villages in the United States and Africa are described. These projects were undertaken to demonstrate that existing photovoltaic system technology is capable of providing electrical power for basic domestic services for the millions of small, remote communities in both developed and developing countries. One system is located in the Papago Indian Village of Schuchuli in southwest Arizona (U. S.) and became operational 16 December 1978. The other system is located in Tangaye, a rural village in Upper Volta, Africa. It became operational 1 March 1979. The Schuchuli system has a 3.5 kW (peak) solar array which provides electric power for village water pumping, a refrigerator for each family, lights in the village buildings, and a community washing machine and sewing machine. The 1.8 kW (peak) Tangaye system provides power for community water pumping, flour milling and lights in the milling building. These are both stand-alone systems (i.e., no back-up power source) which are being operated and maintained by local personnel. Both systems are instrumented. Systems operations are being monitored by NASA to measure design adequacy and to refine designs for future systems.

Ratajczak, A. F.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Urban Air Mobility Community Noise Test Planning

The term “Advanced Air Mobility” has been adopted by NASA to describe safe, sustainable, affordable, and accessible aviation for transformational local and intraregional missions. By this definition, Advanced Air Mobility includes both “rural” and “urban” applications including cargo and passenger transport missions, and other aerial missions (e.g., infrastructure inspection). There will be a range of aircraft types performing such missions, including small and medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), electric Conventional Takeoff and Landing (eCTOL) aircraft, and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is a challenging use case for transporting cargo and passengers in an urban environment and is a new opportunity for aviation that could revolutionize the transportation system. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Noise Division of the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Environment and Energy have initiated discussions for planning UAM community noise test(s) at the end of this decade. This presentation discusses the test goals, candidate test objectives, and some of activities needed in preparation for the test(s). It also draws distinctions between the type of study envisioned (observational vs. staged), and between it and recent and planned studies on large fixed-wing transports and commercial supersonic transports.

urban air mobility↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Monitoring Trends in Air Quality During a Drought: Case Study to Improve Public Health Response to Drought Threats

Drought has been an area of distinct concern in the Pacific Northwest since the mid-2010s. Recent studies have documented a correlation between air quality and drought in the United States, which is often observed in increased aerosols including airborne particulate matter (PM). This study partnered with the Oregon Health Authority and Washington State Department of Health to evaluate trends in air quality in the Pacific Northwest during the evolution of drought conditions using aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations collected by NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites. These satellite data were analyzed in conjunction with ground-based PM2.5 and PM10 data sourced from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality System’s network of ground-based monitors and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index drought index. Based on recommendations by local health departments, this study examined air quality trends between 2015 and 2022 in 12 counties within Oregon and Washington that reflected diversity in population density, drought exposure, rural and urban status, and data availability from EPA AQS monitors. The findings from this study provided supplemental information to the ongoing efforts by community health stakeholders to study the public health impacts of drought and support public health responses to future drought events.

Taylor West↗
NASA NTRS1997

Application of NASA's Advanced Life Support Technologies in Polar Regions

The problems of obtaining adequate pure drinking water and disposing of liquid and solid waste in the U.S Arctic, a region where virtually all water is frozen solid for much of the year, has led to unsanitary solutions. Sanitation and a safe water supply are particularly problems in rural villages. These villages are without running water and use plastic buckets for toilets. The outbreak of diseases is believed to be partially attributable to exposure to human waste and lack of sanitation. Villages with the most frequent outbreaks of disease are those in which running water is difficult to obtain. Waste is emptied into open lagoons, rivers, or onto the sea coast. It does not degrade rapidly and in addition to affecting human health, can be harmful to the fragile ecology of the Arctic and the indigenous wildlife and fish populations. Current practices for waste management and sanitation pose serious human hazards as well as threaten the environment. NASA's unique knowledge of water/wastewater treatment systems for extreme environments, identified in the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment report entitled An Alaskan Challenge: Native Villagt Sanitation, may offer practical solutions addressing the issues of safe drinking water and effective sanitation practices in rural villages. NASA's advanced life support technologies are being combined with Arctic science and engineering knowledge to address the unique needs of the remote communities of Alaska through the Advanced Life Systems for Extreme Environments (ALSEE) project. ALSEE is a collaborative effort involving the NASA, the State of Alaska, the University of Alaska, the North Slope Borough of Alaska, Ilisagvik College in Barrow and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The focus is a major issue in the State of Alaska and other areas of the Circumpolar North; the health and welfare of its people, their lives and the subsistence lifestyle in remote communities, economic opportunity, and care for the environment. As advanced technologies are transferred to the commercial sector the ALSEE project Offers the potential for development of new industries in Alaska to supply the products to support remote communities of the globe.

Bubenheim, David L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

AAM NC Tech Talk: Intro to Amazon Web Services

The purpose of this Tech Talk is to engage with the Advance Air Mobility National Campaign community on the use of a cloud provider to promote public confidence and accelerate the realization of emerging aviation markets for passenger and cargo transportation in urban, suburban, rural, and regional environments.

AWS↗
NASA NTRS1991

The Canadian experience: Using telemedicine for the support of medical care at remote sites

While the majority of Canadians live in a narrow strip about 200 miles wide just north of the 45th parallel, a significant proportion of the population lives in non-urban, remote and sometimes isolated areas. Given this widely dispersed population, the provision of health services has always been a challenge. A list of non-urban health needs include the following: consulting services; clinical laboratory resources; investigative techniques (e.g., EEG, radiology, ultrasound, nuclear medicine); continuing education for physicians, nurses and other health professionals; teaching and training programs for administrative and support staff (dietary, housekeeping, maintenance); community health education and improved general education for health workers and families. For nearly three decades physicians and other health care professionals in the United States and Canada have been exploring the application of telecommunications to health care in rural and remote areas. The terms telemedicine and telehealth are used interchangeably to describe this activity. The prefix 'tele' refers to distance and now includes all types of communication over distance that support health care and health educational programs. Actually, telemedicine is as old as the telephone, which is still the most widely used communications technology in health care.

House, Maxwell↗
NASA NTRS2024

Cali Urban Development II: Investigating the Impacts of Land Use Change on Urban Heat and Social Vulnerability in Cali, Colombia

The surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect is an environmental phenomenon resulting in cities with higher temperatures than rural areas due to increased pavement and decreased cooling from vegetation. The city of Santiago de Cali in Colombia faces SUHI challenges exacerbated by land use change. The Cali municipal government agency, Departamento Administrativo de Gestión del Medio Ambiente, and the community organization Fundacion Dinamizadores Ambientales partnered with NASA DEVELOP to evaluate communities in Cali most vulnerable to urban heat. This project illustrated the utility of using NASA Earth observations to evaluate the relationship between land use, temperature, and social factors in Cali, Colombia between 2013 and 2023. The team used Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), and Landsat 9 OLI-2/TIRS-2 to generate land surface temperature (LST) maps in Google Earth Engine through NASA DEVELOP’s Urban Heat Exposure Assessment Tempe 2.0 tool. Cloud cover limited the project feasibility, but it improved with Landsat 9 data. In ArcGIS Pro, the team found that LST was significantly higher in urban areas than in wetlands or forests. Using R Studio, the team ran a principal component analysis and found that health care and green space access were negatively correlated, and Afro-Colombian ethnicity was positively correlated with LST. With knowledge of the most impacted and vulnerable regions, the partner organizations can prioritize establishing healthcare facilities and green spaces in those areas to reduce the impacts of urban heat.

vegetation loss↗
NASA NTRS2020

Cambridge Urban Development - Quantifying Changes in Urban Albedo with NASA Earth Observations to Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect in Cambridge, Massachusetts

The urban heat island (UHI) effect occurs when urban areas have temperatures that are warmer on average than the surrounding suburban and rural regions. Low albedo surfaces traditionally found in urban landscapes, such as dark asphalt and rooftops, absorb solar irradiance and reemit heat, which contributes to the UHI effect. Cambridge,Massachusetts,part of the Boston metropolitan area,expects severe impacts on human health,infrastructure, and local environmental features due to increasing urban heat. The Massachusetts – Boston NASA DEVELOP team partnered with the City of Cambridge Community Development Department and the American Geophysical Union’s Thriving Earth Exchange to inform ongoing planning and heat mitigation efforts. High Resolution Orthoimagery (HRO) and National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) scenes were analyzed in conjunction with ancillary datasets to assess changes in rooftop albedo between 2008 and 2018. Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data were used to determine nighttime land surface temperature (LST) between 2003 and 2019. Lastly, temperature anomalies were calculated using seasonally averaged nighttime LST values obtained from Aqua MODIS to display ‘hot spots’ for summers between 2004 and 2019. On average, albedo increased by 0.12 across the city, with the majority of positive change in commercial areas. Analysis of mean summer nighttime LST between 2003 and 2019 revealed a non-significant increase in temperature, although temperature anomaly maps demonstrated that Cambridge was warmer on average than rural areas. These results were incorporated in the interactive Cambridge Urban Heat Dashboard, which allows users to explore temporal trends in albedo.

Nicole Ramberg-Pihl↗