bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and correlates of non-medical stimulants and related drug use in a sample of South African undergraduate medical students
Authors: Retief Mari , Verster Chris
Published: June 2016

Background: The non-medical use of prescription psychostimulants or cognitive-enhancing substances among healthy college students is a growing concern. This use appears to be particularly high among medical students. To our knowledge, no literature is available on the non-medical use of stimulants among South African medical students.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and correlates of non-medical stimulant use as well as subjective opinion on peer numbers using stimulants and university attitude towards stimulant use among a sample of South African undergraduate medical students.

Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted by means of a self-report questionnaire. Second- and fourth-year medical students (n = 252) completed the questionnaire.

Results: Of the sample, 44 (18%) reported a lifetime use of stimulants for non-medical purposes and 33 (85%) of this group reported use within the past year. A total of six (2%) students reported a diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In the group without a diagnosis of ADHD, non-medical stimulant use was associated with the year of study (p = 0.03) and illicit substance use (p = 0.01). Most of the students in this group (31, 32%) reported using stimulants to improve concentration.

Conclusion: Non-medical use of stimulants to improve concentration and academic performance is prevalent among the South African medical students sampled in this study. Further research at other institutions and under non-medical students would be helpful to assess the scope of this phenomenon.
Integrated sensor network for monitoring steel corrosion in concrete structures
Authors: Ramón José Enrique , Gandía-Romero José Manuel , Valcuende Manuel , Bataller Román
Published: June 2016

Corrosion is one of the main triggering factors affecting the service life and durability of structures. Several methods are used for corrosion studies but electrochemical techniques are the most commonly applied. Corrosion processes monitoring and control by means of non-destructive techniques, such as the implementation of embedded sensors, has been the target of many works.  It is possible to obtain relevant information of structural corrosion processes in real time. This document describes a system including specific equipment and which allows obtaining relevant information about these corrosion processes. This system is formed by a sensor network. There are several types of electrodes, which are distributed throughout the structure under study and a specific equipment developed by the research group, which is used to determine pertinent parameters such as the corrosion potential (Ecorr) and the corrosion density (icorr) by applying sequences of potentiostatic pulses. The system allows to reliably determine the corrosion rate in different areas of the structure. The sensor, due to its configuration, provides information of a specific area of the structure, but on the other hand it is involved in the galvanic events that can occur along the structure by differential aeration, galvanic cells, etc. because the sensor is not isolated from the structure.  This system also procures information of buried and submerged elements. Besides, it is possible to obtain information related to temperature, concrete resistance. The system includes specific potentiometric sensors to monitor chloride access and carbonatation processes.
Adventures of a Postmodern Historian
Authors: Rosenstone Robert A.
Published: June 2016

Robert Rosenstone was among the first ‘postmodern’ historians, and remains one of the most renowned. In this honest, revealing and often funny memoir, he shows us how he got there and why.

Adventures of a Postmodern Historian chronicles Rosenstone’s research journeys over half a century. Beginning in the 1960s, his offbeat trajectory took him on adventures through the police states of Franco Spain and the Soviet Union, to the Shinto shrines and Zen temples of Japan and finally to Hollywood. Alongside his own memoirs, Rosenstone reflects upon developments and changes within the realm of professional history, which in turn reflect the social, cultural, and intellectual shifts of the late 20th century. As a pioneer of experimental and creative history, he offers a defence of professional history that is both intellectually rigorous and entertaining, in defiance of the ‘traditional’ – and more limited – way of writing history. In doing so he offers an analysis of the state of history today – and a guide for how we should study and research it.

This is a book about the craft of history, about writing history and about research. It should be required reading for all historians.
Jojoën tussen u en je
Authors: Vismans Roel
Published: June 2016

Balancing between formal and familiar: about the dynamics of address pronouns in the radio show Casa Luna

This article concerns forms of address in Dutch and more specifically switching between formal and informal address forms in dialogue. As a mechanism for establishing politeness between conversation participants, the use of address forms is constantly subject to negotiation and renegotiation, not unlike the mixing of address forms in the medieval and early modern period. Sometimes switches between address forms can be the result of confusion, e.g. because of cultural differences between speakers, but more often they are used strategically to effect style changes and thus express affect. Switches are also used in irony and banter, which can be seen as specific instances of such style changes. Data for the study are drawn from 45-minute radio interviews which are subjected to a qualitative analysis.
Taklimakan Desert nocturnal low-level jet: climatology and dust activity
Authors: Ge Jin Ming , Liu Huayue , Huang Jianping , Fu Qiang
Published: June 2016

Abstract. While nocturnal low-level jets (NLLJs) occur frequently in many parts of the world, the occurrence and other detailed characteristics of NLLJs over the Taklimakan Desert (TD) are not well known. This paper presents a climatology of NLLJs and coincident dust over the TD by analyzing multi-year ERA-Interim reanalysis and satellite observations. It is found that the ERA-Interim dataset can capture the NLLJs' features well by comparison with radiosonde data from two surface sites. The NLLJs occur in more than 60 % of nights, which are primarily easterly to east-northeasterly. They typically appear at 100 to 400 m above the surface with a speed of 4 to 10 m s−1. Most NLLJs are located above the nocturnal inversion during the warm season, while they are embedded in the inversion layer during the cold season. NLLJs above the inversion have a strong annual cycle with a maximum frequency in August. We also quantify the convective boundary layer (CBL) height and construct an index to measure the magnitude of the momentum in the CBL. We find that the magnitude of momentum in the lower atmosphere from the top of the surface layer to the top of mixed layer is larger for NLLJ cases than for non-NLLJ cases, and in the warm season the downward momentum transfer process is more intense and rapid. The winds below the NLLJ core to the desert surface gain strength in summer and autumn, and these summer and autumn winds are coincident with an enhancement of aerosol optical depth. This indicates that the NLLJ is an important mechanism for dust activity and transport during the warm season over the Taklimakan.
A comparison of two methods for detecting abrupt changes in the variance of climatic time series
Authors: Rodionov Sergei N.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Two methods for detecting abrupt shifts in the variance – Integrated Cumulative Sum of Squares (ICSS) and Sequential Regime Shift Detector (SRSD) – have been compared on both synthetic and observed time series. In Monte Carlo experiments, SRSD outperformed ICSS in the overwhelming majority of the modeled scenarios with different sequences of variance regimes. The SRSD advantage was particularly apparent in the case of outliers in the series. On the other hand, SRSD has more parameters to adjust than ICSS, which requires more experience from the user in order to select those parameters properly. Therefore, ICSS can serve as a good starting point of a regime shift analysis. When tested on climatic time series, in most cases both methods detected the same change points in the longer series (252–787 monthly values). The only exception was the Arctic Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) series, when ICSS found one extra change point that appeared to be spurious. As for the shorter time series (66–136 yearly values), ICSS failed to detect any change points even when the variance doubled or tripled from one regime to another. For these time series, SRSD is recommended. Interestingly, all the climatic time series tested, from the Arctic to the tropics, had one thing in common: the last shift detected in each of these series was toward a high-variance regime. This is consistent with other findings of increased climate variability in recent decades.
Coupled hydro-meteorological modelling on HPC platform for high resolution extreme weather impact study
Authors: Zhu Dehua , Echendu Shirley , Xuan Yunqing , Webster Mike , Cluckie Ian
Published: June 2016

Abstract. High performance computing (HPC) has long been used in the disciplines of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and remains the main tool of choice to extract numerical solutions to complex geophysical problems on the global scale, often accompanied with very large numbers of degrees of freedoms. However, with the growing recognition that the spatially distributed feedback from the land surface is important to weather and the climate system, representation of the land surface is established with increasingly complex (and physically complete) models, which often leads to the coupling of heterogeneous models such as numerical weather prediction (NWP) models and hydrological models. As a result, the spatial grids and the temporal resolutions have become finer and thereby computers with far greater computational and storage capacity are in great demand than those used in the past. Additionally, impact-focused studies that require coupling of accurate simulations of weather/climate systems as well as impact-measuring hydrological models that demand larger computer resources in its own right. In this paper, we present a preliminary analysis of an HPC-based hydrological modelling approach, which is aimed at utilising and maximising HPC power resource, to support the study on extreme weather impact due to climate change. Here, two case studies are presented through implementation on the HPC Wales platform of the UK mesoscale meteorological Unified Model (UM) UKV, alongside a Linux-based hydrological model, HYdrological Predictions for the Environment (HYPE). The results of this study suggest that high resolution rainfall estimation produced by the UKV has similar performance to that of NIMROD radar rainfall products as input in a hydrological model, but with the added-value of much extended forecast lead-time.
ANALYSING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN URBAN LAND USE FRAGMENTATION METRICS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC VARIABLES
Authors: Sapena M. , Ruiz L. A. , Goerlich F. J.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Analysing urban regions is essential for their correct monitoring and planning. This is mainly accounted for the sharp increase of people living in urban areas, and consequently, the need to manage them. At the same time there has been a rise in the use of spatial and statistical datasets, such as the Urban Atlas, which offers high-resolution urban land use maps obtained from satellite imagery, and the Urban Audit, which provides statistics of European cities and their surroundings. In this study, we analyse the relations between urban fragmentation metrics derived from Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) data from the Urban Atlas dataset, and socio-economic data from the Urban Audit for the reference years 2006 and 2012. We conducted the analysis on a sample of sixty-eight Functional Urban Areas (FUAs). One-date and two-date based fragmentation indices were computed for each FUA, land use class and date. Correlation tests and principal component analysis were then applied to select the most representative indices. Finally, multiple regression models were tested to explore the prediction of socio-economic variables, using different combinations of land use metrics as explanatory variables, both at a given date and in a dynamic context. The outcomes show that demography, living conditions, labour, and transportation variables have a clear relation with the morphology of the FUAs. This methodology allows us to compare European FUAs in terms of the spatial distribution of the land use classes, their complexity, and their structural changes, as well as to preview and model different growth patterns and socio-economic indicators.
POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF NOVEL HYPERSPECTRAL LIDAR FOR MONITORING CROPS NITROGEN STRESS
Authors: Shi Shuo , Gong Wei , Du Lin , Sun Jia , Yang Jian
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Precision agriculture has always been the research hotspot around the world. And the optimization of nitrogen fertilization for crops is the core concerns. It is not only to improve the productivity of crops but also to avoid the environmental risks caused by over-fertilization. Therefore, accurate estimation of nitrogen status is crucial for determining an nitrogen recommendation. Remote sensing techniques have been widely used to monitor crops for years, and they could offer estimations for stress status diagnosis through obtaining vertical structure parameters and spectral reflectance properties of crops. As an active remote sensing technology, lidar is particularly attractive for 3-dimensional information at a high point density. It has unique edges in obtaining vertical structure parameters of crops. However, capability of spectral reflectance properties is what the current lidar technology lacks because of single wavelength detection. To solve this problem, the concept of novel hyperspectral lidar (HSL), which combines the advantages of hyperspectal reflectance with high 3-dimensional capability of lidar, was proposed in our study. The design of instrument was described in detail. A broadband laser pulse was emitted and reflectance spectrum with 32 channels could be detected. Furthermore, the experiment was carried out by the novel HSL system to testify the potential application for monitoring nitrogen stress. Rice under different levels of nitrogen fertilization in central China were selected as the object of study, and four levels of nitrogen fertilization (N1-N4) were divided. With the detection of novel lidar system, high precision structure parameters of crops could be provided. Meanwhile, spectral reflectance properties in 32 wavebands were also obtained. The high precision structure parameters could be used to evaluate the stress status of crops. And abundant spectral information in 32 wavebands could improve the capacity of lidar system significantly. The results demonstrate that it is more effective for HSL system to distinguish different levels of nitrogen fertilization. Overall, HSL allows for probing not only high precision structure parameters but also spectral reflectance properties of crops. Compared with other approaches, the novel HSL has the potential to provide more comprehensive information of crops which can be assessed remotely in the application of precision agriculture.
FORECASTING URBAN EXPANSION BASED ON NIGHT LIGHTS
Authors: Stathakis D.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Forecasting urban expansion models are a very powerful tool in the hands of urban planners in order to anticipate and mitigate future urbanization pressures. In this paper, a linear regression forecasting urban expansion model is implemented based on the annual composite night lights time series available from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The product known as 'stable lights' is used in particular, after it has been corrected with a standard intercalibration process to reduce artificial year-to-year fluctuations as much as possible. Forecasting is done for ten years after the end of the time series. Because the method is spatially explicit the predicted expansion trends are relatively accurately mapped. Two metrics are used to validate the process. The first one is the year-to-year Sum of Lights (SoL) variation. The second is the year-to-year image correlation coefficient. Overall it is evident that the method is able to provide an insight on future urbanization pressures in order to be taken into account in planning. The trends are quantified in a clear spatial manner.
THE ESTIMATE OF THE SPATIAL-TEMPORAL FEATURES OF VEGETATION COVER OF KAZAKHSTAN BASED ON TIME SERIES SATELLITE INDECES IN 2000-2015
Authors: Vitkovskaya I. , Batyrbayeva M. , Spivak L.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The article presents the evaluation of spatial-temporal characteristics of Kazakhstan arid and semi-arid areas' vegetation on the basis of time series of differential and integral vegetation indices. It is observed the negative trend of integral indices for the period of 2000-2015. This fact characterizes the increase of stress influence of weather conditions on vegetation in Kazakhstan territory during last decade. Simultaneously there is a positive trend of areas of zones with low values of IVCI index. Zoning of the territory of Kazakhstan was carried out according to the long-term values of the normalized integral vegetation index, which is characteristic of the accumulated amount of green season biomass. Negative trend is marked for areas of high productivity zones, long-term changes in the areas of low productivity zones have tend to increase. However long-term values of the area of the middle zone are insignificantly changed. Location boundaries of this zone in the latitudinal direction connects with a weather conditions of the year: all wet years, the average area is located between 46°- 49°N, and the all dry years - between 47°30'- 54°N. The map of frequency of droughts was formed by low values of the integral vegetation condition index which calculated from satellite data.
COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF URBAN SPRAWL ON ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT USING MULTI-SOURCE DATA: A CASE STUDY OF BEIJING
Authors: Wang Hao , Ning Xiaogang , Zhu Weiwei , Li Fei
Published: June 2016

Abstract. With urban population growing and urban sprawling, urban ecological environment problems appear. Study on spatiotemporal characteristics of urban sprawl and its impact on ecological environment is useful for ecological civilization construction. Although a lot of work has been conducted on urban sprawl and its impact on ecological environment, resolution of images to extract urban boundary was relatively coarse and most studies only focused on certain indicators of ecological environment, rather than comprehensive evaluation of urban ecological environmental impact. In this study, high-resolution remote sensing images of Beijing from aerial photography in 2002 and 2013 respectively are employed to extract urban boundary with manual interpretation. Fractional Vegetation Coverage (FVC), Water Density (WD), Impervious Surfaces Coverage (ISC), Net Primary Production (NPP), and Land Surface Temperature (LST) are adopted to represent ecological environment. The ecological environment indicators are measured with some general algorithms by combining Landsat images, GIS data and metrological data of 243 day, 2001 and 244 day, 2013. In order to evaluate the impact of urban sprawl on ecological environment, pseudo changes due to metrological variation and other noise in this time period are removed after images calibration. The impact of urban sprawl on ecological environment is evaluated at different scales of urban extent, Beijing ring road and watershed. Results show that Beijing had been undergoing a rapid urbanization from 2002 to 2013, with urban area increase from 600 square kilometres to 987 square kilometres. All ecological environment indicators except LST became terrible in urban sprawl region, with carbon reduction of approximate 40508 tons. The Beiyun River watershed of Beijing degraded seriously since ISC increased to 0.59. Gratifyingly, ecological environment indicators including NDVI, NPP, and LST inside of 4th Ring Road became well.
MULTI-AGENT BASED SIMULATION OF OPTIMAL URBAN LAND USE ALLOCATION IN THE MIDDLE REACHES OF THE YANGTZE RIVER, CHINA
Authors: Zeng Y. , Huang W. , Jin W. , Li S.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The optimization of land-use allocation is one of important approaches to achieve regional sustainable development. This study selects Chang-Zhu-Tan agglomeration as study area and proposed a new land use optimization allocation model. Using multi-agent based simulation model, the future urban land use optimization allocation was simulated in 2020 and 2030 under three different scenarios. This kind of quantitative information about urban land use optimization allocation and urban expansions in future would be of great interest to urban planning, water and land resource management, and climate change research.
COSTAL BATHYMETRY ESTIMATION FROM MULTISPECTRAL IMAGE WITH BACK PROPAGATION NEURAL NETWORK
Authors: Huang S. Y. , Liu C. L. , Ren H.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Bathymetric data in coastal area are important for marine sciences, hydrological applications and even for transportation and military purposes. Compare to traditional sonar and recent airborne bathymetry LIDAR systems, optical satellite images can provide information to survey a large area with single or multiple satellite images efficiently and economically. And it is especially suitable for coastal area because the penetration of visible light in water merely reaches 30 meters. In this study, a three-layer back propagation neural network is proposed to estimate bathymetry. In the learning stage, some training samples with known depth are adopted to train the weights of the neural network until the stopping criterion is satisfied. The spectral information is sent to the input layer and fits the true water depth with the output. The depths of training samples are manually measured from stereo images of the submerged reefs after water refraction correction. In the testing stage, all non-land pixels are processed. The experiments show the mean square errors are less than 3 meters.
SPATIAL CHANGES AND POPULATION MOVEMENTS ON THE ALBANIAN COASTLINE
Authors: Kanjir U. , Gregorič Bon N.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The last decade has seen a large increase in construction along the southern Albanian coastline, mainly in the rise of large tourist complexes comprising hotels, apartment houses, touristic villages, and so on. These constructions rarely follow urban planning and not only change its landscape but also often threaten the ecological value of the coastal zone. The uncontrolled and devastating construction along the coast has been accompanied by coastal erosion caused by the sea with the intensity up to 50 cm/year. This paper investigates the environmental change monitoring on the Albanian Riviera by analysing optical remote sensing data (Landsat 5 and 8) in the period between 1984 and 2015. The image analysis results grounded on the change vector analysis indicate coastal morphology changes and land cover changes in the coastal environment, which appear mostly due to erosion in river delta and urban growth. Apart from identifying both phenomena through time, the objective of this study is to show that these landscape changes in fact correlate with the population migration as well as to explain why and the extent to which Albania is one of the most migratory countries in Europe. Based on the multidisciplinary research, which combines anthropological method with spatial analysis, this presentation anticipates future changes in this area. It argues that movements of both people and in landscape formations strongly influence each other, constituting a closely corresponding relationship.
AN OBJECT-BASED WORKFLOW DEVELOPED TO EXTRACT AQUACULTURE PONDS FROM AIRBORNE LIDAR DATA: A TEST CASE IN CENTRAL VISAYAS, PHILIPPINES
Authors: Loberternos R. A. , Porpetcho W. P. , Graciosa J. C. A. , Violanda R. R. , Diola A. G. , Dy D. T. , Otadoy R. E. S.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Traditional remote sensing approach for mapping aquaculture ponds typically involves the use of aerial photography and high resolution images. The current study demonstrates the use of object-based image processing and analyses of LiDAR-data-generated derivative images with 1-meter resolution, namely: CHM (canopy height model) layer, DSM (digital surface model) layer, DTM (digital terrain model) layer, Hillshade layer, Intensity layer, NumRet (number of returns) layer, and Slope layer. A Canny edge detection algorithm was also performed on the Hillshade layer in order to create a new image (Canny layer) with more defined edges. These derivative images were then used as input layers to perform a multi-resolution segmentation algorithm best fit to delineate the aquaculture ponds. In order to extract the aquaculture pond feature, three major classes were identified for classification, including land, vegetation and water. Classification was first performed by using assign class algorithm to classify Flat Surfaces to segments with mean Slope values of 10 or lower. Out of these Flat Surfaces, assign class algorithm was then performed to determine Water feature by using a threshold value of 63.5. The segments identified as Water were then merged together to form larger bodies of water which comprises the aquaculture ponds. The present study shows that LiDAR data coupled with object-based classification can be an effective approach for mapping coastal aquaculture ponds. The workflow currently presented can be used as a model to map other areas in the Philippines where aquaculture ponds exist.
HIGH RESOLUTION AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH MAPPING OF BEIJING USING LANSAT8 IMAGERY
Authors: Li Yan , Liu Yuanliang , Wu Jianliang
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is one of the most important parameters in the atmospheric correction of remote sensing images. We present a new method of per pixel AOD retrieval using the imagery of Landsat8. It is based on Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S). General dark target method takes dense vegetation pixels as dark targets and derives their 550nm AODs directly from the LUT, and interpolates the AODs of other pixels according to spatial neighbourhood using those of dark target pixels. This method will down estimate the AOD levels for urban areas. We propose an innovative method to retrieval the AODs using multiple temporal data. For a pixel which has nothing change between the associated time, there must exists an intersection of surface albedo. When there are enough data to find the intersection it ought to be a value that meet the error tolerance. In this paper, we present an example of using three temporal Landsat ETM+ image to retrieve AOD taking Beijing as the testing area. The result is compared to the commonly employed dark target algorithm to show the effectiveness of the methods.
UNCERTAINTY ASSESSMENT OF GLOBELAND30 LAND COVER DATA SET OVER CENTRAL ASIA
Authors: Sun Bo , Chen Xi , Zhou Qiming
Published: June 2016

Abstract. GlobeLand30, the world’s first 30m-resolution global land cover data set, has recently been issued for research on global change at a fine resolution. Given the accuracy of GlobeLand30 data may show significant variation in different parts of the world and data quality at continental scale has not been validated yet, this study aims to evaluate the uncertainty of the data over Central Asia. Since it is difficult to get long-term historical ground references, GlobeLand30 data at the most recent epoch (i.e., GlobeLand30-2010) was assessed. In the test, a large sample size was adopted, and more than 25 thousand samples were selected by a random sampling scheme and interpreted manually as ground references based on higher resolution imagery at the same epoch, such as images from ZY-3 (China Resources Series) satellite and Google earth. Cross validation of image interpretation by three well-trained interpreters was adopted to make the references more reliable. Error matrix and Kappa coefficient were utilized to quantify data accuracies in terms of classification accuracy. Results show that the GlobeLand30-2010 data presents an overall accuracy of 46% in the study area. As for specific land cover types, bare land illustrates a high user’s accuracy but a lower producer’s accuracy. At the same time, the accuracies of grassland and forest are significantly lower than other types. The majority of misclassification types come from bare land. It implies a difficulty of distinguishing grassland or forest from bare land in the study area. In addition, the confusion between shrub land and grassland also results in the misclassification. The results serve as a useful reference of data accuracy for further analysis of land cover change in Central Asia as well as the applications of GlobeLand30 data at a regional or continental scale.
TOWARDS CONSISTENT MAPPING OF URBAN STRUCTURES – GLOBAL HUMAN SETTLEMENT LAYER AND LOCAL CLIMATE ZONES
Authors: Bechtel B. , Pesaresi M. , See L. , Mills G. , Ching J. , Alexander P. J. , Feddema J. J. , Florczyk A. J. , Stewart I.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Although more than half of the Earth’s population live in urban areas, we know remarkably little about most cities and what we do know is incomplete (lack of coverage) and inconsistent (varying definitions and scale). While there have been considerable advances in the derivation of a global urban mask using satellite information, the complexity of urban structures, the heterogeneity of materials, and the multiplicity of spectral properties have impeded the derivation of universal urban structural types (UST). Further, the variety of UST typologies severely limits the comparability of such studies and although a common and generic description of urban structures is an essential requirement for the universal mapping of urban structures, such a standard scheme is still lacking. More recently, there have been two developments in urban mapping that have the potential for providing a standard approach: the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) scheme (used by the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools project) and the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) methodology by JRC. In this paper the LCZ scheme and the GHSL LABEL product were compared for selected cities. The comparison between both datasets revealed a good agreement at city and coarse scale, while the contingency at pixel scale was limited due to the mismatch in grid resolution and typology. At a 1 km scale, built-up as well as open and compact classes showed very good agreement in terms of correlation coefficient and mean absolute distance, spatial pattern, and radial distribution as a function of distance from town, which indicates that a decomposition relevant for modelling applications could be derived from both. On the other hand, specific problems were found for both datasets, which are discussed along with their general advantages and disadvantages as a standard for UST classification in urban remote sensing.
AUTOMATED CLASSIFICATION OF LAND COVER USING LANDSAT 8 OLI SURFACE REFLECTANCE PRODUCT AND SPECTRAL PATTERN ANALYSIS CONCEPT - CASE STUDY IN HANOI, VIETNAM
Authors: Nguyen Dinh Duong
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Recently USGS released provisional Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance product, which allows conducting land cover mapping over large composed of number of image scenes without necessity of atmospheric correction. In this study, the authors present a new concept for automated classification of land cover. This concept is based on spectral patterns analysis of reflected bands and can be automated using predefined classification rule set constituted of spectral pattern shape, total reflected radiance index (TRRI) and ratios of spectral bands. Given a pixel vector B6 = {b1,b2,b3,b4,b5,b6} where b1, b2,...,b6 denote bands 2, 3, ...,7 of OLI sensor respectively. By using the pixel vector B6 we can construct spectral reflectance curve. Each spectral curve is featured by a shape, which can be described in simplified form of an analogue pattern, which is consisted of 15 digits of 0, 1 and 2 showing mutual relative position of spectral vertices. Value of comparison between band i and j is 2 if bj > bi, 1 if bj = bi and 0 if bj < bi. Simplified spectral pattern is defined by 15 digits as m1,2m1,3m1,4m1,5m1,6m2,3m2,4m2,5m2,6m3,4m3,5m3,6m4,5m4,6m5,6 where mi,j is result of comparison of reflectance between bi and bj and has values of 0, 1 and 2. After construction of SSP for each pixel in the input image, the original image will be decomposed to component images, which contain pixels with the same SRCS pattern. The decomposition can be written analytically by equation A = Σnk=1Ck where A stands for original image with 6 spectral bands, n is number of component images decomposed from A and Ck is component image. For this study, we use Landsat 8 OLI reflectance image LC81270452013352LGN00 and LC81270452015182LGN00. For the decomposition, we use only six reflective bands. Each land cover class is defined by SSP code, threshold values for TRRI and band ratios. Automated classification of land cover was realized with 8 classes: forest, shrub, grass, water, wetland, develop land, barren and others. This paper provides a preliminary research result on application of multispectral image decomposition using simplified spectral pattern for classification of land cover for Hanoi area.
Due Process in the United Nations
Authors: Hovell Devika
Published: June 2016

“For hard it is for high and stately buildings long to stand except they be upholden and staid by most strong shores, and rest upon most sure foundations”

—Jean Bodin, The Six Books of a Commonweale (1576)

It has been said of the redemptive quality of procedural reform that it is “about nine parts myth and one part coconut oil.” Yet, as the recent history of the United Nations shows, failure to enact adequate procedural reform can have damaging consequences for an organization and its activities. In the targeted-sanctions context, litigation in over thirty national and regional courts over due process deficiencies has had a “significant impact on the regime,” placing it “at a legal crossroads.” In the peacekeeping context, the United Nations’ position that claims in the ongoing Haiti cholera controversy are “not receivable” has been described in extensive and uniformly critical press coverage as the United Nations’ “Watergate, except with far fewer consequences for the people responsible.” Complacency in the face of allegations of sexual abuse by UN blue helmets led to the unprecedented ousting of a special representative to the secretary-general in the Central African Republic. Economizing on due process standards is proving to be a false economy.
Punishment and Policy in International Criminal Sentencing: An Empirical Study
Authors: Doherty Joseph W. , Steinberg Richard H.
Published: June 2016

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have sentenced over 130 perpetrators for genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, or war crimes. Sentencing judgments discuss the factors considered by the judges and impose a term of imprisonment. We regressed the sentence length meted out for each perpetrator on the doctrinal factors said to explain the term of imprisonment and on other factors rumored to affect sentencing. We find that the gravity of the crime and aggravating factors declared by the Tribunals as sentencing factors are significantly related to sentence length but that the mitigating factors proclaimed by the tribunals—all but one of which are associated with diplomatic and policy objectives—are not significantly related to the term of imprisonment. We conclude that international criminal sentences prioritize punishment of the individual based on the seriousness of the crime over the other diplomatic and policy goals that the judges claim to be pursuing. We conjecture that this discrepancy is based on functional differences: the sentencing judgment discussion seeks to advance the many policy objectives of the Tribunals, while the declared term of imprisonment is largely an expressive act of retributive justice, which might also facilitate deterrence and reconciliation.
Taxonomy of Marketing Strategies Using Bank Customers’ Clustering
Authors: Ansari Azarnoush , Riasi Arash
Published: June 2016

Purpose-The goal of this study is to identify the main clusters of bank customers in order to help commercial banks to better identify their customers and design more efficient marketing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach–Data from 250 bank customers were analyzed by using two-step scalable clustering.

Findings-Five different clusters of bank customers were identified, namely, favorite customers, creditworthy customers, non-creditworthy customers, passers, and friends. The findings indicated that disparate clusters of bank customers are extremely different based on their loan amount, default risk, account balance, degree of loyalty and profitability for the bank.

Practical implications-The differences which were observed between these five clusters of bank customers accentuate the importance of customer clustering and market segmentation in the financial services industry. Customer clustering can help financial institutions to augment their competitiveness by shifting from traditional marketing strategies to target marketing and segmentation-based marketing approaches.

Originality/value-The most important contribution of this study is the incorporation of a wide range of factors that can potentially affect customer clustering in the analysis, whereas, the majority of previous studies only focused on a limited number of variables in order to determine the customer clusters. Specifically, the customer clustering in this study was performed by using demographic variables, profitability, loan amount, default risk, account balance, loyalty, account type, account closure history, customer location, and account currency. 
Ethical Leadership Practices: Does It Exist? Do We Care about It? An Evidences from College of Business Studies
Authors: Almutairi Naser N. , Alhussaini Ahmed N. , Thuwaini Shebiab F.
Published: June 2016

Ethical leadership is an integral dimension of organizational leadership, behavior and culture, whose primary role is to lead the organization by making ethical decisions to inherently influence employees’ attitudes and interactions. The concept of ethical leadership specifically revolves around business practices that link the aspects of culture and business ethics. Previous academic studies in the field of ethical leadership have been quick to point out the principles, beliefs and values of the right and wrong are the ones that characterize the foundation of organizational behavior; thereby formulating the pedestal upon which leaders influence employees in achieving the goals of the organization. The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate fundamental ethical leadership practices that followers can identify with. The findings of the research point out that majority of the sampled population think that there is a major ethics problem in the college of business studies. The study also established that those sampled believe the management is neither showing any attention to the ethical leadership aspect nor placing any consideration on the college’s Code of Ethics.
A Study on Consumer Perception towards E-Shopping in KSA
Authors: Zulfeequar Alam Mohammad , Elaasi Sheriff A.
Published: June 2016

Marketers are facing new challenges of marketing in the new millennium due to the changes in the consumer buying behavior associated with disruptive innovation, virtual communication, purchasing habits and consumption pattern. The rapid rise of online marketing has captured the attention of marketers and consumers nowadays. At present online shopping became the ideal for the people in the world. In Saudi Arabia most of the citizens having the access of internet facility and good purchasing power however still e-shopping are not in trend of Saudi Arabian consumers; around 62% of the population of the country did not even shop online by Al-Salamin (2014). The objectives of the study are to provide an in-depth understanding regarding customer perception on e-shopping, payment method were used; the risk factors involved and the preferable devices were utilized for e-shopping. For the study a survey of 128 respondents of Saudi Arabia were conducted during the period of 3 months from September to November 2015. Data collection was carried out using a structured and close ended questionnaire. The received data were coded and analyzed with suitable statistical tools. It was investigated that the majority of the respondents had involved in e-shopping, 73% of respondents are feeling e-shopping as easy shopping, 44% consumer use credit card as a payment method and 40% of the respondents preferred to buying product/ services through laptop when buying online. The quality of product was reported as a highest worrying factor by the majority of respondents.
Work Values of Jordanian Fresh Graduates
Authors: Al-Zoubi Marwan
Published: June 2016

The aim of the study was to explore the work values of Jordanian fresh graduates as well as the effect of gender on values preferences. 1109 fresh university graduates participated in the study (720 females- 64.9%, and 389 males). Participants completed a scale that assesses the level of importance of 10 work values. The results indicated that fresh graduates value jobs that provide them with career development, financial rewards, creativity, job security, teamwork, and opportunity to serve others while the least important values were for jobs that provide independence, prestige and excitement. Additionally, the results indicated that there are gender differences in work values preferences. The current study is providing helpful information for job counselors and career succession planners. from consumers at organized retail outlets and households. Structural equation model is used to understand the role of consumer and store factors in private label purchase. Factors like perceived quality, product familiarity, shelf space allocation and private label quality belief are found to have a significant role in determining the private label purchase in food category. n relationship among regions is very important. Finally, some policies about fiscal exnpenditure and economic development are proposed.
Interactive Effects of Goal Orientation and Perceived Competence on Enjoyment among Youth Swimmers
Authors: Silic Ninoslav , Sesar Kristina , Brekalo Mate
Published: June 2016

This study investigated achievement goal orientation profile differences between youth swimmers on perceived competence and enjoyment, and the contribution of goal orientation and perceived competence to enjoyment in swimming. Male and female swimmers (n=302), aged 10-18 years (M=12.7; sd=2.25) completed a questionnaire assessing goal orientation, perceived competence and enjoyment in swimming. Cluster analysis revealed four goal orientation profile groups: high task/high ego, moderate task/low ego, high task/moderate ego and low task/moderate ego. MANOVA was conducted and a significant multivariate effect was found (Wilks=0.762; F=14.370; p=0.000; ES=0126). Further, Scheffe’s post-hoc comparisons tests revealed that swimmers scoring relatively high in both task and ego orientations, with a balance between the two, reported high values for perceived competence and enjoyment. Finally using two-way factorial MANOVA it was found that the interaction between the perceived competence and goal orientation profiles was not significant. Emphasizing task orientation for young athletes is a means to increase enjoyment in sport, regardless of their level of perceived competence.
St. John's Wort versus Counterfeit St. John's Wort: An HPTLC Study
Authors: Frommenwiler Débora A , Reich Eike , Sudberg Sidney , Sharaf Maged H M , Bzhelyansky Anton , Lucas Ben
Published: June 2016

Hypericum perforatum L. is the most commonly used herb for treating depression. Due to the popularity of this botanical, there is a potential for economically driven adulteration of St. John's wort (SJW) products. The goal of this study was to investigate SJW ingredients suspected to be adulterated based on simple preliminary HPTLC tests. Commercial samples were analyzed by HPTLC following the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) monograph methodology, with additional visualization under white light. A number of these samples presented odd methanolic solution colors and unconventional HPTLC fingerprints, suggesting the presence of other species and/or extraneous polar additives. To achieve identification and separation of the polar additives, a new reversed-phase HPTLC method was developed. The adulterants were identified as synthetic dyes in the amounts of 0.51 to 1.36% by weight. Identities of the dyes were confirmed by scanning densitometry and HPTLC-MS. A modified USP method with additional detection mode permitted the identification of eight SJW samples adulterated with dyes and six others with flavonoid fingerprints different from those specified by USP from a total of 37 samples of dry extracts, finished products, and bulk raw herb. A decision flowchart is proposed to guide the detection of adulteration of SJW in a systematic fashion.
Aporte e decomposição da serapilheira na Floresta Atlântica, ilha da Marambaia, Mangaratiba, RJ.
Authors: Pereira Marcos Gervasio , Menezes Luis Fernando Tavares de , Schultz Nivaldo
Published: June 2016

A produção e a decomposição de serapilheira de um fragmento de Floresta Atlântica de encosta na Ilha da Marambaia, Mangaratiba, RJ, foram estudadas durante o período de dezembro de 2003 a novembro de 2004. O aporte de serapilheira foi mensurado partindo de trinta coletores cônicos. A taxa de decomposição da serapilheira foi quantificada por meio de 36 sacolas de decomposição instaladas na área. Para avaliação da fertilidade do solo foram coletadas amostras nas profundidades de 0-5, 5-10 e 10-20 cm. A produção total de serapilheira foi de 7,9 Mg ha-1, sendo a maior deposição verificada no mês de novembro e a menor em junho. A fração foliar foi a de maior contribuição em relação às demais. A taxa de decomposição da serapilheira foi 40% em 7 meses de observação, seguindo modelo exponencial. Verificou-se comportamento diferenciado quanto à liberação de N, P e K. Com exceção do fósforo, os maiores valores de nutrientes, carbono e H+Al foram observados na camada superficial.