Crop species recognition and mensuration in the Sacramento Valley

The goal of the second recognition map was to delineate various crop species in a portion of the Sacramento Valley, and at the same time to determine how accurately each could be classified and measured from ERTS-1 data. The new recognition map, a new and concise display of the old map, and classification and mensuration accuracy data are presented and discussed. The mensuration accuracy, in particular, is affected by the presence of an edge effect one resolution wide surrounding nearly all fields. Points on the edge are misclassified because they contain a mixture of, crop and bare soil. Using a processing technique to estimate the proportions of unresolved objects in this edge region, a much improved mensuration capability will be demonstrated

Teaching mental mathematics from level 5 (National Strategies; Secondary)

An introduction to a set of materials describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5, covering number, algebra, geometry and statistics. Includes activities that target some aspects of mental mathematics which pupils continue to find difficult. This records comprises the following 9 files • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Measures and mensuration in algebra A booklet describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5. The activities described in this supplement build upon and develop activities suggested in Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Algebra (DCSF ref: 00692-2009PDF-EN-01). Ref: 00695-2009PDF-EN-01 Publication date: October 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Measures and mensuration in number A booklet describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5. The activities described in this supplement build upon and develop activities suggested in Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Number (DCSF ref: 00691-2009PDF-EN-01). Ref: 00694-2009PDF-EN-01 Publication date: October 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Measures and mensuration in geometry A booklet describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5. The activities described in this supplement build upon and develop activities suggested in Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Geometry (DCSF ref: 00693-2009PDF-EN-01). Ref: 00696-2009PDF-EN-01 Publication date: October 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Algebra A booklet describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5, covering algebraic conventions, solving linear equations, sequences, and functions and graphs. Includes some of the aspects of algebra that have been reported as having implications for teaching and learning from the Key Stage 3 tests. Ref: 00692-2009PDF-EN-01 Publication date: October 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Geometry A booklet describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5, covering geometric reasoning (lines, angles and shapes), using symmetries, reflections, rotations and translations, enlargement and similarity, constructions and loci, and working in three dimensions. Includes some of the aspects of geometry that have been reported as having implications for teaching and learning from the Key Stage 3 tests. Ref: 00693-2009PDF-EN-01 Publication date: October 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5 An introduction to a set of materials describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5, covering number, algebra, geometry and statistics. Includes activities that target some aspects of mental mathematics which pupils continue to find difficult. • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Sequences Paper outlining some key aspects of developing pupils' understanding of the relationship between the context of a sequence and the ways in which it can be expressed, first in words and later in algebraic terms, and their understanding of the term-to-term and position-to-term structures and the relationship between them. • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Statistics The topics covered in this booklet are selected from the statistics strand learning objectives in The Framework for secondary mathematics. Ref: 00089-2009 Publication date: March 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Number A booklet describing teaching approaches that can be used to develop mental mathematics abilities beyond level 5, covering place value, ordering and rounding, fractions, decimals, percentages, and ratio and proportion. Includes activities that target some aspects of number which pupils continue to find difficult. Ref: 00691-2009PDF-EN-01 Publication date: October 2009 • Teaching mental mathematics from level 5: Place value, ordering and rounding Resource sheet focusing on multiplying and dividing numbers by powers of 10, understanding the effect of multiplying and dividing by numbers between 0 and 1, multiplying and dividing decimals by any number between 0 and 1, and beginning to write numbers in standard form. This document also includes activities based on modelling, matching and diagrammatic expanation

Effects of Ethnomathematics Approach on Students’ Achievement and Interest in Geometry and Mensuration

This study was designed to determine the efficacy of ethnomathematics approach on students’ achievement and interest in JSS1 geometry and mensuration. It also aimed at determining whether any of the sexes (male and female) benefitted more than the other from the teaching. The study employed non equivalent control group quasi experimental design. Four research questions and six hypotheses guided the study. The experimental and control groups were taught geometry and mensuration using ethnomathematics and conventional approaches respectively. Two researcher constructed instruments- Mathematics Achievement Test on Geometry and Mensuration (MATGM) and Mathematics Interest Inventory on Geometry and Mensuration (MIIGM) were used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while ANCOVA was used to test the null hypotheses at p<0.05. The results revealed among others that ethnomathematics approach was more effective in facilitating students’ achievement and interest in geometry and mensuration. The female students benefitted more significantly than their male counterparts in both achievement and interest in geometry and mensuration using the ethnomathematics approach. The study revealed that interaction effect between method and gender was significant in interest. These revelations had serious implications for mathematics teachers and stakeholders in mathematics education. Recommendations were made based on the findings.Dr Rev Sis M S C Kurume

Forest Measurements

Forest measurements, one of the cornerstones in the foundation of forestry, is the art and science of providing the quantitative information about trees and forest stands necessary for forest management, planning, and research. The updated edition (sixth edition) of this longstanding classic textbook, Forest Measurements, provides new and complete coverage of conventional and current measurement practices and technological applications that link the role of forest measurements with management of forest resources

User requirements and user acceptance of current and next-generation satellite mission and sensor complement, oriented toward the monitoring of water resources

Principal water resources users were surveyed to determine the applicability of remotely sensed data to their present and future requirements. Analysis of responses was used to assess the levels of adequacy of LANDSAT 1 and 2 in fulfilling hydrological functions, and to derive systems specifications for future water resources-oriented remote sensing satellite systems. The analysis indicates that water resources applications for all but the very large users require: (1) resolutions on the order of 15 meters, (2) a number of radiometric levels of the same order as currently used in LANDSAT 1 (64), (3) a number of spectral bands not in excess of those used in LANDSAT 1, and (4) a repetition frequency on the order of 2 weeks. The users had little feel for the value of new sensors (thermal IR, passive and active microwaves). What is needed in this area is to achieve specific demonstrations of the utility of these sensors and submit the results to the users to evince their judgement

Investigation of LANDSAT follow-on thematic mapper spatial, radiometric and spectral resolution

The author has identified the following significant results. Fine resolution M7 multispectral scanner data collected during the Corn Blight Watch Experiment in 1971 served as the basis for this study. Different locations and times of year were studied. Definite improvement using 30-40 meter spatial resolution over present LANDSAT 1 resolution and over 50-60 meter resolution was observed, using crop area mensuration as the measure. Simulation studies carried out to extrapolate the empirical results to a range of field size distributions confirmed this effect, showing the improvement to be most pronounced for field sizes of 1-4 hectares. Radiometric sensitivity study showed significant degradation of crop classification accuracy immediately upon relaxation from the nominally specified values of 0.5% noise equivalent reflectance. This was especially the case for data which were spectrally similar such as that collected early in the growing season and also when attempting to accomplish crop stress detection

Biomass distribution among tropical tree species grown under\ud differing regional climates

In the Neotropics, there is a growing interest in establishing plantations of native tree species for commerce, local consumption, and to replant on abandoned agricultural lands. Although numerous trial plantations have been established, comparative information on the performance of native trees under different regional environments is generally lacking. In this study, we evaluated the accumulation and partitioning of above-ground biomass in 16 native and two exotic tree species growing in replicated species selection trials in Panama under humid and dry regional environments. Seven of the 18 species accumulated greater total biomass at the humid site than at the dry site over a two-year period. Species specific biomass partitioning among leaves, branches and trunks was observed. However, awide range of total biomass found among species (from 1.06 kg for Dipteryx panamensis to 29.84 kg for Acacia mangium at Soberania) justified the used of an Aitchison log ratio transformation to adjust for size. When biomass partitioning was adjusted for size, a majority of these differences proved to be a result of the ability of the tree to support biomass components rather than the result of differences in the regional environments at the two sites. These findings were confirmed by comparative ANCOVAs on Aitchison-transformed and non-Aitchison-transformed variables. In these comparisons, basal diameter, height and diameter at breast height were robust predictors of biomass for the pooled data from both sites, but Aitchison-transformed\ud variables had little predictive power

CORRELATION BETWEEN CONFIDENCE AND PERFORMANCE OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN SOLID MENSURATION

The study aimed to determine the correlation between the engineering students’ confidence and performance in solid mensuration. The respondents of the study were 144 first-year engineering students who were selected from six different engineering degree courses through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using the (1) Confidence Level Survey (CLS), and (2) Final Departmental Exam (FDE). The results revealed a significant positive correlation between confidence in mathematics and performance in solid mensuration. A significant positive correlation between confidence and performance in solid mensuration was likewise found. Concerning correlations between students’ confidence and performance in different learning competencies in solid mensuration, no significant correlation was found between confidence and performance in determining properties of solid figures. Likewise, no significant correlation was found between the confidence and performance in solving lateral surface area. Similarly, no significant correlation was detected between the confidence and performance in solving the total surface area. Meanwhile, a positive significant correlation was yielded between the confidence and performance in solving volume. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was found between the confidence and performance in solving the other parts of solid figures. No significant correlation, however, was found between the confidence and performance in solving applied problems involving solid figures. The study concluded that the more confident the students were, the higher their performances in solid mensuration were. Conversely, less confident students were not certain in their abilities, thus resulted in the low performance in solid mensuration. Study’s limitations and future scope were also discussed.&nbsp

The Use of Principal Components for Creating Improved Imagery for Geometric Control Point Selection

A directed principal component (PC) analysis and its transformation was applied to 7-channel thematic mapper simulator (TMS) data and 4-channel LANDSAT multispectral scanner system (MSS) data collected over the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to create improved imagery for geometric control point selection for image to image registration. Nineteen temporally stable geometric control points, such as road interactions and bridges, were selected for a 236 sq km area. The control points were visible on both the TMS and MSS imagery. On the first attempt the corresponding image control points were selected on both data sets without using the principal components transformation. Many of the road intersection locations were visible but the actual road crossings could not be distinguished. As a result, mensuration errors using raw data exceeded the equivalent of two (79 x 79 m) pixels. The application of a guided principal components transformation yielded TMS and MSS single band images showing improved detail in the scene's urban and residential infrastructure. The PC transformed data sets were then utilized for the reselection of geometric control points. By shown greater detail, control points on both the TMS and MSS imagery could be located with greater precision using the PC transformed data