The contribution of the diffuse light component to the topographic effect on remotely sensed data

The topographic effect is measured by the difference between the global radiance from inclined surfaces as a function of their orientation relative to the sensor position and light source. The short wave radiant energy incident on a surface is composed of direct sunlight, scattered skylight, and light reflected from surrounding terrain. The latter two components are commonly known as the diffuse component. The contribution of the diffuse light component to the topographic effect was examined and the significance of this diffuse component with respect to two direct radiance models was assessed. Diffuse and global spectral radiances were measured for a series of slopes and aspects of a uniform and surface in the red and photographic infrared parts of the spectrum, using a nadir pointing two channel handheld radiometer. The diffuse light was found to produce a topographic effect which varied from the topographic effect for direct light. The topographic effect caused by diffuse light was found to increase slightly with solar elevation and wavelength for the channels examined. The correlations between data derived from two simple direct radiance simulation models and the field data were not significantly affected when the diffuse component was removed from the radiances. Radiances from a 60 percent reflective surface, assuming no atmospheric path radiance, the diffuse light topographic effect contributed a maximum range of 3 pixel values in simulated LANDSAT data from all aspects with slopes up to 30 degrees

Evaluation and modeling of the topographic effect on the spectral response from NADIR pointing sensors

A field experiment, using a hand-held radiometer, was designed and conducted to assess a simple theoretical incidence model for simulating the topographic effect of a uniform sand surface. Seven data sets were taken to compare effects of solar elevation and azimuth encountered at different times of year. Analysis of these data showed considerable variation in radiance values for different slope angles and aspects and that these values varied considerably with changes in solar elevation and azimuth. The field measured variations in spectral response were found to have generally strong correlations with the theoretical model. The reason for the occurrence of lower correlations are given and methods for improving the model are suggested. A model to simulate LANDSAT sensor response was applied to two subsets of the field data to establish the magnitude of the topographic effect on satellite data

Examination of Lambertian and Non-lambertian Models for Simulating the Topographic Effect on Remotely Sensed Data

As a preliminary step to developing a technique to eliminate the topographic effect from remotely sensed data, two radiance simulation models were examined and compared. A Lambertian and a non-Lambertian model were tested using hand-held radiometer measurements from a uniform surface at different slope angle aspect orientations. Linear correlation coefficients for the non-Lambertian model and the field spectra were calculated to be greater than 0.92 for all cases; whereas correlation coefficients for the Lambertian model ranged from 0.06 to 0.98. An assumption regarding an empirical constant within the non-Lambertian equation was found to be invalid and the model was improved by using subsets of the data to derive the empirical value

An examination of spectral band rationing to reduce the topographic effect on remotely sensed data

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Needs Assessment Survey Result for Alaska State Victim Assistance Academy

State Victim Assistance Academies (SVAA’s) offer coursework and training in victimology, victims’ rights, and victim services in order to meet the needs of victim service providers and allied professionals (Office for Victims of Crime). With state and federal funding, Victims for Justice began the development of a State Victim Assistance Academy for Alaska in 2008. An important first step in the development of a State Victim Assistance Academy is to conduct a needs assessment survey to identify the most important topics to include in coursework and training. This brief report highlights the results of the Alaska needs assessment survey conducted by the UAA Justice Center in 2009

Application of digital terrain data to quantify and reduce the topographic effect on LANDSAT data

Integration of LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data with 30 m U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital terrain data was undertaken to quantify and reduce the topographic effect on imagery of a forested mountain ridge test site in central Pennsylvania. High Sun angle imagery revealed variation of as much as 21 pixel values in data for slopes of different angles and aspects with uniform surface cover. Large topographic effects were apparent in MSS 4 and 5 was due to a combination of high absorption by the forest cover and the MSS quantization. Four methods for reducing the topographic effect were compared. Band ratioing of MSS 6/5 and MSS 7/5 did not eliminate the topographic effect because of the lack of variation in MSS 4 and 5 radiances. The three radiance models examined to reduce the topographic effect required integration of the digital terrain data. Two Lambertian models increased the variation in the LANDSAT radiances. The nonLambertian model considerably reduced (86 per cent) the topographic effect in the LANDSAT data. The study demonstrates that high quality digital terrain data, as provided by the USGS digital elevation model data, can be used to enhance the utility of multispectral satellite data

Managing the Socially Marginalized: Attitudes Towards Welfare, Punishment and Race

Welfare and incarceration policies have converged to form a system of governance over socially marginalized groups, particularly racial minorities. In both of these policy areas, rehabilitative and social support objectives have been replaced with a more punitive and restrictive system. The authors examine the convergence in individual-level attitudes concerning welfare and criminal punishment, using national survey data. The authors\u27 analysis indicates a statistically significant relationship between punitive attitudes toward welfare and punishment. Furthermore, accounting for the respondents\u27 racial attitudes explains the bivariate relationship between welfare and punishment. Thus, racial attitudes seemingly link support for punitive approaches to opposition to welfare expenditures. The authors discuss the implications of this study for welfare and crime control policies by way of the conclusion

Training for a transformed service : the experience of learners in 2016

This article explores the training and early practice experience of the first cohort of probation learners trained under the auspices of ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ (TR). It draws on interviews with learners qualifying in 2016 in order to examine the adequacy of their training and their early perceptions of delivering TR as qualified practitioners. While highlighting their training as stressful and noting issues with TR and some implications of the highly risk-focused nature of NPS work in particular, participants were generally positive about their training and early post-qualification experiences. Some inferences are drawn in relation to the future approach to training

The Index Of Narrative Microstructure: A Clinical Tool For Analyzing School-Age Children's Narrative Performances

Purpose: This research was conducted to develop a clinical tool-the Index of Narrative Microstructure (INMIS)-that would parsimoniously account for important microstructural aspects of narrative production for school-age children. The study provides field test age- and grade-based INMIS values to aid clinicians in making normative judgments about microstructural aspects of pupils' narrative performance. Method: Narrative samples using a single-picture elicitation context were collected from 250 children age 5-12 years and then transcribed and segmented into T-units. A T-unit consists of a single main clause and any dependent constituents. The narrative transcripts were then coded and analyzed to document a comprehensive set of microstructural indices. Results: Factor analysis indicated that narrative microstructure consisted of 2 moderately related factors. The Productivity factor primarily comprised measures of word output, lexical diversity, and T-unit output. The Complexity factor comprised measures of syntactic organization, with mean length of T-units in words and proportion of complex T-units loading most strongly. Principal components analysis was used to provide a linear combination of 8 variables to approximate the 2 factors. Formulas for calculating a student's performance on the 2 factors using 8 narrative measures are provided. Conclusions: This study provided a method for professionals to calculate INMIS scores for narrative Productivity and Complexity for comparison against field test data for age (5- to 12-year-old) or grade (kindergarten to Grade 6) groupings. INMIS scores complement other tools in evaluating a child's narrative performance specifically and language abilities more generally.Communication Sciences and Disorder

The capabilities approach and critical social policy: lessons from the majority world?

The capabilities approach (CA) most closely associated with the thinner and thicker versions of Sen and Nussbaum has the potential to provide a paradigm shift for critical social policy, encompassing but also transcending some of the limitations associated with the Marshallian social citizenship approach. The article argues, however, that it cannot simply be imported from the majority world, rather there is a need to bear in mind the critical literature that developed around it. This is generally discussed and then critically applied to case studies of CA in the developed capitalist world, particularly the Equalities Review conducted for the Equality and Human Rights Commission