Suitability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Cadastral Surveys

Cadastral surveys in Ghana often employ well known surveying equipment such as Total Station andGNSSreceivers or a combination of both. These survey techniques are well-established and widely accepted. However, there are limitations in certain areas. In situations where difficult terrain and inaccessible areas and dense vegetation are encountered or when surveyor’s life may be at risk, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) could be used to overcome the limitations of these well-established survey instruments. This research used high resolution images from UAV (DJI Phantom 4) to survey plots within the University of Mines and Technology land area. Coordinates of the boundary points were extracted using Agisoft Photoscan.GNSSreceivers were also used to survey the land and the same boundary point coordinates obtained and compared. This enabled the establishment of accurate ground control points for georeferencing. The coordinates obtained from both UAV andGNSSSurveys were used to prepare cadastral plans and compared. The difference in Northings and Eastings from UAV andGNSSsurveys were +0.380 cmand +0.351 cmrespectively. These differences are well within tolerance of +/-0.9114 m(+/-3 ft) set by the Survey and Mapping Division (SMD) of the Lands Commission for cadastral plans production. This research therefore concludes that high resolution images from UAVs are suitable for cadastral surveying. Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Drones, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, Cadastral Survey

Parental Involvement: A Response to Children with Disability’s Education

Drawing on the fact that education of children is a human right issue, the study explored parent’s involvement in the education of their children with disabilities. Using quantitative research methodology, 166 respondents were sampled from two selected basic schools in Koforidua, Ghana. Results indicated that, often the demand on parents such as time, work, house chores, and many other commitments impede their preference to be involved in their children’s education. The school activities most parents involved themselves in are the Parent Teachers Association’s (P.T.A.) meetings. This is because parents do not see themselves as having interest in many of the other activities children in school are involved in. Equally, though some parents from poor background may want to educate their child with disability, the cost involved in educating the child is high. Evidence showed that there was a moderate level of parents’ involvement in the education of their children with disability and that the level of involvement is associated with the socio-economic status of such parents. The study concluded that parental involvement in their children with disabilities education leads to positive learning outcomes and academic achievements. It was recommended among others that parents should get involved in decisions concerning the education of their children with disability; parents must honour invitations from schools and speak with school staff and teachers. Again, parents should disabuse their minds of the perceptions that taking their child with disability to school is of no benefit and a waste of resources. Key Words: Parents, children with disabilities, educatio

Comment On >Assessment Of Field-Induced Quantum Confinement In Heterogate Germanium Electron-Hole Bilayer Tunnel Field-Effect Transistor> Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 082108 (2014)

Not AvailableNRI SWAN programNSF NASCENT ERCMicroelectronics Research CenterElectrical and Computer Engineerin

Women Teacher Turnover Problems in the Lutheran Schools of the Northwestern Sector of the United States

The following fundamental points form the nucleus of the hypothesis of this problem. 1. Women teachers in Lutheran schools are underpaid. 2. The absence of desirable working conditions for women prevails. 3. The absence of desirable working relationships exists. These contributing factors of women teacher turnover may or may not be true but the writer shall attempt to clarify them by his research

Remote sensing for mapping wetland floods in Kafue Flats, Zambia

Monitoring huge and dynamic floodplains such as the Kafue Flats in Zambia is critical to its sustainable use. This requires among other things accurate, past and current geo-referenced flood maps. The aim of this study was, therefore, to use remotely sensed data to generate flood maps for Kafue Flats. Flood maps were created by classifying seven cloud-free Landsat images of selected months in 2001 and the areas flooded computed. Further spatial analyses were performed to integrate the flood maps to generate a multi-temporal flood map and to compute flood durations. The results indicate that 2001 was an extremely wet hydrological year with a maximum flooded area of 31%. Also, approximately 2% of study area remained flooded for six months while permanent open water bodies covered an area of approximately 4%. Statistical analysis showed that the flood extent is significantly related to water levels and discharge when water levels are high. Therefore, prediction equations were generated to estimate flood areas with respect to water flows. However, it has been revealed that rainfall within the flats has little influence on flooding. Rather, the most critical factor in controlling the flooding is water releases from the ltezhi-tezhi dam located upstream. This study has demonstrated that remote sensing is suitable for operational mapping and monitoring of tropical floodplains

Emerging Information Technologies and Delivering of Service Quality to Air Passengers: Case of South African Own-Registered Airlines

 Increasingly services to airline passengers have evolved into the digital and technological realms. This study examined the extent to which South African own-registered airlines (SAORA) utilize emerging information technologies in delivering service quality to air passengers. The acronym “SAORA†refers to Six South African own-registered airlines which was focus of this study. The research methodology adopted for this study was a descriptive approach focused on cross-sectional analysis. Using a quantitative research method and non-probability convenient sampling technique, primary data was collected from 684 passengers at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and King Shaka International Airport in Durban. The study revealed that by utilizing emerging technologies, SAORA stand to offer superior service quality to air passengers, thereby gaining competitive advantage, continuous patronage, loyalty and increased profitability. &nbsp

Service Quality Failure and Recovery Imperatives: Implications for Airlines Owned by South Africa

This article reports on a study that examined service quality and recovery among South African airlines. Service quality is pivotal in the airline industry as service failures could negatively affect operations. The authors created the acronym “AOSA†which stands for “airlines owned by South Africa†for the purposes of anonymity and confidentiality in order to protect the airlines’ identity. A quantitative research approach was used with a cross-sectional analysis (sample survey) conducted with passengers of South African-owned airlines. The questionnaire was designed using a Likert scale tool, adapted to the SERVQUAL model. A non-probability convenient sampling method was used to collect primary data from 684 passengers at O.R.Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and King Shaka International Airport in Durban. The key findings were that: (1) significant statistical gaps exist between passengers’ expectations and perceptions of AOSA’s service quality and that unsatisfactory service quality is antecedent to service failure. (2) Unsatisfactory service quality is tantamount to service failure in the provision of services by AOSA. (3) A significant positive correlation exists between service quality and the dimensional variables of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy of AOSA. In conclusion, AOSA service quality is unsatisfactory, and management should take steps to empower and train staff in service recovery techniques in other to avoid service failures

Comparative Analysis of Stockpile Volume Estimation using UAV and GPS Techniques

Mining operations involve the extraction of minerals of economic value from the earth. In surface mining operations, overburdens need to be stripped in other to reach the ore. Large volumes of waste as well as ore is stripped in the process. Various technologies have been used to aid in stockpile volume estimation. Notable among them are the Total Stations and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). However, labour, safety and time has challenged the use of these technologies. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), commonly known as drone is an emerging technology for stockpile volume computations in the Mine. UAV technology for data collection is less labour intensive, safer and faster. Therefore, this study applied the UAV technology in an open pit to estimate stockpile volumes from a Mine. For the purpose of this study, GPS and UAV data were collected for measuring stockpile volumes of materials mined. The actual volumes of stockpiles A, B, C, D (Case 2), produced differences of 0.05% for A, 0.05% for B, 0.08% for C, 0.07% for D and 0.03% for A, -0.03% for B, 0.03% for C and 0.04% for D, for the GPS-based and the UAV-based techniques, respectively. The GPS-based technique generated moderate accuracies for volume estimation, but was time consuming and labour intensive, compared to the UAV-based technique; which was faster and less labour intensive. The UAV-based technique was the most accurate, safest and is capable of mapping large areas rapidly. It is therefore recommended that UAV survey be incorporated in stockpile volume estimation. Keywords: UAV, GPS, Stockpile, Mine, Total Station