Forest cover estimation in Ireland using radar remote sensing: a comparative analysis of forest cover assessment methodologies

Quantification of spatial and temporal changes in forest cover is an essential component of forest monitoring programs. Due to its cloud free capability, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an ideal source of information on forest dynamics in countries with near-constant cloud-cover. However, few studies have investigated the use of SAR for forest cover estimation in landscapes with highly sparse and fragmented forest cover. In this study, the potential use of L-band SAR for forest cover estimation in two regions (Longford and Sligo) in Ireland is investigated and compared to forest cover estimates derived from three national (Forestry2010, Prime2, National Forest Inventory), one pan-European (Forest Map 2006) and one global forest cover (Global Forest Change) product. Two machine-learning approaches (Random Forests and Extremely Randomised Trees) are evaluated. Both Random Forests and Extremely Randomised Trees classification accuracies were high (98.1–98.5%), with differences between the two classifiers being minimal (<0.5%). Increasing levels of post classification filtering led to a decrease in estimated forest area and an increase in overall accuracy of SAR-derived forest cover maps. All forest cover products were evaluated using an independent validation dataset. For the Longford region, the highest overall accuracy was recorded with the Forestry2010 dataset (97.42%) whereas in Sligo, highest overall accuracy was obtained for the Prime2 dataset (97.43%), although accuracies of SAR-derived forest maps were comparable. Our findings indicate that spaceborne radar could aid inventories in regions with low levels of forest cover in fragmented landscapes. The reduced accuracies observed for the global and pan-continental forest cover maps in comparison to national and SAR-derived forest maps indicate that caution should be exercised when applying these datasets for national reporting

The organizational construction of hegemonic masculinity: the case of the US Navy

This article examines the construction of hegemonic masculinity within the US Navy. Based on life history interviews with 27 male officers, this study explores alternative discourses and identities of officers from three different communities in the Navy: aviation, surface warfare, and the supply corps. Definitions of masculinity are relationally constructed through associations of difference: aviators tend to draw upon themes of autonomy and risk taking; surface warfare officers draw upon themes of perseverance and endurance; and supply officers draw upon themes of technical rationality. Further,these masculinities depend upon various contrasting definitions of femininity. Finally,this article explores a series of contradictions that threaten the secure construction of masculinity within this military culture

Finding voice within the gender order

There are many different viewpoints and discourses that pay claim to understanding the nature of gender. Few topics have generated as much interest within the social sciences, as well as in the popular media. In the spirit of Kurt Lewin, we know that the theories we hold have practical implications for how we live and act. For this reason, it is useful to explore the background of these theoretical foundations as a way to introduce the articles in this issue and relate them to the ongoing gender debates in organizational and social science. After briefly summarizing the essentialist view, sex role theory, and social constructionist theory, I will summarize the thrust of the four articles in this journal, frame them within the context of the constructionist perspective, and suggest how they add to this important debate

Effect of Exercise on Photoperiod-Regulated Hypothalamic Gene Expression and Peripheral Hormones in the Seasonal Dwarf Hamster Phodopus sungorus

Acknowledgments: Many thanks to Dana Wilson, Susan Hay, David Brown and Vivienne Buchan at RINH, Siegrid Hilken and Esther Lipokatic-Takacs at UVMH for the excellent technical support and advice provided. Many thanks are due to Claus Mayer of Biomathematics, Statistics Scotland for assistance with the statistical analysis of data. Author Contributions: Conceived and designed the experiments: IP SS FS PB. Performed the experiments: IP RD FS. Analyzed the data: IP RD FS SS PB. Wrote the paper: PB SS FS IP.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Investigation of Vegetation Discontinuities and the Enhancement of Convection Related to the April 27 2011 Multiple Ef4 and Ef5 Tornado Scars

During the April 25 – 28, 2011 severe weather outbreak, 350 tornadoes were confirmed across 21 states, making the event the largest 3-day outbreak in U.S. History. Of the 350 tornadoes, 13 were of EF4 or EF5 strength. Due to complex terrain and vegetation in northeastern Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee, only four tornadoes were analyzed in this study. Abrupt changes in vegetation and the related sensible and latent heat fluxes have been shown to enhance convective activity along and near the resulting land surface discontinuities. This study analyzed heightened convective activity (analyzed by looking at cloud-to-ground lightning data) along each tornado track on days of weak synoptic forcing. Post- tornado months showed no signs of enhanced convective activity along any of the tornado tracks analyzed in this study, which could be attributed to several factors including study period, duration of intensity, tornado track length and width, and land cover

Asymptotics of 4d spin foam models

We study the asymptotic properties of four-simplex amplitudes for various four-dimensional spin foam models. We investigate the semi-classical limit of the Ooguri, Euclidean and Lorentzian EPRL models using coherent states for the boundary data. For some classes of geometrical boundary data, the asymptotic formulae are given, in all three cases, by simple functions of the Regge action for the four-simplex geometry.Comment: 10 pages, Proceedings for the 2nd Corfu summer school and workshop on quantum gravity and quantum geometry, talk given by Winston J. Fairbair

A sketch of Theodore R. Sarbin's life

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/ni.25.2.10schTed Sarbin was born on May 8, 1911 in Cleveland, Ohio. He died on August 31, 2005, in Carmel, California. He was born into a poor Jewish family from eastern Europe, and died at his home — beloved by his friends and family, and acclaimed by his professional colleagues as a psychologist of distinction. This article traces the course of his life — with special attention to the formative influences in his education as a psychologist. As a psychologist, he became a significant critical voice — arguing for a psychology that would embrace narrative as a principle of understanding human life, and contextualism, as opposed to mechanism, as a world view

Impact of Religious Factors in Nebraska Adoptions

I. Introduction … A. In General … B. Empirical Studies … 1. Nebraska Adoption Agencies … 2. Nebraska County Judges II. Crossing Religious Lines; The Natural Mother vs. the Adoptive Parents … A. Non-Dedicated Child; Adoptive Parents’ Religion Differs from Natural Mother … B. Dedicated Child; Adoptive Parents of Different Faith … C. Instructed Child; Adoptive Parents of Different Faith … 1. Common Basic Faith of Adoptive Parents Differs from Child’s Instruction … 2. One Adoptive Parent Has Same Faith as Child’s Instruction … 3. Adoptive Parents and Child of Different Branch of Protestant Faith III. Religiously Mixed Marriages … A. Sociological Research … B. Judicial Case Law … C. Agency and Judicial Concern in Nebraska Adoption Cases IV. Church Membership and Attendance … A. The View of the Church … B. Religion and Behavior … C. Religion and Marriage … D. Percentage of Population Religiously Interested … E. Agency and Judicial Concern in Nebraska Adoption Cases V. Atheists and Agnostics VI. Conclusio

Impact of Religious Factors in Nebraska Adoptions

I. Introduction … A. In General … B. Empirical Studies … 1. Nebraska Adoption Agencies … 2. Nebraska County Judges II. Crossing Religious Lines; The Natural Mother vs. the Adoptive Parents … A. Non-Dedicated Child; Adoptive Parents’ Religion Differs from Natural Mother … B. Dedicated Child; Adoptive Parents of Different Faith … C. Instructed Child; Adoptive Parents of Different Faith … 1. Common Basic Faith of Adoptive Parents Differs from Child’s Instruction … 2. One Adoptive Parent Has Same Faith as Child’s Instruction … 3. Adoptive Parents and Child of Different Branch of Protestant Faith III. Religiously Mixed Marriages … A. Sociological Research … B. Judicial Case Law … C. Agency and Judicial Concern in Nebraska Adoption Cases IV. Church Membership and Attendance … A. The View of the Church … B. Religion and Behavior … C. Religion and Marriage … D. Percentage of Population Religiously Interested … E. Agency and Judicial Concern in Nebraska Adoption Cases V. Atheists and Agnostics VI. Conclusio