Remote Sensing of 1998 and 2000 Floods in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh: Experiences from Catastrophic and Normal events

This paper is an attempt to develop a series of maps that precisely depict flood prone areas in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh using remote sensing techniques. Multi-temporal RADARSAT SAR data were acquired and employed to delineate open water flood boundary during the floods of 1998 and 2000. Using a threshold algorithm, SAR data is segregated into water and non-water areas. The empirical threshold value was obtained by using visual interpretation technique, local knowledge of the study site and by deriving corresponding pixel values to land/water from each image. The result demonstrated that 53 percent of the study area was heavily inundated in 1998 flood which is the largest submerged area during a catastrophic scenario. In contrast, 35.32 percent area was flooded during the year 2000 which represents the area under water for a normal event. Using the reference data acquired from field visit, derived flood maps were further validated. Moderate accuracy is obtained for all flood maps, however, July 1998 image attained the highest overall accuracy (86%) in the dataset. The derived flood maps are expected to be useful to mitigate losses of lives and property from river water flooding in Greater Dhaka. Furthermore, this information would be worthwhile to develop an efficient flood disaster management system

Evaluating Flood Damage using GIS and RADARSAT data-A case of the 1998 Catastrophe in Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh

The objective of this paper is to delineate flood prone areas and estimate damage in Greater Dhaka during the 1998 catastrophic flood using an integrated approach of GIS and remote sensing. Time series RADARSAT SAR data is acquired and used to demarcate flood boundaries for the 1998 flood event. This was accomplished by thresholding linear SAR imageries. Flood estimation demonstrated that flood areas steadily increased from early July 1998 and peaked on 25 August 1998 inundating 53% lands due to heavy monsoonal downpour and discharge from upstream points. Different thematic layers were combined with a derived flood map in order to assess flood damage for the same event. Flood damage analysis revealed that substantial damage has occurred in Greater Dhaka during the 1998 flood

Return from education system in Bangladesh: An investigation on comparative flashback scenario

This article examines the contribution made by the school system in Bangladesh using primary data gained form a small scale of research. Secondary data also supplements. Both formal and informal education gained from society and other sources are considered. Findings show that primary education contributes mainly for social development. Secondary provision also contributes for social development; a small contribution for economical development is also noted. Higher Education (HE) consumes a large portion of public and private fund to ensure economic development. Unfortunately, because of existing job pattern in Bangladesh and requirements placed for recruitments, contribution from HE is not satisfactory. Overall conclusion suggests that there is a scope for development at each provision. This study also advocates an urgent need to conduct a broader study on this issue to make the education system more effective towards the development

Does an MBA degree advance business management skill or in fact create horizontal and vertical mismatches?

Purpose: An old saying –“Jack of all trades, master of none”– deliberately asserts that the purpose of a master’s degree program is to generate high level job skills in order to improve a nation's economy, while a bachelor degree produces economically productive graduates. Employment of such graduates is fundamentally important for personal and economic development. There is a link between a bachelor’s and master's degree and how these qualifications are linked to the job market. Both horizontal and vertical mismatches are developed which is the central focus of this research. Design/methodology/approach: Given the differentiated nature of research questions, multiple techniques are used to collect the data. However, this research bears the norms of the qualitative method. Both secondary and primary data are used, and meanwhile secondary data are collected by the banks, Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), University Grants Commission (UGC) and by the institutions sampled. Primary data are gathered from interviews with key people. Data were collected from three institutions of higher education and from six commercial banks and from the Central Bank. The academic results of 21,325 MBA graduates and education backgrounds of 750 executives working in banks served as the basis for establishing our arguments. Findings: This study discovers that MBA graduates who have studied science subjects achieved much better grades in the MBA compared to their counterparts who studied business from secondary provision to first degree. The market-driven MBA programme has become a “business product”. The major revenue of higher education institutions comes from enrolment in MBA courses. For this reason, a science-friendly MBA program is developed to generate more business. If this continues, the philosophy of the master's program would either be lost or will have to be redefined in the 21st century. Originality/value: While a few studies have investigated the area of HE in Bangladesh, none covers the impact of MBA degrees on the job market and its contribution to enhancing job skills

Multi-dimensional earthquake vulnerability assessment of residential neighborhoods of Mymensingh City, Bangladesh: A spatial multi-criteria analysis based approach

The assessment of the vulnerability of a city to different natural hazards is the prerequisite to achieving sustainable urban resilience. The city of Mymensingh is located in the most earthquake vulnerable zone of Bangladesh and surrounded by multiple fault lines including the Madhupur Blind Fault, Dauki Fault, and Sylhet-Assam Fault lines. The city also achieved the title of the 8th divisional city in 2015, thereby opening the door to unrestrained future development. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to assess the earthquake vulnerabilities of Mymensingh city and this research is envisioned to evaluate this vulnerability by combining 23 parameters derived from four major dimensions-geological, socio-economic, structural and systematic dimensions. The MCDM techniques of Analytical Hierarchy Process and Weighted Linear Combination coupled with GIS-based spatial analysis were applied in this study to assess the residential neighborhood-level earthquake vulnerability. The findings show that out of the 241 residential neighborhoods of Mymensingh city, 51 are observed to be highly vulnerable, while 123 are exposed to medium vulnerability and 67 to low vulnerability. According to the analysis, the topmost factors that make Mymensingh City highly earthquake-vulnerable are the soil type, proximity to the fire station, elderly population levels, Peak Ground Acceleration, child population levels and distance to healthcare facilities. The simplistic, efficient, and reasonably accurate methodology and findings of this research are expected to be helpful for policymakers in low-income countries to prioritize special consideration areas, resource targeting, and deciding on appropriate planning and development control interventions for disaster management

Education quality comparing between official measurement scale and inter-counterparts' perception: a new horizon for learning assessment

Referring to the official measurement scale, global evidences confirm that 'education quality' has continuously been improving. On the other hand, studies examining the role of education discover that education continuously fails to play the desired role. Therefore, claims are made that 'education quality' is denting. Keeping this view in mind, this research is conducted to assess the education quality, making a comparison between the official measurement scale and 'inter-counterparts' perception'. Both primary and secondary data are used. According to the official measurement scale, 'education quality' has been improved substantially for every provision-primary to tertiary. Apparently, the entire system functions well where performances and 'education quality' of all provisions are synchronised. On the other hand, 'inter-counterparts' perception' indicates that 'education quality' of all provisions deteriorates gradually and they live in an isolation. This research suggested a new horizon for assessment which would ensure substantial learning outcomes; helping the developing world

Contribution of informal and institutional skills provisions on business inception and growth: evidence from manufacturing and service industries

Purpose: Criteria of skills and their schemata have evolved out of historical social practices. Interpretation of social events is guided and constrained by the prevailing rationality which itself reflects the dominant constellation of power. Hence, some argued that informal provision of skills delivery is the base of business growth. Upon the success of informal provision, institutional counterpart unethically grabs the market, kicking off the earlier. Evidences arguably confirmed that the institutional provision of skills delivery contributes to rapid business growth. Business growth is indeed important but not at the cost of exploitation of ethics which is the central focus of this study. Design/methodology/approach: Given the differentiated nature of research questions, multiple techniques are used to collect the data. However, this research adopts the norms of qualitative methods. Both secondary and primary data are used. While secondary data are collected through document reviews, primary data are collected via interviews. In total, 12 industries are sampled and equally distributed into two sectors (manufacturing and services). Findings: Findings show that the professional positions in the manufacturing industries at their inception phase were occupied by non-university graduates who received neither informal trainings nor on-the-job trainings. Over the time, university graduates started capturing the market. This has forced the non-university graduates to accrue a diploma from the universities in order to retain. Those who failed to obtain a university diploma are compelled to leave the sector. In fact, professional positions in service industries at the inception phase were mainly occupied by the university graduates who did not study the relevant subjects from the universities but received training from the informal provision. Later, universities started offering these programmes. Originality/value: A few studies have been published in the area of manufacturing industries especially on garments sector. None covers the paradigm transformation of skills (human capital theory) in garments. The authors also failed to locate a comparative study that maps the contribution of different provisions of skills providers and their paradigm transformations occurred within manufacturing and service industries. Therefore, this project explores the contribution of informal and institutional provisions of skills delivery for the inception and growth of industries by comparing between manufacturing and service industries

Lessen the salinity effect on rice production in salty regions of Bangladesh using organic amendment

Most distressing ecological stress is salinity that reduced agrarian production. One of the main adaptation processes for plants to tolerate salinity is the accumulation of organic compounds. The main objective of the present study was to mitigate the adverse effects of soil salinity through organic amendments (wooden ash, rice straw, rice husk ash) in rice cultivation. The field experiment was conducted at the farmer's fields of Tala upazilla under Satkhira district with BINA dhan10, a saline tolerant rice variety in dry season. There were five treatment combinations with chemical fertilizers and different organic substances. Application of organic substances reduced the salinity which thus helps for physiological growth of rice. Wooden ash along with rice straw reduced the highest salinity among the treatments. The nutrient uptake of the different treatments was found better than the control plot and the highest is observed from treatment with ash and rice straw combination. The grain K+/Na+ ratio is found high in the entire organic treated plot. But the silicon (Si) uptake was better where rice husk ash was added. The cumulative effect of different organic amendments reflected in the yield contributing feathers and grain yield of rice. The highest yield was produced (5.81 t ha-1) from T2 (ash + rice straw) treatment although other treatments produced similar grain yield except T3 and T1. Apart from the study, the soil analysis express a little positive change in soil carbon content but other elements (N, P, K and S) are found almost similar due to one season crop cultivation. The combined effect of organic amendment reduced the stress caused by salinity on rice production in saline prone regions, which is advantageous for Bangladeshi farmers