Global ETD Search

191	Field spectroscopy of plant water content in Eucalyptus grandis forest stands in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa January 2008 (has links) The measurement of plant water content is essential to assess stress and disturbance in forest plantations. Traditional techniques to assess plant water content are costly, time consuming and spatially restrictive. Remote sensing techniques offer the alternative of a non destructive and instantaneous method of assessing plant water content over large spatial scales where ground measurements would be impossible on a regular basis. The aim of this research was to assess the relationship between plant water content and reflectance data in Eucalyptus grandis forest stands in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Field reflectance and first derivative reflectance data were correlated with plant water content. The first derivative reflectance performed better than the field reflectance data in estimating plant water content with high correlations in the visible and mid-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Several reflectance indices were also tested to evaluate their effectiveness in estimating plant water content and were compared to the red edge position. The red edge position calculated from the first derivative reflectance and from the linear four-point interpolation method performed better than all the water indices tested. It was therefore concluded that the red edge position can be used in association with other water indices as a stable spectral parameter to estimate plant water content on hyperspectral data. The South African satellite SumbandilaSat is due for launch in the near future and it is essential to test the utility of this satellite in estimating plant water content, a study which has not been done before. The field reflectance data from this study was resampled to the SumbandilaSat band settings and was put into a neural network to test its potential in estimating plant water content. The integrated approach involving neural networks and the resampled field spectral data successfully predicted plant water content with a correlation coefficient of 0.74 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.41 on an independent test dataset outperforming the traditional multiple regression method of estimation. The potential of the SumbandilaSat wavebands to estimate plant water content was tested using a sensitivity analysis. The results from the sensitivity analysis indicated that the xanthophyll, blue and near infrared wavebands are the three most important wavebands used by the neural network in estimating plant water content. It was therefore concluded that these three bands of the SumbandilaSat are essential for plant water estimation. In general this study showed the potential of up-scaling field spectral data to the SumbandilaSat, the second South African satellite scheduled for launch in the near future. / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008. Plant-water relationships--Measurement. Spectrum analysis. Spectral reflectance. Forests and forestry--Remote sensing. Forest management--KwaZulu-Natal. Trees--Effect of water levels on. Theses--Geography.
192	Cost-Benefit Analysis of Greening an Older Modest-Sized Home Leval, Delilah Zoe 01 October 2010 (has links) (PDF) This professional project estimates the upfront costs and utility savings expected from greening an approximately 1,100 square foot home built in the 1950s in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two sets of upgrades (alternative and original) were compared for costs and benefits. The alternative set (which included ceiling insulation and omitted upgrading to dual-pane windows) clearly out performed the original set. The alternative set would be expected to reduce resident utility bills by 28% annually, and to prevent approximately 2,700 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The water efficiency upgrades were the best performing group of upgrades, as they had the lowest upfront cost and shortest payback period. (These water efficiency upgrades consisted of modifying toilets, faucets, and showerhead, as well as upgrading the dishwasher and clothes washer to efficient models.) Future very low-budget greening programs, in nearly all cases, should include a full-set of water fixture modifications, weatherstripping, and clotheslines. As budgets allow, other upgrades from alternative upgrades list are recommended, such as ceiling fans, programmable thermostats, and ceiling insulation. Whenever possible, workforce development labor should be used to simultaneously reduce labor costs and multiply the social benefit of each project dollar by providing entry-level green collar jobs. Affordable housing low-income moderate-income established neighborhood Richmond California Bay Area 1950s small homes green energy efficiency water efficiency environment greenhouse gases cost-benefit analysis. Energy Policy Environmental Policy Public Economics Public Policy Urban, Community and Regional Planning Urban Studies
193	The boxing discourse in late Georgian England Ungar, Ruti 12 November 2012 (has links) Die Arbeit untersucht den Diskurs um das Boxen in der englischen Gesellschaft zwischen circa 1780 und 1820. Sie zeigt, dass er ein wichtiger Schauplatz für die Austragung sozialer, politischer und kultureller Konflikte war. Im Diskurs um das Boxen spiegeln sich in besonderem Maße die Konflikte zwischen civic humanism und politeness wieder, des Konfliktes zwischen zwei einander entgegengesetzten Männlichkeitsidealen: das Ideal vom starken Mann, das von den Boxern verkörpert wird und dem gegenüber das Ideal des verweichlichten und einfühlsamen ‚polite man‘. Boxen nimmt auch eine zentrale Funktion in den Debatten über die Rolle der Arbeiterklasse im ‚body politic‘ ein: von Konservativen wurde es eingesetzt als gegenrevolutionäre Maßnahme, um die Masse zu mobilisieren ohne Ihnen eine politische Teilhabe zu geben. Radikale sahen es als ein Instrument, um die Arbeiter zu ermächtigen, sie über Ihre Rechte zu informieren und deren Ansprüche auf Emanzipation zu legitimieren. Boxen war zudem ein Schlachtfeld, um verschiedene Verständnisse von Rasse und nationaler Identität auszutragen: einem Verständnis, dass das nationale Ganze als ethnisch homogen konstruierte und einem inklusiveren Verständnis der englischen Nation, das Minoritäten nicht ausschließen musste. / The study examines the discourse on boxing in English society circa 1780 to 1820. It shows that it was a site of struggle between diverse notions of gender, class, race, and nation. Boxing was a central arena for the opposition between civic humanism and politeness. It was an arena for the struggle between two diametrically opposed manly ideals, the strong and corporeal ideal epitomized by the boxers versus the feminine and sensitive polite ideal. Boxing took on an important role in the debates on the place of the working class in the body politic; conservatives perceived boxing as a counter-revolutionary measure and way to mobilise the masses in defence of their country without granting them political rights. Radicals viewed it as a tool to empowering the workers, educating them on their rights and legitimizing their claims for emancipation. Boxing was also a site of struggle between conflicting notions of race and differing ideas of national identity, specifically between one which saw the nation as ethnically homogenous and another, more cultural understanding of national identity, which was more inclusive to minorities. Diskurs Rassismus Boxen Civic Humanism Empfindsamkeit Männlichkeit Englische Nationale Identität Achtzentes Jahrhundert Georgianisches England William Cobbett William Windham Konservatismus Radikalismus Juden Schwarze Antisemitismus Körpergeschichte Daniel Mendoza Tom Molineaux Bill Richmond Sportgeschichte Kulturgeschicte des Sportes Sozialgeschichte des Sportes conservatism Racism Boxing civic humanism politeness masculinity english national identity eighteenth century Georgian England William Cobbett William Windham radicalism Jews Blacks Antisemitism History of the Body Daniel Mendoza Tom Molineaux Bill Richmond History of sport cultural history of sport social history of sport discourse 900 Geschichte NN 7500 NO 7100 ddc:900
194	Colour Vision Test for Railway Dispatchers Ramaswamy, Shankaran 27 April 2009 (has links) Introduction Colour codes are used extensively in railways to convey specific information governing movement of trains and equipment on the track. One such task is the railway traffic control display that uses colour coded video display terminals (VDTs) to convey information of the signal status, train movements and track status to the railway dispatcher. Because individuals with colour vision deficiencies (colour-defectives) may have problems with these colour-related tasks, questions were raised about the suitability of colour vision defectives to work as railway dispatchers. In order to answer that, a VDT based Dispatch Colour Vision Test based on the actual railway traffic display was developed previously. Purpose The main purpose of this thesis is to establish the pass/fail scores and repeatability of the VDT based Dispatch Colour Vision Test that resulted from the previous work. Secondly, the study will also examine whether clinical colour vision tests can predict the performance on the practical task. Methods The Dispatch colour vision test was divided into three parts based on the colour sets that the dispatcher had to recognize. The testing computer system used the the same RGB colour settings, graphics card and monitor as in railway dispatch centres. Subjects viewed the display colours and entered their responses by using a mouse. One hundred colour-normals and fifty two colour-defectives participated in the initial session. The test was repeated approximately after 10 days. Ninety three colour-normals (93%) and 44 (85%) colour-defectives participated in the second session. The total number of errors and time to complete the test was recorded. Results Pass/Fail on the VDT Dispatch colour vision test was based on colour-normal errors. Ignoring orange-red errors, two errors were allowed in the first session and one error was allowed in the second session. Based on this criterion, 42% of colour vision defectives could perform as well as colour normal subjects. The kappa coefficient of agreement between the sessions for the colour-defectives was 0.85. Detailed analysis between the colour differences and the errors showed only a weak correlation between the two. However, the general trend was that colour-defectives made more errors on colours that were near or along the same lines of confusions and the colours were nearly equal in luminance. Nevertheless, the interaction between luminance and location with respect to the lines of confusion was not easy to interpret. The time to complete the task for the colour-defectives who passed the test took 14% longer than colour-normals and colour-defectives who failed took 30% longer than colour-normals. All groups showed a similar learning effect with an 18% reduction in mean times to complete the task at the second session. There was no significant correlation between the number of errors and time to complete or the clinical tests and completion times for any of the groups. Clinical colour vision tests have limited value in predicting performance of colour-defectives on the Dispatch test. Logistic analysis results showed that the Farnsworth D-15 along with the Nagel was the best predictor of the VDT Dispatch colour test pass/fail results. However, these results were similar to using the Farnsworth D-15 test alone. Ninety-five percent of the individuals who failed the Farnsworth D-15 also failed the Dispatch test. However, approximately 25% of the individuals who passed the Farnsworth D-15 failed the VDT Dispatch colour test which is an unacceptable false negative rate. These results indicate the Farnsworth D-15 can only be used to predict who is likely to fail the dispatch test. Conclusions Forty two percent of colour vision defectives could perform as well as colour-normals in identifying VDT railway display colours and time to complete the task. Clinical colour vision tests were inadequate predictors of performance in practical task, overall. However, the Farnsworth D-15 was a very good predictor of who would fail the VDT Dispatch test. Hence a practical VDT Dispatch test may be needed to test individuals who would want to work as railway dispatchers. Color, Colour, Colour Defectives, Connotative Colour Tasks, Colour Naming, Vision Science
195	Colour Vision Test for Railway Dispatchers Ramaswamy, Shankaran 27 April 2009 (has links) Introduction Colour codes are used extensively in railways to convey specific information governing movement of trains and equipment on the track. One such task is the railway traffic control display that uses colour coded video display terminals (VDTs) to convey information of the signal status, train movements and track status to the railway dispatcher. Because individuals with colour vision deficiencies (colour-defectives) may have problems with these colour-related tasks, questions were raised about the suitability of colour vision defectives to work as railway dispatchers. In order to answer that, a VDT based Dispatch Colour Vision Test based on the actual railway traffic display was developed previously. Purpose The main purpose of this thesis is to establish the pass/fail scores and repeatability of the VDT based Dispatch Colour Vision Test that resulted from the previous work. Secondly, the study will also examine whether clinical colour vision tests can predict the performance on the practical task. Methods The Dispatch colour vision test was divided into three parts based on the colour sets that the dispatcher had to recognize. The testing computer system used the the same RGB colour settings, graphics card and monitor as in railway dispatch centres. Subjects viewed the display colours and entered their responses by using a mouse. One hundred colour-normals and fifty two colour-defectives participated in the initial session. The test was repeated approximately after 10 days. Ninety three colour-normals (93%) and 44 (85%) colour-defectives participated in the second session. The total number of errors and time to complete the test was recorded. Results Pass/Fail on the VDT Dispatch colour vision test was based on colour-normal errors. Ignoring orange-red errors, two errors were allowed in the first session and one error was allowed in the second session. Based on this criterion, 42% of colour vision defectives could perform as well as colour normal subjects. The kappa coefficient of agreement between the sessions for the colour-defectives was 0.85. Detailed analysis between the colour differences and the errors showed only a weak correlation between the two. However, the general trend was that colour-defectives made more errors on colours that were near or along the same lines of confusions and the colours were nearly equal in luminance. Nevertheless, the interaction between luminance and location with respect to the lines of confusion was not easy to interpret. The time to complete the task for the colour-defectives who passed the test took 14% longer than colour-normals and colour-defectives who failed took 30% longer than colour-normals. All groups showed a similar learning effect with an 18% reduction in mean times to complete the task at the second session. There was no significant correlation between the number of errors and time to complete or the clinical tests and completion times for any of the groups. Clinical colour vision tests have limited value in predicting performance of colour-defectives on the Dispatch test. Logistic analysis results showed that the Farnsworth D-15 along with the Nagel was the best predictor of the VDT Dispatch colour test pass/fail results. However, these results were similar to using the Farnsworth D-15 test alone. Ninety-five percent of the individuals who failed the Farnsworth D-15 also failed the Dispatch test. However, approximately 25% of the individuals who passed the Farnsworth D-15 failed the VDT Dispatch colour test which is an unacceptable false negative rate. These results indicate the Farnsworth D-15 can only be used to predict who is likely to fail the dispatch test. Conclusions Forty two percent of colour vision defectives could perform as well as colour-normals in identifying VDT railway display colours and time to complete the task. Clinical colour vision tests were inadequate predictors of performance in practical task, overall. However, the Farnsworth D-15 was a very good predictor of who would fail the VDT Dispatch test. Hence a practical VDT Dispatch test may be needed to test individuals who would want to work as railway dispatchers. Color, Colour, Colour Defectives, Connotative Colour Tasks, Colour Naming, Vision Science
196	“The Nonmusical Message Will Endure With It:” The Changing Reputation and Legacy of John Powell (1882-1963) Adam, Karen 24 April 2012 (has links) This thesis explores the changing reputation and legacy of John Powell (1882-1963). Powell was a Virginian-born pianist, composer, and ardent Anglo-Saxon supremacist who created musical propaganda to support racial purity and to define the United States as an exclusively Anglo-Saxon nation. Although he once enjoyed international fame, he has largely disappeared from the public consciousness today. In contrast, the legacies of many of Powell’s musical contemporaries, such as Charles Ives and George Gershwin, have remained vigorous. By examining the ways in which the public has perceived and portrayed Powell both during and after his lifetime, this thesis links Powell’s obscurity to a deliberate, public rejection of his Anglo-Saxon supremacist definition of the United States. John Powell (1882-1963) Powell John musical propaganda Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America Anglo-Saxon supremacy white supremacy Racial Integrity Act of 1924 one drop rule racial integrity racial purity John Powell Foundation White Top Folk Festival Annabel Morris Buchanan Buchanan Annabel Morris Radford University Radford College Powell Hall Roy Hamlin Johnson Johnson Roy Hamlin classical music classical piano classical pianist pianist Virginian Virginia Earnest Sevier Cox Cox Earnest Sevier Walter Ashby Plecker Plecker Walter Ashby Sonate Noble Sonata Teutonica Symphony in A Rhapsodie Negre Richard Brockwell Brockwell Richard At the Fair Sonata Virginianesque Marcus Garvey Garvey Marcus John Powell Day Anglo-Saxon folk music Anglo-Saxon racism racist Martin Luther King Jr. King Martin Luther Jr. musical politics sociopolitical memory public memory public history reputation legacy Richmond Virginia John Powell Arts and Humanities History

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