Redefinition of Japanese American Identity Essay

Redefinition of Japanese American Identity - Essay Example Industrialists sought Japanese immigrants to replace the Chinese after the Chinese Exclusion Act took effect. The cultural diversity in the U.S resulted in fundamental questions being raised on America’s culture and identity. The reception of other Asian Americans in U.S had its basis on the reception that the Chinese received. The Japanese later discovered during the Second World War that their achievements in U.S did not lead to any acceptance by the American community. The Japanese were placed in internment camps, unlike the German and Italian Americans (Takaki, p. 7). After the Second World War, and following the treatment of the Japanese Americans during the war, their identity underwent redefinition. This is because of the historical experiences and changes in laws, economics and attitude during the war. After the Second World War, Japanese Americans faced numerous challenges that helped in the creation of their identity. In 1942 following the Pearl Harbor attack, Presid ent Roosevelt instituted the Executive Order 9066. Though the order appeared neutral, it targeted the Japanese classified as a danger to the American society. Thousands of Japanese-American citizens were sent to hurriedly constructed camps (Takaki, p. 6). Many of these citizens spent close to four years in this camps living under heavily armed guards. This Japanese American had American citizenship but faced internment because of their original country’s attack on Pearl Harbor. While the Japanese Americans faced internment, the African Americans faced extreme discrimination and segregation. African Americans would be forced into war and later be discriminated by the exact society it protected (Jones, p. 9). While the Japanese Americans population in West U.S represented a small portion of Japanese Americans in the country, they faced hostility from the vast white population. Customs and laws shut them out from participation in civil life and economics. Japanese immigrants did not have rights to property or citizenship. However, their descendants became citizens by birth and successful in farming and business. The Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese gave the white Americans an opportunity to renew and reinforce their hostility towards the Japanese Americans. It also gave the white community an opportunity for targeting their competitors in economic activities. This community agitated for the elimination or removal of unwanted competitors-Japanese (Takaki, p. 6). White Americans posted relocation notices all over the American West Coast. The white Americans gave the Japanese one week to leave the country. Japanese farmer’s desperately looked to their unwilling neighbors to take care of their farms. Business owners and farm owners faced financial ruin. They lost everything and forced to sell their shops, homes, furniture and clothes. The Supreme Court in 1944 reinforced the exclusion constitutionally by declaring the permissibility of the exclusion to curtail the civil rights of the Japanese Americans because of the pressing public necessity (Jones, p. 6). This treatment of Japanese Americans by the white Americans is similar to the treatment of other Americans. The African and Mexican Americans faced exclusion from economic activities. Economic and social activities were the preserve of the white Americans, and they viewed other races as competition or slaves.

Impact of Arrival of Television on Electioneering In England Essay Example for Free

Impact of Arrival of Television on Electioneering In England Essay INTRODUCTION The invention of television marked he beginning of a new epoch. The age of information technology made information available at the push of a button. Facts and distortion of facts are the tools of the entertainment industry. Exaggeration is the premise on which the advertizing agency works. It is confluence of the audio visual impact which is one of the most powerful influences that is experienced by the individual. It left no human endeavor untouched .The fate of democracy is determined by the elections. Television was utilized for campaigning of the candidates participating in the election. It brought about a complete revamping of the election campaign. Local issues were sidelined and an emphasis on the national campaign was     the dominant feature of the election process.[1]Mass media had completely mesmerized both the masses and the persons responsible for planning and execution of the election campaign. The recent proliferation of the media channels has led to a depletion of issues that can be aired on these channels .therefore there has been a shift from national to local politics. The impact of the television is not just limited to what is going to be at the forefront but it has led to complete overhaul of the process. The campaigns are more articulate and well planned .The concept of negative publicity has been inducted like it was done never before. The elections are loosing personal touch as there is more emphasis on the how to air the campaign. Consequently the expenditure on the elections is rising partly because of infalation and partly because the campaigns are conducted on grand scale. British Law permits each party to air its programme, policies and agendas on the national channels across England for 20 minutes without paying any tariff for putting it on air. Each party is given a maximum of five repeat telecast. HISTORY OF POLITICAL BROADCAST Political broadcasting started in Britain in 1924 on radio with a20 minute allocation time for each party. it was started on television in 1951.   It was an unpaid time slot of 15 minutes that was allocated to each party. The political broadcasts are regulated by the 1990 Broadcasting Act and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000.The initial directives of the act forbade that the political advertisement should not be purely political in nature. In 2001 general election the   three major political parties were given five chances to broadcast their political campaign where as the minor political parties were given one chance if they were contesting one sixth of the total seats. 5 and 10 minutes of political advertisements were replaced by 240, 340 or 440and a stricture is placed on them so that they should not violate decency and good taste. All the political electoral broadcast by various party are simultaneously aired .These are either preceded or followed by   previews and reviews by the major news paper daily and there fore the messages are a kind of reinforced. Currently there is ongoing debate on whether the system of political broadcast should be completely scraped or it should be revised with a provision of paid commercials. Since time immemorial it has been stated that effective governance is related to whether the voters have made an informed choice. It is privileged class who will try different means to gather information about the party and candidates standing in the election. The masses either do not makes a conscious effort to gather information or they rely on effortless means to gain information about the political parties. What the media is representing can differ. On the one hand it can be balanced objective on the other hand it can be preferential[2] It has been observed that commercial broadcasting system can have ulterior motives as they are there to maximize their benefits. The national broadcasting system is more conducive to producing objective information   Ã‚  about the political parties[3]. Political advertising in England is more party oriented where as in America the emphasis is on the candidate .Lot of attention is being paid to the effect of use of media in the election .It is very difficult to conclusively prove that what results it is going to produce .England is a very old democracy and all the parties have their particular image .Media cannot altogether alter the image of the party   .It can highlight the achievement of the party and it can make the manifesto more lucrative. This premise is in accordance with the earliest studies of the impact of television on the electoral outcomes by Blumler and McQuail.[4] The party campaign through the media is expected to effect the voter turn out. It can bring to the forefront various campaign issues. It can create an enthusiasm for gathering more information about the party programmes.[5]These early studies reflected that voting for political parties were a matter of class and the election campaign served very little purpose. [6]The conservative and the Labour party were dividing the voters on the basis of who did manual labour and who didn’t work with their hands i.e the managers and the employers and the middle class The voters who changed their loyalties from one party to another were primarily for a short term. It has been observed that this faction was to swing back its support to he party which it originally adhered to.   It can be said that these floating voters can be influenced by the televised transmission of the electoral campaign. This can be contended because the labour part lost three elections in a row in 1959 although the class that does manual labour constitute major chunk of the electorate. The material prosperity entailed a spread of the middle class values and hence the conservatives won the election. The messages that are aired during the political campaigns in election are not the only information available to the electorate. The long term memory of the people might be short. That doesn’t mean that the events political debates     press conferences, by- elections etc preceding the election campaign have no consequence. The election campaign through the media is of two kinds. One in which the focus is on the image building or the achievement of the party .The other kind deals with the character assassination of the opponent. If the attack broadcasting is exaggerated and is not substantiated then it can create sympathy for the opponent. The conservative party campaign nick named ‘Demon eye’ of 1997 was counter productive It created an image of Labour as leftwing radicals. The electorate had experience a moderate labour party government under the leadership of Tony Blair. A caricature of Mr. Bust and Mr. Boom was used to depict the economic condition of England .The facts that Britain had experienced a spurt in the economy in 1980 under the leadership of Thatcher. This kind of media campaign has to be used with great caution as it is either counterproductive or it does not have any effect on the target audience. If there are fractions within the party then it can bolster unity among the contending fractions. The persuasive propaganda is more useful and almost all the parties realize that it is the best way to campaign .It pays attention to detailing the ideology of the party. It is oriented on the fact that the achievement of the party is highlighted. Moreover it is presented in manner that it appears more entertaining so as to keep the audience hooked on to it. It can be proved that the parties are more interested in this positive kind of advertisement by looking at the percentage of the campaign allocated to the political advertisement. Negative references were a small and similar proportion of the total literature of all three parties: 8.7 per cent Conservative, 10.4 Labour, 9.8 per cent Liberal Democrat. The televised broadcast of the political party programmes is useful tools because the minor political parties get a chance to make themselves felt. This is true for most of the countries who have democracy and who have televised political advertisement.[7] Even .The liberal democrats were able to make themselves felt through their advocacy strategy. In 1951 the minor parties had around 10% to 3% of the vote share. This vote share increased in the 1997 and almost one fourth of the total share of the vote. There are many reasons for the increase in the vote share of the relatively new and unknown political parties like social class. Education of the voter as it determines whether it is an informed choice or not. Media especially the print media is specially tilted in favor of conservative parties IT was in the I970s that the researches were conducted and it reflected that a change had occurred in the political environment of Britain .The voters were not holding to the rigid class bias of the political parties due to the influence of the television. The other factor that is responsible for this change was the economic affluence in England as that was responsible for mitigating the gap between the rich and the poor.[8]Other researches argue that this doesn’t mean that class politics has changed rather it can be seen as both the parties are going out of favor. Heath et al argue â€Å"analysts have mistaken changes in behavior by voters for changes in their motivation without asking first whether or not the political stimulus they have received is still the same or not. They suggest, for example, that variations in the strength of the class alignment may well reflect changes in the distance between the parties on class-based issues†.[9] The voters are not taking their decisions in vacuum there are certain political and social issues that are motivating the voters to vote for apolitical parties. The short term shift in the voters preference is based on the perception of the competence of the parties,. The parties in power can effectively utilize the print as well as the television in advertizing its achievement .There have been fears that   the hegemony of the media was responsible for the conservatives winning the election as they have the hegemony over the press. It has been time and again proved television is not the sole deciding factor in determining the outcome of the election. The 1980s saw a shift from the national to regional politics .There was a variation in the voting patterns from one region to another. If television has been the main sway in the elections then the entire country should have shown a similar pattern. Local campaign did make a difference The surveys conducted by the Labour party showed that Its percentage of votes was directly related to number of people working for the party [10] Local campaign play an important role in persuading the voters to vote for a particular party. It is very difficult to find out what was the ultimate reason for voting as the preferences of an individual are shaped in the recesses of an individuals mind. Television came second in the list of what influenced the voters of the survey conducted by MORI .The regional television can be utilized to create amore local and specific advertisement for the electorate. This area has yet to be explored by the political party..   The labour party topped the list of frequency of the reference of the constituencies and it made almost 28.7 per cent of sentences referring to local provision. The Conservatives made 16.5 per cent and made the Liberal Democrats 10.2 per cent references to the local issues. This means the elections are by and large fought on national issues which are effectively transmitted through the television. The lab our party has thrice lost elections till 1997. This reflects that though they made more references to the local electoral constituencies they were unable to convert the voters in their favour. CONCLUSION It is seen that the advent of television had completely changed the way in which we look at the different issues .Things which are of relatively lesser importance can be presented in an innovative method .The election process in England has its own peculiarities.   Television didn’t bring about a complete transformation of the election process of Britain. England is one of the oldest proponents of the institution of democracy. The two major parties the lobour and conservatives have their peculiar images .Television cannot completely alter the public perception. The older generation is more difficult to mould as its ideas are set .The televised broadcasting of the party manifesto can be aimed at the youth which is more likely to change its preferences. A perceptible shift is seen in the support base of the two major political parties the Labour party was supported by the people doing manual labour and the conservatives were supported by the middle class. The class distinction was thought to be the basis of the voting pattern. Now this distinction is becoming less and less important as media and economic affluence has reduced the gap between the rich and poor.   The influence of television has backfired on the two major parties .The minor political parties have increased their vote percentage. The major beneficiary is the Liberal Democratic Party. Although it has been the pristine premise that the informed electorate   can lead to the formation of more effective and responsible government .It can be said with certainty that the voters of the present age are more informed but there is difference between having knowledge and judicious use of knowledge..The other aspect of this election scenario of England is that there is no alternative to the present parties on the national level .Even if the voter is aware of the shortcomings of the present parties, he has no choice. The voters have to choose the lesser evil. REFERENCES Blumler, Jay G. and Denis Mc Quail. 1968. Television in Politics: Its Uses and Influence. London: Faber Faber.n.p Bonham, J. (1954), The Middle Class Vote (London: Faber)pp 56-62 Butler, D. and Stokes, D (1974) Political Change in Britain(2nd. edition) pp54-78(London: Macmillan) Evans, G. Heath, A., and Payne, C. (1999), ‘Class: Labour as a Catch-All Party?’ in Evans, G. and Norris, P. (eds.), Critical Elections: British Parties and Voters in Long-Term Perspective n.p   (London: Sage) Kaid, Lynda Lee and John C. Tedesco. 1993. ‘A comparison of political television advertising fromthe 1992 British and American campaigns.’ Informatologia 25(1-2): 1-12 Kavanagh,   The British General Election of 2001. Basingstoke n.p: Palgrave Macmillan News on Party Images in the 1997 British General Election. British Elections and Parties Norris, 2001. Ed. Britain Votes 2001.n.p   Oxford: Oxford University Press. Norris et al .1999; Norris and Sanders 2000   pp 110-120 Sanders, David and Pippa Norris. 1998. Does Negative News Matter? The Effects of Television Semetko , holi .A 1996 The Media In Comparing democracies edited by Lawerence   Le Duc,Richard Niemaand Pippa Norris London:Sage   pp254-279 Seyd, P. P. Whiteley (2002) New Labour’s Grass Roots: The Transformation of Labour Party Membership, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.pp10-38 Zaller John2003†Anew standerd of the news quality: Burglar alarm Monitorial Citizens†Political communication20 109-130 [1] (Kavanagh, (1970). The British General Election of 2001. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan News on Party Images in the 1997 British General Election. British Elections and Parties n,p [2] Zaller John2003†Anew standerd of the news quality: Burglar alarm Monitorial Citizens†Political communication20 pp109-130 [3] Semetko , holi .A 1996 The Media In Comparing democracies edited by Lawerence   Le Duc,Richard Niemaand Pippa Norris London:Sage   pp254-279 [4] Blumler, Jay G. and Denis McQuail. 1968. Television in Politics: Its Uses and Influence. London: Faber Faber.n.p [5] Norris et al .1999; Norris and Sanders 2000   pp 110-120 [6] Bonham, J. (1954), The Middle Class Vote (London: Faber)pp 56-62 [7] Kaid, Lynda Lee and John C. Tedesco. 1993. ‘A comparison of political television advertising from the 1992 British and American campaigns.’ Informatologia 25(1-2): pp1-12 [8] Butler, D. and Stokes, D (1974) Political Change in Britain(2nd. edition) pp 54-78(London: Macmillan) [9] Evans, G. Heath, A., and Payne, C. (1999), ‘Class: Labour as a Catch-All Party?n.p Norris, P. (eds.), Critical Elections: British Parties and Voters in Long-Term Perspective (London: Sage)n.p [10] Seyd, P. P. Whiteley (2002) New Labour’s Grass Roots: The Transformation of Labour Party Membership, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan pp.10 38

Use of gis and remote sensing data

Use of gis and remote sensing data INTRODUCTION Studies have shown that only few landscape on earth surface remain unaltered or in their natural state and is due to immerse demographic pressure and anthropogenic activities (Zubair, 2006). Competition between species and human beings has been the leading cause of land cover change in the world. This factor is substantially verified by the conversion of forest land to other uses like farmlands for agriculture, industry urban development, infrastructure, recreation and others. (Brown, 2004) Forest plays an important role in the overall stability of carbon in the atmosphere mitigating or exacerbating the effects of global warming. Therefore, Forest carbon sequestration can help to minimise the raise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, (Juan and Louis, 2009) It is therefore important to note that forests are counted among the worlds chief carbon sinks contributors. They store more than 289 giga tonnes (Gt) of carbon in their litter, deadwoods and soil and these are more than the carbon found in the atmosphere. Globally, there was decrease in carbon stocks of forest biomes of 0.5 Gt a year between 2000 2010 and was mainly due to deforestation, (FAO, 2010) â€Å"Globally, about 13 million hectares of forests were changed to other uses an some were lost through natural causes each year, that is between 2000 and 2010 as when compared to almost 16 million hectares per year during the 1990s† (FAO, 2010). The biggest losses or the highest net annual loss of forests from 2000 to 2010, are in South America and Africa with four and 3.4 million hectares respectively. On the other hand, a recent study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO, 2010) reveal that generally, the destruction of tropical forest for agricultural activities has decreased over the last ten years, but the rate of deforestation for other activities continues to increase at an alarming high rate. The tropical rain forests are significant component of the climate system and play an important role in the total carbon-dioxide exchange balance of the earths plant cover. McGuffie et al. (1995) suggested that the existence of tropical rain forest has a great influence on regional climate and as such tropical deforestation has been seen to affect the climate of different parts of the world. Tropical forests make up the most diversified ecosystems in the world with the highest biomass per square metre especially in the lowland rain forest (McGuffie et al. 1995). But much of the forest areas have been subjected to continuous depletion as a result of artificial or natural factors. The annual rate of destruction to the rain forest seems to be increasing and could double in the next few decade (Myers, 1992). The tropical rain forest in Nigeria is also undergoing severe exploitation as a result of population growth, urban expansions, mismanagement and socio-economic development. The process of deforestation is mainly caused by clearing of forest land for agricultural activities, logging, fuel wood, mining and industrialization etc. Like most tropical regions of the world, deforestation remain a key issue on environmental, ecological and socio-economic challenge in Nigeria (Uneke and Ibeh, 2009) Nigeria has the highest deforestation rate of primary forests from the revised deforestation figures obtained from Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Between 2000 and 2005 the country lost 55.5% of its primary forests and contributes 3.3% in the world therefore ranked the world highest rate deforested country. Since 1990 the country has lost a total of 6.1 million hectares or 35.7% of its forest covers and this has result in the lost of its primary or old forest at a faster rate. Since 2000 report have shown that Nigeria is losing at an average of 11% of this primary forest and which has double the rate of 1990s. Moreover, the Nigeria First National Biodiversity Report-NFNBR (2001) estimates the rate of deforestation at about 5% annually compared with 0.6% globally. The major causes of deforestation in Nigeria include corruption, overpopulation, urbanization, population growth, inequitable distribution of wealth, and poverty (Ayodele, 2010).The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has stated that the overwhelming cause of deforestation is agriculture. It stated that subsistence agriculture accounts for 48% of deforestation, while 32% of deforestation results from commercial agriculture. Wood-fuel is said to account for 5%. Forest biomass has remained the most common source of household energy in Nigeria, meeting 80% of domestic energy requirements. In 1992, alone, forest wood and charcoal products were estimated at 55 million tons, suggesting that much forest woods are been used for domestic purposes. According to Choji (2005), more than half of 9.6 million ha of rain forests in the south of Nigeria have been used to meet the demand for fuel wood in rural and urban neighbourhoods. Compared with the costs of petroleum product, fuel wood is cheaper than any commercial fuel substitute and this has, over the years, increased forest depletion. He further noted that this appears to have propounded effect on the environment and the sustainability of the forest. Similarly,(Uyigue and Agho,2007) also noted Logging, urbanization, oil exploitation, subsistence agriculture, and the collection of fuel-wood among all are noted as foremost causes of deforestation in Nigeria. Therefore an attempt will be made in this study to map out the status of changes in the forest areas of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria between 1987 and 2002 using both remote sensing and GIS. Research Question: Is there change in forest cover in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria between 1987 and 2002? Aim: To identify and map out changes in forest cover of Niger Delta Region Nigeria and adopt suitable methods in detecting such changes using remote sensing data and GIS techniques Objectives: * To analyze the Spatio-Temporal change in forest cover using classification methods * To apply different change detection techniques and identify changes in forest cover * To map out areas of changes * To analyze the effects of land cover change in the region and to suggest some recommendations. THE STUDY AREA The study area is located in the Atlantic coastline of southern Nigeria 5 °30N 6 °30s. Niger Delta region falls within the tropical rain forest zone of the world. Its named as the second largest delta in the world occupying about 450 kilometres spanning coastline. The region is describes as largest wetland in Africa and covers over 2000 square kilometres that mainly consists of lakes, rivers and creeks. Ecosystem is diverse and highly supportive to numerous species both aquatic and terrestrial and human life, (Uyigue and Agho, 2007). The region is vegetation cover is mainly swamp forest which can be further divided into two classes; the Mangrove and the fresh water forest. The Mangrove spanning around 1900 square kilometres and the largest in Africa,(Uyigue and Agho,2007). The main features of its geography include extreme blocks of luxuriant high forest that occur in the region. It has the largest ply-wood and veneer plants in West Africa and has known as a centre for saw milling. The area consist of three types of forest strata of tree tall (120m high), moderate (50m 100m) and those below 50m.Some common trees found in the area are obeche, abura, sepele and mahogany. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/523642/Sapele States found around the region include Niger Delta, Port Harcourt to south western states Oyo, Osun and Lagos state. The region has heavy precipitation of between 1824 millimetres and over 4000 millimetres along the coast. Rainfall falls throughout the year with a shorter break in August and longer one from December to January. Trade winds originated from Atlantic Ocean of the southern part of the country is responsible for Nigerian rainy seasons Nigeria. The region has an equatorial monsoon climate; temperature ranges between 28 °C (82.4 °F) and 26 °C (78.8 °F) (Wikipedia). Map showing the location of the study area LITERATURE REVIEW Landsat is an important component in the climate system, and plays a key role in monitoring global change and is primary source of medium spatial resolution earth observation used in decision making (Gyanesh Chandera et al., 2009). Remote sensed imagery provides accurate understanding and comprehensive way of modelling and projecting land change (Elvidge et al., 2004) With the introduction of landSat5 1984 and landSat7 ETM+ 2002, this has marked a significant advance in remote sensing through obtaining more sophisticated advance sensor; improve acquisition and transmission of data and more rapid processing at a highly processing facility (Gyanesh Chandera et al., 2009). Change Detection is one of the main applications of remote sensed data. A considerable amount of literatures has been published by the researchers in trying to quantify and assess land cover change detection Change detection is the process of identifying differences in the state on an object or phenomena by observing it at different times, over a certain period of time. (Singh, 1989) cited in (Lu et. al., 2004) A quite number of change detection techniques have been summarised by many authors in an attempt to find out land cover changes over time. Lu et al., (2004) categorizes these techniques into seven classes ranging from simple algebras to more complex and advance ones namely; Algebra which include image rationing, image differencing vegetation index differencing, Change vector analysis, others in the category includes transformations, classifications, Advance models, Biophysical parameter methods and those that involve the combination of both GIS and remote sensing data for analysis Change detection have gained wide range of application in the field land use land cover change; Peiju et al., (2010), reported to have used multi- temporal remote sensing Landsat TM to monitored urban land cover and vegetation change in Xuzhon city between 1987 2007, the result of the statistical analysis show that build up areas have obviously increase while farmland have seen in a continuous loss due to urban growth and human activities. Zubair (2006) detects changes in land use land cover in Kwara state Nigeria between 1972 1nd 2001 using change detection techniques of GIS and remote sensing data, the result of the analysis show that there was rapid growth in the built up areas and was a result of population pressure. He noted that there was steady reduction in forest cover in the study area and further predicts continues loss in subsequent years. Chen, 2002, noted the use of GIS and remote sensing techniques and monitors changes along the coastline zone of Korea, the result of t he study show that both human and natural factors are responsible for the change and this has on the other hand impacted the sustainable development of the region. Janifer et al., 2010, monitors forest change in the landscapes area of Chile between 1975 and 2008, the result of the study show an average rate Deforestation was -1.7% and shrub land -0.7%, however agriculture and timber plantations increased at annual rate of 1.1% and 3.3% respectively. The study concludes there is progressive lost of forest cover in the region. Moreover, in the field of Urban and environmental change; George et al., (2009), used Landsat imagery change detection methods in updating the 2001 national land cover database land cover classification to 2006, conservative thresholds based on Anderson level 1 classes were used to segregate the change vectors and determine areas of change and no change. An accuracy of 83.225% of the five selected areas achieved. Woodcock et al., (2001) noted Landsat in detecting environmental change over time, the study makes use of generalization method in monitoring large areas for forest change and conclude that method is state-of-the earth as other methods and consumes less time as other conventional methods Change detection in the field of forest or vegetation change includes the work of Chengquan et al., (2009), in the assessment of Paraguays forest cover change using Landsat observation of high resolution image showed that Atlantic forest ecosystem experienced the most loss with the 73.4% forest cover in the 1970s decreasing precipitously down to 40.4% by the 1990s and further down to 24.9% by the year 2000. Rasuly et al., 2010, noted the advantage of using GIS and remote sensing techniques to monitor the rate of forest alterations in the Arasbaran protected area using various methods, the result of the study show that about 6146.9 hectares of the area has being deforested over the past 18 years, in cooperating with the GIS also show that the lost was due to physiographic factors and they suggest to distant settlements from the protected area. Similarly Li et al., 2011, noted the advantage of Landsat Lider fusion for modelling the height of young forest. Schlerf and Atzberger (2005), estimates the structural canopy variables using hyper spectral remote sensing data INFORM â€Å"Invertible forest Reflectance Model†. Main advantage of this method is that it does not require previous calibration. Olthot el al., (2004) map out deciduous forest of ice storm damage using Landsat and environmental data in the east of Ontario, the study show a limitation in the difficulty of both remote sensing and environmental data to discriminate many levels of the deciduous ice damage, however it can be consider as a useful technique in differentiating areas of low to medium damage from the severe damage. An overall accuracy of 69% was achieved. Mapedza et al., 2003, investigate s land cover change of the forest reserve area of Mafungautsi Zimbabwe, the study show that whilst forest cover within the reserve remain the same, but however there is steadily decline outs its boundaries as a result of agricultural expansions, the collection of fuel wood and building materials demand 3.0 METHODOLOGY Pair of multi- temporal cloud free Landsat images was selected to classify the study area; 1987 and 2002, the image of image 1987 was Landsat 5 TM and the other Landsat 7 ETM+. The images were downloaded from GLCF websites in different layers and will be layer stack together using ERDAS Imagery 9.2. A subset will be collected and image enhancement is to apply using Histogram equalised to visualised features more clearly. The images were geo-reference to Universal transverse Mercator (WGS84 zone 32), and a common geo-link window covering the same geographical coordinates were then extracted from each image 3.1.1IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES: Digital image processing is classified into three classes which includes; pre-processing phase, processing phase and the post-processing phase. The pre-processing phase is the first stage in the processing technique, it involves correction of data through various means and techniques, different types of errors that are associated with any satellite images includes; geometrical error, atmospheric error and radiometric error. Geometric correction is a technique used to correct errors that are usually induced by sensor viewing, geometry and terrain variations, it involves correcting spatial distortion in an image due to earth curvature, atmosphere etc and thus giving it a real world coordinate system. The two images to be used in this study will not undergo the pre-processing phase because the two images obtained are ortho-rectified. The processing stages involve manipulation of images through the spatial enhancement and the spectral enhancement techniques. Image Enhancement; the procedure is applied in order to display effectively the tonal distinctions within various features display in the image. It normally involves techniques for increasing the visual distinctions between features to assists in visual interpretation and analysis. (lillesand et al., 2008 p482 ) Histogram -equalised stretch is going to apply to expand the DN values and also enhance the quality of the features in the image so that radiometric detail is enhanced. (Lillesand et al., 2008) 3.1.1 CLASSIFICATION ANALYSIS Supervised classification, using maximum likelihood algorithm is going to be used, supervised classification requires selection of sufficient training sample which are subsequently used to assign image pixels to the training samples that best fits the corresponding data, it separately classifies multi-temporal images, pixel by pixel. Supervised classification requires an immense amount of time and know-how in creating classified products. Moreover, the final accuracy depends upon on the value of the classified image of each date. Yueling and Xu (2010),reported to have used supervised classification technique in monitoring and driving force analysis of urban expansion in Guangzau City China and the result of the outcome shows an annual 19.7% growth rate. Post-classification comparison (PCC), is another important method that is recognized as the most effective and accurate method of detecting changes in mages with different dates and registry, the algorithm is capable of comparing the classified images pixel by pixel. The use of PCC is thus reduces the environmental and atmospheric effects associated with the temporal images and thus provide a complete change matrix (Lu et al., 2004). Accuracy assessment is the overall accuracy of the work done; it shows the proportion of ground sampling points that are correctly classified. The user accuracy shows the proportion of classified pixels in according with the actual ground types as taken from the ground truth testing data. Accuracy assessment allows you to evaluate a classified image file (Thematic raster layer). 3.1.2 CHANGE DETECTION TECHNIQUES: Change detection techniques is useful in a wide variety of applications such as; land use change analysis, monitoring shifting cultivation, assessment of deforestation etc. change detection techniques to be used for this studies will include; change vector analysis, image ratios and image differencing. These techniques have the ability to calculate area change, change rate as well as the spatial distribution changes. These techniques will involve computing the area covered by each of the two supervised classified images from the two data sources independently and compare between the two images for increase or decrease in changes that have occurred in terms of forest change cover (Lu et al., 2004). Change vector analysis is a technique that generates two outputs, the first output produced is on spectral change from the first to the second image and the second output will produce the total change magnitude per pixel, Change vector analysis is computed by determining the Euclidean distance between end points through n-dimensional change space (Lu et al., 2004). Its main advantage in terms of analyzing change detection is its ability to process any number of spectral bands desired by the analyst and capable of producing in detailed of change detection information as it defines threshold and identify change trajectories which is a good way to calculate percentage rate of change that has occurred in a particular studies. Moreover the direction of the spectral change is often relates to that type of change that had occurred (Lillesand et al., 2008). Method was used by Allen and Kupfer (2000) in conifer forest change detection. Image differencing is a change detection technique that will be used in this research to extract more information regarding the changes that have occurred in the study area; image differencing subtracts the first date image from the second date image, pixel by pixel to show the changes within the two dated images, it identifies suitable image bands and thresholds. Image differencing usually yields a better results when carried out on the intensity bands generated by transforming the RGB data sets into IHS color space. Singh (1986) applied this method in tropical forest change, similarly (Jha and Unni 1994) in forest conservation change detection. Image ratio is going to be applied because it is a simple way of trying to extract useful information from TM imagery. With image ratio technique, intensities of reflected energy recorded in one band for the pixel of a satellite images are divided by intensities in the same band for the other rectified images. Image ratios describe the color of an object, although the color only corresponds to human perception when the three visible bands of red, green and blue are considered. Image ratio is prepared by dividing the digital number in one band by the corresponding digital number in another band for each pixel, thus stretching the resulting values, and plotting the new values as an image rationing is an effective way of visualizing different types of soils because the main spectral differences in the visible and near infrared spectral regions are found in the slope of the reflectivity curves. It calculates the related quantity of registered images of different two dates pixel by pixel. Ratios for changed areas have higher values or lower ratio values whereas an area of no change tends to move towards one (1). An important advantage of this method is it tends s to normalize the impact of sun angle and shadow which has been caused as a result of external factors. (Lillesand et al., 2008 p596) Method has being used in land use mapping and change detection by Prakash and Gupta (1998) Finally, overlay operations would be made to see the changes that occur in the region. And Data is exported to GIS data base for map production. The above figure show a change detection procedure for the Landsat Images would undergo during the analysis.

The Plague as a Metaphor in Shelleys The Last Man :: Shelley The Last Man

The Plague as a Metaphor in Shelley's The Last Man      Ã‚   The Last Man was Mary Shelley's most ambitious and experimental work. Necessitating that a plague, which decimates mankind, is justified in its pursuit, Mary Shelley creates a world where utopian ideals can cause the destruction of mankind, if they are not checked by moral and ethical standards. Published in 1826, the novel was widely pilloried by a public who found it's gloomy tone and high Romanticism to be 'out of touch' with a more progressive society. Mary Shelley's concept of humanity decimated by a deadly plague affronted progressive politicians as godless and as a result, the novel was banned in Austria and became more of an in topic at dinner parties than a book to be seriously read. Since its publication, Mary Shelley scholars have ignored The Last Man and concentrated on Frankenstein because of the novel's reflection of the influential Romantic circle of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley. It wasn't until the feminist movement of the 1970's that the novel underwent a re birth and became critically judged as a work far superior to Frankenstein. Written three years after the death of Percy Shelley, The Last Man is a reflection of the political influence of William Godwin and the Romantic ideals of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley. Despite her initial desire to dedicate the work to the ideology of these men, The Last Man serves as Mary Shelley's repudiation of the utopian ideal perpetuated by Godwin, Shelley and Lord Byron. The plague serves as a metaphor for the failure of the utopian ideal to support the traditional needs of the family. As a biographical and political novel, The Last Man is Mary Shelley's quest to understand her husband, father and Lord Byron's political ideals and their subsequent failure to support her and her children.    Mary Shelley led a most extraordinary life. As the daughter of the radical writers, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, it appeared to be Mary's destiny to earn a living through her writing. As she states in her 1831 preface to Frankenstein, "It is not singular that, as the daughter of two persons of distinguished literary celebrity, I should have very early in life thought of writing" (Hindle 5). After the death of Percy Shelley in 1822, Mary spent the next three years trying to atone for what she believed were her sins against Shelley.

Introduction to Issues in Literature and Culture Essay

Course Description and Objectives This course critically examines various literary themes in twentieth and early twenty first century novels, plays and poetry. These texts are fictionalized representations of circumstances in which fear, ignorance, and misunderstanding have shaped our sense of modern history and contemporary culture. They give voice and offer claims of identity to those in society who have traditionally remained socially and often economically marginalized, mostly women, the poor, and people of colour. You also will learn the methods of developing an effective thesis and supporting evidence for a literary analysis essay. Required Texts Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Choy, Wayson. The Jade Peony Headrick, Paul. A Method for Writing Essays about Literature Yousafzai, Malala. I Am Malala. Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the Life Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men Course Notes for ENGL 101 Important: Notes about the course literature and class weekly reading questions will be posted on the Weekly Outline section of Moodle on FIC’s website, http://learning.fraseric.ca. This material must be reviewed before coming to class. You must log in using your FIC username and password. Assessment 15% Reading Quizzes 10%Proposal and First Draft of Literary Analysis Essay (1250-1500 words) 20% Revised Draft of Literary Analysis Essay 20%Mid-Term Exam 25%Final Exam 10%Attendance and Participation Grading Scale// A+ = 95-100% A = 90-94% A- = 85-89% B+ = 80-84% B = 75-79% B- = 70-74% C+ = 65-69% C = 60-64% C- = 55-59% D = 50-54% F = 0-49% Reading Quizzes Completing all assigned reading is essential to being successful in the course. There will be a short reading quiz after the completion of certain works of literature. These quizzes will be straightforward for students who have completed the reading assignments and have participated in class activities and discussions. Missed quizzes cannot be made up. Essay Proposals and Outlines An essay proposal outline must be submitted before essays are due. These proposals, about one page in length, should summarize the stance of your essay, and present a detailed outline of the essay’s structure (details TBA). Feedback will be offered to help ensure successful completion of the essays. Essays Much of your grade depends on the successful completion of your literary analysis papers, which should be original scholarly interpretations of the assigned literature. All essays must be typed, using correct English grammar and MLA format. E-mail submissions of essays will not be accepted unless they are prearranged with the instructor, and a printed copy also must be submitted at the next class meeting. Late essays may be marked down by at least one letter grade. Essays more than one week late may not be accepted. You will be given extensive comments on your first draft of your essays and essay proposals, and you are expected to incorporate the instructor’s feedback into your final drafts. Exams The mid-term and final exams for this course will be administered in class and will consist of short questions, passage analyses, and short essays. You will be given more information about these exams throughout the semester. Attendance and Participation You are expected to attend all class meetings. You will spend a great deal of the class in response groups or work teams with peers, and the absence of one member can make progress on projects difficult. A number of activities conducted in response groups must be submitted as homework. Attendance records will be kept; students are required to maintain at least an 80% attendance rate. If you fail to attend class in the first week of the semester, this will count as a double absence on your participation grade. Plagiarism and Academic Honesty The ideas put into your written assignments must be your own. The ideas of others must be documented in MLA style. Plagiarized work will be failed and can even result in an F for the entire course. Issue of plagiarism and academic honesty as well as methods of MLA documentation will be covered during the early weeks of the semester. Academic Advising FIC provides academic advising to all students, free of charge. FIC runs study skills tutorials and peer review to help students become more effective writers, from planning and organizing a paper, to writing and proofreading it. These tutorials and reviews are a valuable resource for any student, and you are encouraged to attend these sessions. Scheduling for academic advice and weekly peer tutoring will be posted on the FIC student portal during the first two weeks of the semester. Class Schedule (subject to change) Week One: Tues, May 6/ Thurs, May 8 Course Introduction Read: Begin Jade Peony Read: Method For, Chapt.1 Week Two: Tues, May 13/ Thurs, May 15 Read: Continue Jade Peony Read: Method For Writing, Chapt. 2 Week Three: Tues, May 20/ Thurs, May 22 Read: Complete Jade Peony Read: Begin The Narrative (Douglas) Read: Method For Writing, Chapt. 3 (pp. 27-33 and 40-43) Sample Essay #1 (p.98-100) Week Four: Tues, May 27/ Thurs, May 29 Read: Continue The Narrative Read: Method For Writing, Chapt. 4 Sample Essay #2 (pp.106.109) Week Five: Tues, June 3/ Thurs, June 5 Read: Complete The Narrative Week Six: Tues, June 10 / Thurs, June 12 Read: Begin I Am Malala Plan for Literary Analysis Essay due Week Seven: Tues, June 17 Thurs, June 19 Read: Continue I Am Malala Mid-Term Exam Week Eight: Tues, June 24/ Thurs, June 26 Read: Complete I Am Malala First draft of Literary Analysis Essay due Week Nine: Tues, July 1 / Thurs, July 3 Read: Begin Of Mice Week Ten: Tues, July 8/ Thurs, July 10 Read: Complete Of Mice Week Eleven: Tues, July 15/ Thurs, July 17 Read: Things Fall Apart Week Twelve: Tues, July 22/ Thurs, July 24 Read: Continue Things Fall Apart Revised draft of Literary Analysis Essay due Week Thirteen: Tues, July 29 /Thurs, July 31 Read: Complete Things Fall Apart Course Review Final Exam (date TBA)

The Significance of the Research Proposal Research Paper Example

The Significance of the Research Proposal Research Paper Example The Significance of the Research Proposal Paper The Significance of the Research Proposal Paper If you have never written a research proposal before, you may wonder why it is an important and necessary part of your academic career. A research proposal is a document written by the student that provides an in-depth description and analysis of a proposed program. Its main purpose is to outline the entire research process that gives the professor a summary of the information discussed in a project. Typical proposals also include an extensive but focused literature review. A research proposal is your first chance to present your thesis or dissertation ideas in written form to your professors and committee members. This allows you to demonstrate and show to them that you have conceptualized your research around a set of clearly defined research questions about a particular topic. After your professors and university committee members review your proposal, they will further advise you about how you should continue your research. If you submit a well-written, detailed and sophisticated proposal, you will have little trouble incorporating the advice and comments of your professors into your future research. Why is such a proposal important? Simply put, they can be written for various reasons, such as requesting a budget for the research they describe, certification requirements for research (in case experimentation on living creatures needs to be done), as a task in an education environment (before performing research for a thesis), or as a condition for employment at a research institution. In short, your research proposal has to be accepted. A lot is on the line when you are forced to write such an assignment. But more often than not, these tasks, although important, are very time consuming and often lead to illness such as depression, anxiety and stress. It is no surprise either. Creating a successful proposal is no simple task. It means spending more time preparing and planning. In addition, you have to spend time organizing your planning and research, writing and formalizing your proposal, submitting the document to the funder and doing follow-ups. Some proposal documents are 5 pages in length while others can exceed even 40 pages. Such a daunting task can shake even the most skilled writers. The amount of time that needs to be invested is alarming and in most cases impossible. Universities have unfairly made research proposals into a competition of sorts where only the best will be accepted and funded. This raises many problems, especially for the bright students with ingenious minds, but lack of time or lack of proper grasp on the English language. Some students may have the skills required, but they may poorly execute it because of a lack of experience in general writing. It is in situations like these where students should turn to the professionals for help, and there is no better set of professionals than at Paperap.com. Paperap.com is a company with only one goal in mind, making sure you succeed. We offer the services of the best writers available. Our team carefully hand picks each writer for every task to ensure the assignment you need is of maximum quality. Students who wish to submit a high quality, professional styled research proposal can work with us to ensure their proposal gets accepted. We will put you in contact with your specific writer so you can work with him or her step by step to direct, organize and head the assignment yourself and ensure everything goes as planned. With our help, students and scholars alike will no longer have to worry about grammar, time or style of writing, as all such tasks will be handled by us in an absolute perfect manner. We guarantee our work will be 100% genuine, plagiarized free and will be delivered on time to ensure you meet your deadline. When your proposal needs to be accepted, Paperap.com is the company that ensures it does. Every single research proposal is unique and should be written with specific approach depending on assignments particular instructions. Our research proposal writing company has reach experience in all academic levels of writing. We know what you need and we deliver it to you!