Land surface temperature retrieval from Sentinel 2 and 3 Missions

In this work we explore the synergistic use of future MSI instrument on board Sentinel-2 platform and OLCI/SLSTR instruments on board Sentinel-3 platform in order to improve LST products currently derived from the single AATSR instrument on board the ENVI- SAT satellite. For this purpose, the high spatial resolu- tion data from Setinel2/MSI will be used for a good characterization of the land surface sub-pixel heteroge- neity, in particular for a precise parameterization of surface emissivity using a land cover map and spectral mixture techniques. On the other hand, the high spectral resolution of OLCI instrument, suitable for a better characterization of the atmosphere, along with the dual- view available in the SLTSR instrument, will allow a better atmospheric correction through improved aero- sol/water vapor content retrievals and the implementa- tion of novel cloud screening procedures. Effective emissivity and atmospheric corrections will allow accu- rate LST retrievals using the SLSTR thermal bands by developing a synergistic split-window/dual-angle algo- rithm. ENVISAT MERIS and AATSR instruments and different high spatial resolution data (Landsat/TM, Proba/CHRIS, Terra/ASTER) will be used as bench- mark for the future OLCI, SLSTR and MSI instruments. Results will be validated using ground data collected in the framework of different field campaigns organized by ESA.

Cloud information content analysis of multi-angular measurements in the oxygen A-band: application to 3MI and MSPI

The vertical distribution of cloud cover has a significant impact on a large number of meteorological and climatic processes. Cloud top altitude and cloud geometrical thickness are then essential. Previous studies established the possibility of retrieving those parameters from multi-angular oxygen A-band measurements. Here we perform a study and comparison of the performances of future instruments. The 3MI (Multi-angle, Multi-channel and Multi-polarization Imager) instrument developed by EUMETSAT, which is an extension of the POLDER/PARASOL instrument, and MSPI (Multi-angles Spectro-Polarimetric Imager) develoloped by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will measure total and polarized light reflected by the Earth's atmosphere–surface system in several spectral bands (from UV to SWIR) and several viewing geometries. Those instruments should provide opportunities to observe the links between the cloud structures and the anisotropy of the reflected solar radiation into space. Specific algorithms will need be developed in order to take advantage of the new capabilities of this instrument. However, prior to this effort, we need to understand, through a theoretical Shannon information content analysis, the limits and advantages of these new instruments for retrieving liquid and ice cloud properties, and especially, in this study, the amount of information coming from the A-Band channel on the cloud top altitude (CTOP) and geometrical thickness (CGT). We compare the information content of 3MI A-Band in two configurations and that of MSPI. Quantitative information content estimates show that the retrieval of CTOP with a high accuracy is possible in almost all cases investigated. The retrieval of CGT seems less easy but possible for optically thick clouds above a black surface, at least when CGT > 1–2 km.

Identity and image – the story of expertise in a manufacturing company

This thesis is an investigation on the corporate identity of the firm SSAB from a managerial viewpoint (1), the company communication through press releases (2), and the image of the company as portrayed in news press articles (3). The managerial view of the corporate identity is researched through interviews with a communication manager of SSAB (1), the corporate communication is researched through press releases from the company (2) and the image is researched in news press articles (3). The results have been deducted using content analysis. The three dimensions are compared in order to see if the topics are coherent. This work builds on earlier research in corporate identity and image research, stakeholder theory, corporate communication and media reputation theory. This is interesting to research as the image of the company framed by the media affects, among other things, the possibility for the company to attract new talent and employees. If there are different stories, or topics, told in the three dimensions then the future employees may not share the view of the company with the managers in it. The analysis show that there is a discrepancy between the topics on the three dimensions, both between the corporate identity and the communication through press releases, as well as between the communication through press releases and the image in news press articles.

The structure of the perceived sociocultural influences on body image and body change questionnaire

This article is concerned with the development and evaluation of the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire. The scale was designed to assess the perceived nature of feedback received from mother, father, best male friend, and best female friend to gain weight, lose weight, and increase muscle tone. The perceived feedback from the media on each of these areas also was assessed. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with 240 adolescent boys (mean age = 13.83 years) and 204 adolescent girls (mean age = 13.70 years). A 3-factor structure was found for the 4 scales that related to perceived feedback from mother, father, best male friend, and best female friend. Feedback on muscle tone loaded with both weight loss and weight gain. The three factors related to (a) general feedback; (b) encourage, tease, and modeling to gain weight and increase muscle tone, and (c) encourage, tease, and modeling to lose weight and increase muscle tone. The factor structure and the items that made up these factors were the same for both boys and girls for each of the 4 scales. The Perceived Media Influences Scale formed 3 factors for girls. These factors related to gaining weight, losing weight, and increasing muscle tone. For boys, the same 9 items formed a single factor. The same items were retained for boys and girls. A confirmatory factor analysis with 822 adolescents (382 boys, mean age = 14.02 years; 440 girls, mean age = 13.82 years) confirmed the previously described factor structure. These results demonstrate that the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire is able to assess body image and body change strategies that are relevant for both boys and girls.

The influence of object-image velocity change on perceived heading in minimal environments

When human observers move forward and rotate their eyes, a complex pattern of light flows across the retina. This pattern is referred to as retinal flow. A model has been proposed to explain how humans perceive their direction of self-movement (or heading) from (1) static depth, (2) direction of image motion, and (3) whether image velocity undergoes acceleration or deceleration (Wang & Cutting, 1999). However, findings from past research in which sparse or minimalist stimuli were used have suggested that not all of the information to which participants are sensitive is captured within the scope of this model. In particular it has been suggested that the magnitude or size of image velocity change may be of significance beyond simply whether image velocity could be categorized as speeding up (i.e., accelerating) or slowing down (i.e., decelerating). In two experiments, the influence of this factor on heading judgments under minimal conditions was investigated. Evidence was found in support of the idea that the rate of image velocity change can influence judgments of the direction of self-movement in minimalist conditions.

A novel field learning algorithm for dual imbalance text classification

Fish-net algorithm is a novel field learning algorithm which derives classification rules by looking at the range of values of each attribute instead of the individual point values. In this paper, we present a Feature Selection Fish-net learning algorithm to solve the Dual Imbalance problem on text classification. Dual imbalance includes the instance imbalance and feature imbalance. The instance imbalance is caused by the unevenly distributed classes and feature imbalance is due to the different document length. The proposed approach consists of two phases: (1) select a feature subset which consists of the features that are more supportive to difficult minority class; (2) construct classification rules based on the original Fish-net algorithm. Our experimental results on Reuters21578 show that the proposed approach achieves better balanced accuracy rate on both majority and minority class than Naive Bayes MultiNomial and SVM.

Content-based video indexing for sports applications using integrated multi-modal approach

To sustain an ongoing rapid growth of video information, there is an emerging demand for a sophisticated content-based video indexing system. However, current video indexing solutions are still immature and lack of any standard. This doctoral consists of a research work based on an integrated multi-modal approach for sports video indexing and retrieval. By combining specific features extractable from multiple audio-visual modalities, generic structure and specific events can be detected and classified. During browsing and retrieval, users will benefit from the integration of high-level semantic and some descriptive mid-level features such as whistle and close-up view of player(s).

Increased versican content is associated with tendinosis pathology in the patellar tendon of athletes with jumper

Expansion of the extracellular matrix is a prominent but poorly characterized feature of tendinosis. The present study aimed to characterize the extent and distribution of the large aggregating proteoglycan versican in patients with patellar tendinosis. We obtained tendon from tendinopathy patients undergoing debridement of the patellar tendon and from controls undergoing intramedullary tibial nailing. Versican content was investigated by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Microvessel thickness and density were determined using computer-assisted image analysis. Markers for smooth muscle actin, endothelial cells (CD31) and proliferating cells (Ki67) were examined immunohistochemically. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical staining revealed elevated versican content in the proximal patellar tendon of tendinosis patients (P=0.042). Versican content was enriched in regions of fibrocartilage metaplasia and fibroblast proliferation, as well as in the perivascular matrix of proliferating microvessels and within the media and intima of arterioles. Microvessel density was higher in tendinosis tissue compared with control tissue. Versican deposition is a prominent feature of patellar tendinosis. Because this molecule is not only a component of normal fibrocartilagenous matrices but also implicated in a variety of soft tissue pathologies, future studies should further detail both pathological and adaptive roles of versican in tendons.

A composite descriptor for shape retrieval

In this paper, a composite descriptor for shape retrieval has been proposed. The proposed descriptor is obtained from Generic Fourier Descriptors (GFD) for the shape region and the shape contour. A composite descriptor derived from GFD of the shape region and the shape contour is used for indexing and retrieval of shapes. Difference between two images is computed as the Euclidean distance between their composite descriptors. Experiments are performed to test the effectiveness of the proposed descriptor for retrieval of 2d images. Sets of composite descriptors, obtained by assigning different weights to the region component and the contour component, are also evaluated. Item S8 within the MPEG-7 Still Images Content Set is used for performing experiments; this dataset consists of 3621 still images. Experimental results show that the proposed descriptor is effective.

Promoting the social and emotional health of primary school-aged children: reviewing the evidence base for school-based interventions

Schools are key settings for promoting the social and emotional health and well-being of children. This study investigated the effectiveness of interventions to improve the social and emotional well-being of primary school-aged children. The protocol development stage of the proposed systematic review identified related and comparable research reviews, indicating a more useful review of reviews. Eight reviews of intervention effectiveness covering 322 primary studies were reviewed. The majority examined classroom-based interventions. Greater effectiveness results from a sustained focus on the promotion of mental health, on self-esteem and coping outcomes within the broad school climate, and on replicating positive impacts rather than the prevention of mental health problems. Conclusions are limited by short duration of studies, lack of detail of interventions, identified outcomes and socio-demographic data, and the relationship between processes and outcomes. This study has clearly shown how crucial carefully designed studies are in understanding strategies with potential to impact on the mental health and well-being of children.

Assessing perceived destination image and brand equity through web 2.0

Social media technologies of Web 2.0 play an increasingly important role in destination brand management practice and the consumer selection of destinations. Consumers freely discuss their travel stories, travel recommendations, travel experiences and attitudes through blogs, forums and social media. This material is read and added to by millions of people and the content has a role in determining the image of a travel destination. Therefore it is critical that destination brand managers understand what is being discussed and written about their destination. What is the content of the Web 2.0 discussions? What are the attributes, associations, experiences, connotations, connections, contexts and ramifications?

A scalable and extensible segment-event-object-based sports video retrieval system

Sport video data is growing rapidly as a result of the maturing digital technologies that support digital video capture, faster data processing, and large storage. However, (1) semi-automatic content extraction and annotation, (2) scalable indexing model, and (3) effective retrieval and browsing, still pose the most challenging problems for maximizing the usage of large video databases. This article will present the findings from a comprehensive work that proposes a scalable and extensible sports video retrieval system with two major contributions in the area of sports video indexing and retrieval. The first contribution is a new sports video indexing model that utilizes semi-schema-based indexing scheme on top of an Object-Relationship approach. This indexing model is scalable and extensible as it enables gradual index construction which is supported by ongoing development of future content extraction algorithms. The second contribution is a set of novel queries which are based on XQuery to generate dynamic and user-oriented summaries and event structures. The proposed sports video retrieval system has been fully implemented and populated with soccer, tennis, swimming, and diving video. The system has been evaluated against 20 users to demonstrate and confirm its feasibility and benefits. The experimental sports genres were specifically selected to represent the four main categories of sports domain: period-, set-point-, time (race)-, and performance-based sports. Thus, the proposed system should be generic and robust for all types of sports.

Content-based video indexing for sports applications using integrated multi-modal approach

This thesis presents a research work based on an integrated multi-modal approach for sports video indexing and retrieval. By combining specific features extractable from multiple (audio-visual) modalities, generic structure and specific events can be detected and classified. During browsing and retrieval, users will benefit from the integration of high-level semantic and some descriptive mid-level features such as whistle and close-up view of player(s). The main objective is to contribute to the three major components of sports video indexing systems. The first component is a set of powerful techniques to extract audio-visual features and semantic contents automatically. The main purposes are to reduce manual annotations and to summarize the lengthy contents into a compact, meaningful and more enjoyable presentation. The second component is an expressive and flexible indexing technique that supports gradual index construction. Indexing scheme is essential to determine the methods by which users can access a video database. The third and last component is a query language that can generate dynamic video summaries for smart browsing and support user-oriented retrievals.

How to write an unsuccessful entrepreneurial business plan : content analysis of the normative literature reveals a flawed paradigm

The study's aim was to investigate whether an Entrepreneurial Business Planning (EBP) paradigm could be discovered as a body of core, common maxims within the normative EBP literature (works of the 'how-to-write-a-successful-new-venture-business-plan' genre). It employed content analysis techniques adapted mainly from the methodological prescriptions of Krippendorf (1980) and Carney (1972). The textual investigation produced a comprehensive, quantitative data base capable of sufficient interpretative richness to discover that an established Entrepreneurial Business Planning paradigm does exist. Its major elements embrace two key assumptions, four strong mandates and four weaker mandates.

The discovery is significant for two main reasons. First, it provides a formally-researched, explicitly-articulated EBP paradigm. This can replace the anecdotal, unarticulated assumption (implicit in most of the normative EBP literature) that an EBP paradigm 'probably exists'. Second, the research redresses some of the imbalance between entrepreneurship teaching- where Entrepreneurial Business Planning is at the core of international curricula - and entrepreneurship research which has virtually ignored EBP as a topic worthy of serious scrutiny. A firm basis for critical, scholarly exploration of the neglected EBP field is now established. This takes the theory and practice of EBP into a new era beginning with recognition that the discovered EBP paradigm is badly flawed and likely, if blindly applied, to lead to the writing of unsuccessful business plans.

Wireless sensor networks for in-situ image validation for water and nutrient management

Water and Nitrogen (N) are critical inputs for crop production. Remote sensing data collected from multiple scales, including ground-based, aerial, and satellite, can be used for the formulation of an efficient and cost effective algorithm for the detection of N and water stress. Formulation and validation of such techniques require continuous acquisition of ground based spectral data over the canopy enabling field measurements to coincide exactly with aerial and satellite observations. In this context, a wireless sensor in situ network was developed and this paper describes the results of the first phase of the experiment along with the details of sensor development and instrumentation set up. The sensor network was established based on different spatial sampling strategies and each sensor collected spectral data in seven narrow wavebands (470, 550, 670, 700, 720, 750, 790 nm) critical for monitoring crop growth. Spectral measurements recorded at required intervals (up to 30 seconds) were relayed through a multi-hop wireless network to a base computer at the field site. These data were then accessed by the remote sensing centre computing system through broad band internet. Comparison of the data from the WSN and an industry standard ground based hyperspectral radiometer indicated that there were no significant differences in the spectral measurements for all the wavebands except for 790nm. Combining sensor and wireless technologies provides a robust means of aerial and satellite data calibration and an enhanced understanding of issues of variations in the scale for the effective water and nutrient management in wheat.