Multifractality in Humanitarian Applications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Jenerowicz ◽  
Anna Wawrzaszek ◽  
Wojciech Drzewiecki ◽  
Michał Krupiński ◽  
Sebastian Aleksandrowicz
Keyword(s):  
Image Classification ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Unsupervised Classification ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Initial Image ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Contrast Structures ◽  
Areas Of Interest

<p>     Every year the total number of people who had been forcibly displaced (refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons) is constantly rising, a fact that is directly reflected in the area covered by IDP/refugee camps. Long-term humanitarian relief requires reliable and comprehensive information that is constantly delivered during a crisis. Very High Resolution (VHR) optical satellite data have been shown to be useful in monitoring IDP/refugee camps as it can provide an overview of the affected areas with a spatial resolution of up to 0.3 m within a matter of days.</p><p>     The aim of our research is to verify the usefulness of multifractal parameters as descriptors of IDP/refugee camps area, both in the context of their applicability and usability in the humanitarian related issues. In particular, we perform studies devoted to: (I) the complex terrain situation description with the division into compact and dispersed structures; and (II) the identification of IDP/refugee camps area extent aiming at distinguishing residential areas from other land use/land cover types. The analysis performed in two IDP/refugee camps, i.e. Ifo and Ifo 2 (Daadab) in Kenya and Al Geneina in Sudan, based on GeoEye-1 and Pléiades-1A VHR satellite data, gives a promising aspect of limited calculation time needed for the initial stage of image classification in respect to the spatial complexity of analysed terrain. Our results show that the degree of multifractality calculated for the selected images increases for compact areas with high-contrast structures (e.g., functional buildings and dwellings). Consequently, the extraction of the IDP/refugee camps extent by using only one feature, i.e., the degree of multifractality, proved to be an efficient way for initial image classification.</p><p>     We hope that our studies supplemented by further research, i.e. pre- and post-processing, the inclusion of multispectral bands, analyzing other areas of interest, and examining the added value of other multifractal measures, will help to develop an unsupervised classification approach providing results more quickly, with more frequent updates.</p><p> </p><p>Research supported by the National Science Centre, Poland, under Grant 2016/23/B/ST10/01151.</p>

scholarly journals Famine and disease in Nigerian refugee camps for internally displaced peoples: a sad reflection of our times

QJM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 109 (12) ◽  
pp. 831-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.D. Taylor-Robinson ◽  
O. Oleribe
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Internally Displaced

scholarly journals The suitability of remotely sensed soil moisture for improving operational flood forecasting

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2343-2357 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Wanders ◽  
D. Karssenberg ◽  
A. de Roo ◽  
S. M. de Jong ◽  
M. F. P. Bierkens
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Flood Forecasting ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Validation Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Discharge Data

Abstract. We evaluate the added value of assimilated remotely sensed soil moisture for the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) and its potential to improve the prediction of the timing and height of the flood peak and low flows. EFAS is an operational flood forecasting system for Europe and uses a distributed hydrological model (LISFLOOD) for flood predictions with lead times of up to 10 days. For this study, satellite-derived soil moisture from ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer), AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System) and SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) is assimilated into the LISFLOOD model for the Upper Danube Basin and results are compared to assimilation of discharge observations only. To assimilate soil moisture and discharge data into the hydrological model, an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is used. Information on the spatial (cross-) correlation of the errors in the satellite products, is included to ensure increased performance of the EnKF. For the validation, additional discharge observations not used in the EnKF are used as an independent validation data set. Our results show that the accuracy of flood forecasts is increased when more discharge observations are assimilated; the mean absolute error (MAE) of the ensemble mean is reduced by 35%. The additional inclusion of satellite data results in a further increase of the performance: forecasts of baseflows are better and the uncertainty in the overall discharge is reduced, shown by a 10% reduction in the MAE. In addition, floods are predicted with a higher accuracy and the continuous ranked probability score (CRPS) shows a performance increase of 5–10% on average, compared to assimilation of discharge only. When soil moisture data is used, the timing errors in the flood predictions are decreased especially for shorter lead times and imminent floods can be forecasted with more skill. The number of false flood alerts is reduced when more observational data is assimilated into the system. The added values of the satellite data is largest when these observations are assimilated in combination with distributed discharge observations. These results show the potential of remotely sensed soil moisture observations to improve near-real time flood forecasting in large catchments.

Media dependency, selective exposure and trust during war: Media sources and information needs of displaced and non-displaced Syrians

2019 ◽  
pp. 175063521986190
Author(s):  
Jad Melki ◽  
Claudia Kozman
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Selective Exposure ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Media Dependency ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
The Media

Using the Syrian war as a case study, this article examines the theoretical frameworks of media dependency and selective exposure during the war. Through a survey of 2,192 Syrians living in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey during the conflict, the study examined the media needs and trust of four groups of Syrians: non-displaced, internally displaced, externally displaced living inside refugee camps, and externally displaced living outside refugee camps. The study aimed to understand how these four groups trust and rely on different media sources to meet their information needs.

scholarly journals Hyperspectral Imagery Classification Based on Multiscale Superpixel-Level Constraint Representation

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3342
Author(s):  
Haoyang Yu ◽  
Xiao Zhang ◽  
Meiping Song ◽  
Jiaochan Hu ◽  
Qiandong Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Image Classification ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Hyperspectral Image ◽  
Training Sample ◽  
Decision Fusion ◽  
Spatial Constraint ◽  
Hyperspectral Image Classification ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Sparse Coefficient ◽  
The Individual

Sparse representation (SR)-based models have been widely applied for hyperspectral image classification. In our previously established constraint representation (CR) model, we exploited the underlying significance of the sparse coefficient and proposed the participation degree (PD) to represent the contribution of the training sample in representing the testing pixel. However, the spatial variants of the original residual error-driven frameworks often suffer the obstacles to optimization due to the strong constraints. In this paper, based on the object-based image classification (OBIC) framework, we firstly propose a spectral–spatial classification method, called superpixel-level constraint representation (SPCR). Firstly, it uses the PD in respect to the sparse coefficient from CR model. Then, transforming the individual PD to a united activity degree (UAD)-driven mechanism via a spatial constraint generated by the superpixel segmentation algorithm. The final classification is determined based on the UAD-driven mechanism. Considering that the SPCR is susceptible to the segmentation scale, an improved multiscale superpixel-level constraint representation (MSPCR) is further proposed through the decision fusion process of SPCR at different scales. The SPCR method is firstly performed at each scale, and the final category of the testing pixel is determined by the maximum number of the predicated labels among the classification results at each scale. Experimental results on four real hyperspectral datasets including a GF-5 satellite data verified the efficiency and practicability of the two proposed methods.

scholarly journals The status and decadal change of glaciers in Bhutan from the 1980s to 2010 based on satellite data

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (66) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya ◽  
Sudan Bikash Maharjan ◽  
Finu Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Image Classification ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Decadal Change ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Glacier Inventory ◽  
Object Based ◽  
The Status

AbstractIn order to monitor changes in the glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya, a repeat decadal glacier inventory was carried out from Landsat images of 1977/78 (~1980), 1990, 2000 and 2010. The base map of glaciers was obtained by the object-based image classification method using the multispectral Landsat images of 2010. This method is used separately to delineate clean-ice and debris-covered glaciers with some manual editing. Glacier polygons of 2000,1990 and ~1980 were obtained by manual editing on 2010 by separately overlaying respective years. The 2010 inventory shows 885 glaciers with a total area of ~642 ± 16.1 km2. The glacier area is 1.6% of the total land cover in Bhutan. The result of a repeat inventory shows 23.3 ± 0.9% glacial area loss between ~1980 and 2010, with the highest loss (11.6 ±1.2%) between ~1980 and 1990 and the lowest (6.7 ±0.1%) between 2000 and 2010. The trend of glacier area change from the 1980s to 2010 is -6.4 ± 1.6%. Loss of glacier area was mostly observed below 5600 m a.s.l. and was greater for clean-ice glaciers. The equilibrium-line altitude has shifted upward from 5170 ± 110 m a.s.l. to 5350 ± 150 m a.s.l. in the years ~1980-2010.

scholarly journals Combined use of SAR and optical data for environmental assessments around refugee camps in semiarid landscapes

2015 ◽  
Vol XL-7/W3 ◽  
pp. 777-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Braun ◽  
V. Hochschild
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Optical Sensors ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Regional Conflicts

Over 15 million people were officially considered as refugees in the year 2012 and another 28 million as internally displaced people (IDPs). Natural disasters, climatic and environmental changes, violent regional conflicts and population growth force people to migrate in all parts of this world. This trend is likely to continue in the near future, as political instabilities increase and land degradation progresses. <br><br> EO4HumEn aims at developing operational services to support humanitarian operations during crisis situations by means of dedicated geo-spatial information products derived from Earth observation and GIS data. The goal is to develop robust, automated methods of image analysis routines for population estimation, identification of potential groundwater extraction sites and monitoring the environmental impact of refugee/IDP camps. <br><br> This study investigates the combination of satellite SAR data with optical sensors and elevation information for the assessment of the environmental conditions around refugee camps. In order to estimate their impact on land degradation, land cover classifications are required which target dynamic landscapes. We performed a land use / land cover classification based on a random forest algorithm and 39 input prediction rasters based on Landsat 8 data and additional layers generated from radar texture and elevation information. The overall accuracy was 92.9 %, while optical data had the highest impact on the final classification. By analysing all combinations of the three input datasets we additionally estimated their impact on single classification outcomes and land cover classes.

scholarly journals Syrian Refugee Children And Mental Health Trauma

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 32-47
Author(s):  
Kathleen O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Dangerous Place ◽  
Mental Trauma ◽  
Emergency Fund

In 2015, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) named Syria as the most dangerous place on earth to be a child (UNICEF, 2). Since the onset of civil war in 2011, nearly 4.8 million Syrians are refugees outside of Syria and approximately 6 million are internally displaced (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2016). While some refugees have successfully resettled in North American and European nations, many remain in limbo in refugee camps. What is most staggering about the population of affected persons is that nearly half, approximately 6 million, are children (UNICEF, 2016). Nearly all of these children have been subjected to trauma that has manifested in a variety of ways. They have often been subjected to or witnessed violence and have experienced the loss of one or more of their caregivers. Refugees face difficulty accessing psychological and health services and are met with the stigma surrounding mental health in countries including Lebanon and Turkey, regions that many refugee children have fled to. In the absence of these supports, the mental trauma a child is experience can impact learning and development and have disastrous impacts on their future.

scholarly journals Customer Churn - Prevention Model – Unsupervised Classification

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIAN GRIJALBA FACUNDO
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Complete Solution ◽  
Unsupervised Classification ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Customer Churn ◽  
Prevention Model ◽  
Art Research

The strategy of any organization is based on the growth of its customer base, and one of 6 its principles is that selling a product to an existing customer is much more profitable than acquiring 7 a new customer. However, this approach has several opportunities for improvement, since it usu- 8 ally has a totally reactive approach, which does not give opportunity to the areas specialized in 9 customer experience and recovery, to give an effective response for that moment, since the customer 10 is gone at the time of the intervention. This happens because usually a diagnostic analysis of cus- 11 tomers who have stopped buying products or services in a defined period, commonly three (3) pe- 12 riods or months, is performed. This paper challenges the way to face this problem, and proposes 13 the development of a complete solution, which does not focus exclusively on the prediction of 14 churn, as is usually done in the state of the art research, but to intervene in different interactions 15 that can be carried out with customers. The above focused not only to prevent customer churn, but 16 to generate an added value of continuous improvement in sales processes, increase customer pene- 17 tration, leading to an improvement in customer experience and consequently, an increase in cus- 18 tomer loyalty.

Part 3 Vulnerable Groups, 3.3 Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Internally Displaced Persons

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bielefeldt Heiner, Prof ◽  
Ghanea Nazila, Dr ◽  
Wiener Michael, Dr
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Equal Right

Though it is clear that refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) have an equal right to freedom of religion or belief, this right is often compromised in practice. This chapter examines a number of these challenges for freedom of religion or belief at various stages of the process by which persons become forcibly displaced, seek asylum and refugee status in another State, are able to or are denied the freedom to practise religion or belief in refugee camps, or face refoulement.

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