ABSTRACT:Multi-platform/sensor and multi-temporal satellite data facilitates analysis of successive change/monitoring over the longer period and there by forest biomass helping REDD mechanism. The historical archive satellite imagery, specifically Landsat, can play an important role for historical trend analysis of forest cover change at national level. Whereas the fresh high resolution satellite, such as ALOS, imagery can be used for detailed analysis of present forest cover status. ALOS satellite imagery is most suitable as it offers data with optical (AVNIR-2) as well as SAR (PALSAR) sensors. AVNIR-2 providing data in multispectral modes play due role in extracting forest information.In this study, a semi-automated approach has been devised for cloud/shadow and haze removal and land cover change detection. Cloud/shadow pixels are replaced by free pixels of same image with the help of PALSAR image. The tracking of pixel based land cover change for the 1995-2009 period in combination of Landsat and latest ALOS data from its AVNIR-2 for the tropical rain forest area has been carried out using Decision Tree Classifiers followed by un-supervised classification. As threshold for tree classifier, criteria of NDVI refined by reflectance value has been employed. The result shows all pixels have been successfully registered to the pre-defined 6 categories; in accordance with IPCC definition; of land cover types with an overall accuracy 80 percent.

No abstract

This study experimentally investigated the determinants of avoidance behavior when participants are forewarned of aversive outcomes. The effects of 3 variables on avoidance behavior were examined: point‐loss amount (5 levels, from 20 to 100 points), duration of timeout from positive reinforcement (5 levels, 20 to 100 s), and 3 predictive accuracy levels (100%, 50%, and 0%) of warning stimuli. Twelve participants completed 3 sessions, each comprising 25 discrete trials, that differed in predictive accuracy level. Throughout a session, a participant engaged in button press responses that were reinforced by points under a conjunctive fixed‐ratio fixed‐interval schedule. During each trial, a warning stimulus that indicated a loss amount and a timeout duration was presented. If the participant pressed the avoidance button, then the timeout started, otherwise the loss occurred. The trial ended with termination of timeout or an occurrence of the loss. Results showed that avoidance responses increased when the loss amount increased and decreased when the timeout duration increased. The frequency of avoidance responses was lowest when the predictive accuracy of warning stimuli was 0%. These findings demonstrated that this experimental procedure could be useful for investigating human avoidance behavior outside the laboratory.

No abstract

This experiment examines whether the relational responses of pigeons are controlled by the relations between stimuli on a relative numerosity discrimination, using multiple-pair discrimination training. In the discrimination training, three birds discriminated two pairs of number stimuli (1-3, 5-7). For two birds, the responses to smaller arrays were reinforced, and for the remaining bird, the responses to larger arrays were reinforced. After the birds learned to discriminate numerosity stimuli, a test was conducted, in which four test pairs (1-5, 3-7, 2-6, 2-5 or 3-6) were presented. Three of the four test pairs were combinations of stimuli with the same reinforcement history (S＋-S＋, S-S-, novel-novel), and one test pair was a combination of a stimulus with S＋ history and a novel stimulus. The results of the tests showed that all the birds mostly demonstrated relational responses. Although the possibility still remains that other factors might affect the responses of the birds, the results provided evidence that the performances of the birds are mainly controlled by the relations between stimuli. Key words：numerosity, relative discrimination, multiple-pair training, pigeons