To open this interdisciplinary conference on concepts of time in the sciences, humanities, and arts, I discuss how physicists visualize time geometrically, the differences between time and space, various puzzles that physicists confront when seeking to understand time, and the question of whether time emerges from some deeper concept.
New York Skeptics Society talk, 1 Nov 08George Musser
I discuss the difficulty of testing quantum theories of gravity empirically and the general question of verifiability in science. I also comment on how unified theories of physics can help skeptics evaluate novel claims.
Livelihood Vulnerability Assessment in context of drought hazard; a case stud...John Kapoi Kapoi
Abstract: This study was undertaken in arid and semi-arid county of Baringo which is prone to perennial droughts, with the majority of its population affected by the recurrent. The primary objective of this research is to assess population vulnerability to potential drought risk. The vulnerability assessment was based on 2009 socio-economic data variables. The population vulnerability was processed using poverty rates, population density, and livelihoods. An analytical hierarchy process criterion was used in determining vulnerability using the three socioeconomic variables. The vulnerability analysis results indicate that, 27.87% of the marginal livelihood and 25.62% pastoral livelihood are highly vulnerable. In conclusion, marginal, pastoral, and agro-pastoral livelihoods are highly vulnerable to drought hazard with its population capacities undermined by high poverty rates; in this respect government should promote poverty reduction projects and improved markets infrastructure and access.
A decade ago, journalist Frances Cairncross coined the phrase "the death of distance" to describe how airline travel and telecommunications have made distance matter a lot less to us than it did to our grandparents. This social trend has anticipated a scientific one: the growing realization among physicists and cosmologists that distance in the physical world is not quite what it appears to be. This talk will explore issues discussed in the March 2009 cover story of Scientific American, in Brian Green\'s book The Fabric of the Cosmos, and in chapter 18 of my book, The Complete Idiot\'s Guide to String Theory.
Agricultural Drought Severity assessment using land Surface temperature and N...John Kapoi Kapoi
This study was focused on Nakuru, a tropical region in the Rift Valley of Kenya, bounded between latitude 0.28°N and 1.16°S, and longitude 36.27° E and 36.55°E. The main The main aim of this
research is to assess the agricultural drought in high potential region of Kenya with an objective of mapping the agricultural drought severity levels, assessing the precipitation and normalized difference
vegetation index deviation over its long term mean average in the region and to generate land surface temperature and emissivity maps to compare the surface temperature proportion during the drought
and normal period.
The data was obtained from NOAA-AVHRR, LANDSAT TM and ETM+ and was processed with ERDAS Imagine and GIS software of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).The land
surface temperature was derived using Planck’s radiative principles. The thermal band of Landsat TM was utilized to extract the radiance and brightness temperature. The brightness temperature was
combined with surface emissivity to derive the land surface temperature (LST) while NDVI was derived from bands 3 and 4 and its result was divided by the LST to determine the moisture levels.
The products were classified into five main classes to reflect the moisture levels. Rainfall and NDVI performance was also processed from NOAA AVHRR and long term mean established and compared
with the specific year of study performance.
The result of the study revealed that NOAA-AVHRR data offers very useful information in drought monitoring and early warning, LST and NDVI is useful in moisture level mapping that can be used
to detect drought and the drought in Nakuru is characterized by both low and high temperatures that exacerbates the crop failure.
To open this interdisciplinary conference on concepts of time in the sciences, humanities, and arts, I discuss how physicists visualize time geometrically, the differences between time and space, various puzzles that physicists confront when seeking to understand time, and the question of whether time emerges from some deeper concept.
New York Skeptics Society talk, 1 Nov 08George Musser
I discuss the difficulty of testing quantum theories of gravity empirically and the general question of verifiability in science. I also comment on how unified theories of physics can help skeptics evaluate novel claims.
Livelihood Vulnerability Assessment in context of drought hazard; a case stud...John Kapoi Kapoi
Abstract: This study was undertaken in arid and semi-arid county of Baringo which is prone to perennial droughts, with the majority of its population affected by the recurrent. The primary objective of this research is to assess population vulnerability to potential drought risk. The vulnerability assessment was based on 2009 socio-economic data variables. The population vulnerability was processed using poverty rates, population density, and livelihoods. An analytical hierarchy process criterion was used in determining vulnerability using the three socioeconomic variables. The vulnerability analysis results indicate that, 27.87% of the marginal livelihood and 25.62% pastoral livelihood are highly vulnerable. In conclusion, marginal, pastoral, and agro-pastoral livelihoods are highly vulnerable to drought hazard with its population capacities undermined by high poverty rates; in this respect government should promote poverty reduction projects and improved markets infrastructure and access.
A decade ago, journalist Frances Cairncross coined the phrase "the death of distance" to describe how airline travel and telecommunications have made distance matter a lot less to us than it did to our grandparents. This social trend has anticipated a scientific one: the growing realization among physicists and cosmologists that distance in the physical world is not quite what it appears to be. This talk will explore issues discussed in the March 2009 cover story of Scientific American, in Brian Green\'s book The Fabric of the Cosmos, and in chapter 18 of my book, The Complete Idiot\'s Guide to String Theory.
Agricultural Drought Severity assessment using land Surface temperature and N...John Kapoi Kapoi
This study was focused on Nakuru, a tropical region in the Rift Valley of Kenya, bounded between latitude 0.28°N and 1.16°S, and longitude 36.27° E and 36.55°E. The main The main aim of this
research is to assess the agricultural drought in high potential region of Kenya with an objective of mapping the agricultural drought severity levels, assessing the precipitation and normalized difference
vegetation index deviation over its long term mean average in the region and to generate land surface temperature and emissivity maps to compare the surface temperature proportion during the drought
and normal period.
The data was obtained from NOAA-AVHRR, LANDSAT TM and ETM+ and was processed with ERDAS Imagine and GIS software of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).The land
surface temperature was derived using Planck’s radiative principles. The thermal band of Landsat TM was utilized to extract the radiance and brightness temperature. The brightness temperature was
combined with surface emissivity to derive the land surface temperature (LST) while NDVI was derived from bands 3 and 4 and its result was divided by the LST to determine the moisture levels.
The products were classified into five main classes to reflect the moisture levels. Rainfall and NDVI performance was also processed from NOAA AVHRR and long term mean established and compared
with the specific year of study performance.
The result of the study revealed that NOAA-AVHRR data offers very useful information in drought monitoring and early warning, LST and NDVI is useful in moisture level mapping that can be used
to detect drought and the drought in Nakuru is characterized by both low and high temperatures that exacerbates the crop failure.