Article
Environmental Sciences
Bingxin Qi, Xuantong Wang, Paul Sutton
Summary: This article discusses how to use a combination of population distribution, human settlements, and nighttime light data with latent growth models to assess and explore development and education inequality trajectories at national levels over multiple time periods. The results show that countries with lower human development levels tend to have higher levels of education inequality and uneven urban population distribution. The initial status of human development can explain the linear growth rate of education inequality.
Article
Economics
Rafael Alvarado, Brayan Tillaguango, Muntasir Murshed, Santiago Ochoa-Moreno, Abdul Rehman, Cem Isik, Johana Alvarado-Espejo
Summary: This research examines the impact of the informal economy, urban concentration, and globalization on the ecological footprint. The study finds that the informal economy has a greater long-term effect on the ecological footprint compared to the short-term effect. Additionally, there are limited causal relationships between the informal economy, urban population, globalization index, and ecological footprint. The findings suggest the need for differentiating short-term and long-term impacts in environmental policy making.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND POLICY
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Yeran Sun, Shaohua Wang, Xucai Zhang, Ting On Chan, Wenjie Wu
Summary: This study utilized a new mixed approach to estimate electricity consumption, combining demographic, remote sensing, and social sensing data, and found that population combined with nighttime light intensity or tweet volume best explained electricity consumption. Domestic consumption was better explained than non-domestic, and the newly developed spatial regression model outperformed conventional models. The spatial regression model performed similarly to random forest models and lower than long shortterm memory models.
Article
Environmental Studies
Alexander Sheludkov, Alexandra Starikova
Summary: In the summertime, there is significant seasonal suburbanization in Moscow and its surrounding areas, with a notable increase in nighttime lighting in these regions. This study highlights the seasonal nature of suburbanization in the Moscow agglomeration and raises questions about its impact on urban and rural development in the area.
ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING A-ECONOMY AND SPACE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christian Mulder, Erminia Conti, Giorgio Mancinelli
Summary: In 2015, countries in Paris made an unprecedented effort to reduce CO2 emissions, due to the close relationship of greenhouse gases with global warming. Under the Paris Climate Agreement, all countries committed to fighting global warming.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ye Ni, Xutao Li, Yunming Ye, Yan Li, Chunshan Li, Dianhui Chu
Summary: By utilizing deep learning techniques to extract deep features from daytime satellite imagery, and then applying LASSO regression for poverty prediction, the study has shown that DenseNet with SE module and focal loss performs the best in terms of effectiveness.
IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nima Karimi, Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng, Amy Richter
Summary: This study develops a data-driven analytical framework to optimize population coverage by landfills using network analysis and satellite imagery. The results show that the optimized system can improve the Landfill Regionalization Index (LFRI), reduce truck travel times, and enhance coverage of population centers. The proposed optimization framework is generally applicable to different regions and particularly suitable for rural areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Allyson Rugg, Julie Haggerty, Daniel Adriaansen, William L. Smith
Summary: The lack of shortwave geostationary satellite data at night affects weather forecasts, but a method using nighttime longwave observations and relationships between LW and SW data can extrapolate SW data through the night. The algorithm shows low mean absolute errors and has potential for future improvements using convolutional neural networks and object-based extrapolations. Case studies and performance statistics are provided to demonstrate the method's effectiveness.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED REMOTE SENSING
(2021)
Article
Economics
Simona-Gabriela Masca, Diana-Maria Chis
Summary: This study utilizes annual crosscountry panel data from 28 European Union countries observed during the period 2005-2017 to provide evidence on the impact of informal economy on income inequality. The study emphasizes the role of cultural setting in shaping taxpayers' behavior and income distribution. The findings reveal a negative relationship between the size of the underground economy and income inequality at the domestic level, while a positive relationship exists between international tax evasion by individuals and top-bottom income disparity. The study also highlights the importance of cultural peculiarities in the nexus between international tax evasion and income polarization.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PLANNING SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Galina Chirokova, John a. Knaff, Michael j. Brennan, Robert t. Demaria, Monica Bozeman, Stephanie n. Stevenson, John l. Beven, Eric s. Blake, Alan Brammer, James w. Darlow, Mark Demaria, Steven d. Miller, Christopher j. Slocum, Debra Molenar, Donald w. Hillger
Summary: This paper describes ProxyVis imagery, a new method for combining infrared channels to qualitatively mimic daytime visible imagery at nighttime. ProxyVis demonstrates that a simple linear regression can combine just a few commonly available infrared channels to develop a nighttime proxy for visible imagery that significantly improves a forecaster's ability to track low-level oceanic clouds and circulation features at night, works for all current geostationary satellites, and is useful across a wide range of backgrounds and meteorological scenarios. Animated ProxyVis geostationary imagery has been operational at the National Hurricane Center since 2019 and is also currently being transitioned to operations at other NWS offices and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
WEATHER AND FORECASTING
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Alessandro Crivellari, Hong Wei, Chunzhu Wei, Yuhui Shi
Summary: The semantic segmentation of informal urban settlements is important for renovation strategies and reconstruction plans. Traditional methodologies of downgrading higher-resolution data to match lower-resolution measure are ineffective in segmenting detailed characteristics of such urban environments. By upscaling lower-resolution data using super-resolution generative adversarial network (SR-GAN), we achieved improved landcover segmentation in Chinese urban environments.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DIGITAL EARTH
(2023)
Article
Sociology
Tara Gonsalves
Summary: Recent research has shown that the regionalization of world society, measured through INGO membership composition, can structure the transnational diffusion of cultural norms like LGBT associations. Countries embedded in anti-LGBT regions are found to be more resistant to the spread of domestic LGBT associations, but this resistance can be weakened by dependence on Western foreign aid. This highlights the importance of examining the composition of INGOs and the role of regional culture in studies of transnational diffusion.
Article
International Relations
Mathew Y. H. Wong
Summary: This article investigates the impact of corruption and the informal sector on the relationship between economic development and income inequality. It suggests that while corruption worsens inequality through resource concentration, it can also reduce inequality through the informal sector. In countries with high levels of corruption or a large informal sector, individuals can bypass regulations and barriers, leading to a more equal distribution of the benefits of economic development. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the joint effects of corruption, the informal sector, and economic development on inequality.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Naledzani Mudau, Paidamwoyo Mhangara
Summary: Detecting informal settlements using satellite imagery is challenging due to variations in shape, size and spatial arrangement. This study investigated different indicators and found that built-up area and iron cover were effective in distinguishing between informal and formal settlements. A proposed ruleset using these indicators achieved high accuracies of 95% and 82% for producer and user, respectively, showing promise for automatic detection of informal settlements.
Article
International Relations
Glen Biglaiser, Lance Y. Hunter, Ronald J. McGauvran
Summary: This paper examines the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic terrorism. The study finds that the impact of FDI on domestic terrorism depends on the level of economic development of the host country. Higher-income host countries experience positive effects of FDI, leading to economic development, increased counterterrorism resources, and reduced economic grievances. In contrast, lower-income host countries see an increase in domestic terrorism as FDI exacerbates social conflicts, economic discrimination, and perceptions of economic insecurity.
JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Srikanta Sannigrahi, Francesco Pilla, Qi Zhang, Suman Chakraborti, Ying Wang, Bidroha Basu, Arunima Sarkar Basu, P. K. Joshi, Saskia Keesstra, P. S. Roy, Paul C. Sutton, Sandeep Bhatt, Shahid Rahmat, Shouvik Jha, Laishram Kanta Singh
Summary: The study analyzed the relationship between the increasing trend of ESs in India and agricultural innovations led by the Green Revolution. The results showed a strong positive association between agricultural land area, production, and irrigated area with ESs.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bingxin Qi, Xuantong Wang, Paul Sutton
Summary: This article discusses how to use a combination of population distribution, human settlements, and nighttime light data with latent growth models to assess and explore development and education inequality trajectories at national levels over multiple time periods. The results show that countries with lower human development levels tend to have higher levels of education inequality and uneven urban population distribution. The initial status of human development can explain the linear growth rate of education inequality.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Robert Costanza, Sharolyn J. Anderson, Paul Sutton, Kenneth Mulder, Obadiah Mulder, Ida Kubiszewski, Xuantong Wang, Xin Liu, Octavio Perez-Maqueo, M. Luisa Martinez, Diane Jarvis, Greg Dee
Summary: Coastal wetlands provide valuable ecosystem services, including protecting coastal communities from storms. This study estimated the global value of storm protection services provided by coastal wetlands for the first time, showing the importance of investing in conservation and restoration of these wetlands. With the increase in frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones due to climate change, the benefits of protecting and restoring coastal wetlands will become increasingly important and valuable in the future.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Christopher D. Elvidge, Mikhail Zhizhin, David Keith, Steven D. Miller, Feng Chi Hsu, Tilottama Ghosh, Sharolyn J. Anderson, Christian K. Monrad, Morgan Bazilian, Jay Taneja, Paul C. Sutton, John Barentine, William S. Kowalik, Christopher C. M. Kyba, Dee W. Pack, Dorit Hammerling
Summary: The effective dwell time of VIIRS DNB pixels is short and can induce random fluctuations in nightly DNB radiances if flicker is present. High-intensity discharge lamps show the most pronounced flicker, while incandescent luminaires have muted but detectable flicker. Modern LEDs and fluorescent lights are often flicker-free. Synchronized flicker from multiple lights drawing from a common AC supplier leaves an imprint on the DNB temporal profile, while multiple power supplies result in less radiance fluctuation.
Article
Development Studies
Xuantong Wang, James Hopeward, Ilcheong Yi, Mark W. McElroy, Paul C. Sutton
Summary: This paper presents a low-cost and scalable method for providing sustainable water allocation to enterprises based on their hydrological, economic, and demographic contexts. The method involves measuring and evaluating multiple indicators, which is of significant importance for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Geography
Paul C. Sutton, Xuantong Wang, Bingxin Qi
Summary: The article discusses how a professor's apostasy led to the development of assessment instruments to demonstrate improvements in graduating students' skills and knowledge. Qualitative and statistical analyses showed significant enhancements in objective quizzes and self-assessments, indicating effective teaching and learning practices but also highlighting areas for improvement. These data are used for ongoing reflection and program reviews within the department.
ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF GEOGRAPHERS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Dale S. Rothman, Paul Raskin, Kasper Kok, John Robinson, Jill Jager, Barry Hughes, Paul C. Sutton
Summary: The evolutionary paths of social-ecological systems are interrupted by moments of convulsive change. Various global shocks, triggered by climate crisis, social disruption, economic breakdown, financial collapse, nuclear conflict, or pandemics, are possible in the coming decades. The current COVID-19 pandemic is an example of an interruption of historic continuity. Efforts to shift to a paradigm that recognizes and considers discontinuity in global scenario development are long overdue.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Davyd H. Betchkal, J. Adam Beeco, Sharolyn J. Anderson, Brian A. Peterson, Damon Joyce
Summary: Sightseeing air tours pose a management challenge for many tourist destinations, especially those focused on preserving natural and cultural resources. Recent studies have shown the potential of tracking technology for understanding aircraft travel patterns over national parks. This synthesis study combines aircraft tracks with acoustic data to determine the audibility and recommend offset distances to mitigate the impact of air tour noise in specific landscapes.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
