Search

Learning disabilities is what this Journal is about. In the following article, Dr. Barsch sets forth past, present and possibilities for the future of the field. It clearly shows his concern for the failing learner of all ages and degree. Occasionally, his impatience breaks through for the lack of cohesiveness to worldwide efforts to help these adults and children. Dr. Barsch clearly states that if we do not move on a convergent pathway very soon, our efforts will truly be in vain and the idea of problems to be overcome, as well as the solutions to be found, will never take concise shape and form-professional caution must be tempered with immediacy. —C. C. E.

From 1984 to 1989 under the INTERCOSMOS-cooperation several remote sensing experiments were carried out to investigate the dynamics of geosystems. These experiments were performed in different geographical regions of the Earth. They included satellite and airborne data acquisition as as well as ground truth measurements. The main goal of the experiment CARIBE-87, carried out in 1987 in Cuba, was to transfer the results on the vegetation monitoring and productivity estimation obtained under central-european conditions to the tropical region in Cuba. For this purpose flooded rice fields, sugar cane fields and pasture was investigated. Some results of the experiment are presented in the paper.

The language game of landscape ecology entails several action-guiding verbs like “promote”, “enhance”, “restore”, “preserve”, “safeguard”, “ensure”, “upgrade” to name just a few. They are closely related to conceptions of what should be done. Due to this evaluative and protective character of landscape ecology and due to its connectivity with evaluations, planning, and decision making it seems urgent to add philosophical and ethical considerations to the overall transdisciplinary research program of landscape ecology. Due to the multi-facetted concept of landscape these considerations should be performed in a more reflective way. It is quite trivial to say that humans are responsible for the regions they inhabit since they are designing and planning of how to modify landscapes according to their objectives and values. The notion of responsibility is intrinsically related to values, obligations, and principles which are debated in ethics. These categories will be analyzed in Chapter 7.1.2. In a further step the underlying ethical aspects of different disciplinary perspectives will be outlined (see Chapter 7.1.3). At the end of this investigation it shall be asked how different perspectives are related to each other. Additionally, the relationship between landscape evaluation and the concept of sustainability will be explored (see Chapter 7.1.4). In a final section, it will be pointed out how the rightness of procedures and the goodness of outcomes are related in cultural debates about how to take responsible care of landscapes (see Chapter 7.1.5). It will be argued that a highly democratic and discursive approach in landscape planning could provide “good” outcomes if some general insights of environmental ethics are presupposed and taken seriously.

Modern marine seismic acquisition techniques have drastically reduced the acquisition colt per unit of subsurface coverage . Today modern seismic versels typically record 6 subsurface lines in one vessel traverse; the seismic data volume acquired every 8 seconds may be in exces of 20 Mega bits . However the complexity of the most advanced configurations and the amount of gear deployed at sea have kept the high acquisition costs per unit of time . This lead rome operators to re-think the way seismic data quality must be assessed in the field, evolving from a basic signal to noire ratio evaluation done on single fold data to more sophisticated analysis dove on stacked/filtered data . In the case of bad weather operators sometimes hold the decision to suspend the acquisition until the noise becomes unacceptable on stacked sections processed in a commercial data processing center .

The development of language is a result of the spatial and visualization factors at major stages in the individual's growth and life span.

Geographical analysis, diagnosis and prognosis of landscape centre on regional questions. Within this framework landscape diagnosis helps to evaluate capabilities of or hazards to landscape elements or landscape units, starting from an analysis of the equipment of the landscape and of land use patterns, taking into account tendencies of their development. Landscape diagnosis is connected with landscape prognosis, which characterizes conditions and processes of changes in the landscape and contributes to decision making with regard to landscape development. Examples from the densely populated areas round Halle and Karl-Marx-Stadt and the fruit-growing Havel region around Potsdam will serve to show that small-scaled and medium-scaled landscape diagnoses can be developed as secondary diagnoses mainly on the basis of thematic maps, which can then be used in the offices for regional planning in the GDR. Large-scaled landscape diagnoses, however, will be shown as directly derived from field data and as immediately applicable (as a working basis) to landscape management. The synthetic aspect, which takes into consideration the present state and the development of landscape as a whole, will apply to all scales.