American University's School of Communication is offering a free, online, hands-on course on:
Satellite Imagery and Human Rights
This is a non-technical introduction to practical uses of satellite imagery
for journalists and news organizations; NGO and grassroots leaders; local,
provincial and tribal leaders and resource managers; persons with a professional interest in international affairs; and similar non-engineers
who can make good use of this emerging technology. We'll emphasize
grassroots verification of environmental and arms control treaties, as well
as techniques for monitoring largescale human rights crisis. Participation
or auditing the online sessions is free.
The course includes lectures and projects in geographic information
systems (GIS) delivered from Portugal's Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
prominent guest speakers and an opportunity for original work that pushes
the state of the art. A summary of course session topics is provided below.
Persons interested in applying for participation please send:
Name________________
Address, including institution name_________________
telephone______________
fax___________________
E-mail________________
A very brief summary of your professional or educational experience that
may be relevant to the course content. A line or two is
adequate. _________________________________________________
Send your information to:
Prof. Christopher Simpson at simpson@american.edu
Live webcast time: 8:30 am to 11:10 am EST Thursdays, from September 3
through December 3, 1998. Recorded class sessions will be available for
download at times to be announced.
The course language will be English. Prerequisites are basic computer and
WWW literacy.
Class lectures and resources will be offered via the WWW using streaming
audio, whiteboard and ftp software that can be downloaded without cost from
the WWW. A 486 Pentium computer and a 28.8 link to the WWW are the minimum necessary hardware for satisfactory online participation. Faster processors
and web links are desirable. However, course presentations will be recorded
and can be downloaded and used at your convenience using more basic
computer equipment.
American University honors students and certain graduate students will be
taking the course for academic credit. Online observers will not receive
course credit. However, you are welcome to participate fully in the course,
lectures and discussions, especially when your professional or academic
experience contributes to class discussion and insights.
Important Legal Notes:
The WWW version of this course is shared as a public service by American
University's School of Communication. Every effort is made to provide an
excellent educational experience. For obvious reasons, however, American
University and its School of Communication make no warantees whatever
concerning the course or its contents to persons who choose to observe or
participate in this event online, nor does the university and the school
assume any responsibility whatever for actions, statements or claims made
by online observers and participants. ONLINE OBSERVATION OR PARTICIPATION
DOES NOT LEAD TO ACADEMIC CREDIT FROM AMERICAN UNIVERSITY.
Summary of Class Schedule
Sept. 3: Review of course goals and assignments; outline of communication
techniques we'll use to stay in touch with one another and with other
participants around the world... Assignment of term projects and project
teams... Initial discussion of remote sensing and GIS.
Sept. 10: Introduction to online satellite imagery indexes... AVHRR and
weather imagery.... First discussion of image interpretation.
Sept. 17: Q&A concerning term paper proposals.... The civil MS IIRS rating
scale for imagery.... Spectral bands and an introduction to gathering
information on human rights, arms control or pollution from outside the
spectrum of visible light.... Brainstorming on signatures that may reveal
or suggest information relevant to your project.
Sept. 24: Guest lecture by Dino Brugioni, formerly the CIA's chief expert
for briefing U.S. presidents and other policy makers on photoreconnaissance. Q&A.... More brain food: checking out J-Track online
as it traces the path of particular satellites.
Oct. 1: Discussion of your learning checklists and a review of course thus
far.
Oct. 8: GIS overview courtesy of GASA at the Universitdade Nova de Lisboa,
Portugal. Class session includes: Introduction to basic types of geographic
information products and to how they can be used to analyze as well as
illustrate a controversial issue.... 'Draping' images or other geographic
information over digital information about elevation to create
three-dimensional models. Includes illustrative examples.
Oct. 15: GIS overview courtesy of GASA. Why comparisons are usually
necessary to get the most benefit from geographic information....
Introduction to the use of GIS in environmental justice and resource
management controversies..... Additional guest speaker.
Oct. 22: GIS overview courtesy of GASA. Tracking urban sprawl using GIS....
Documenting 'toxic alleys' or clusters of particularly dangerous
pollution.... Using the GASA GIserver (http://gasa.dcea.fct.unl.pt/inovagis/giserver/).... How 'fly-through' 3-D
models helped negotiate a cease fire in Bosnia.
Oct. 29: Satellites, orbits, & revisit times.... In-class work on midterm
reports.
Nov. 5: In-class work on the midterm report on your term project.
Nov. 12: Presentation of Midterm reports and international online
discussion of presentations.... Discussion of how to locate free or
low-cost satellite imagery and geographic information.
Nov. 19: Feedback from the professor and problem solving on your term
project.... In-class work time.... Quick introduction to Power Point or
similar software useful for illustrating your term project lecture. (It's
really easy).
Nov. 24: (Tuesday) The class session that would usually take place Thursday
will be held on Tuesday due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. This session will
include identification of the specific tasks necessary to complete the term
project, some in-class work time, and the beginning of the course review
needed to prepare for the final exam.
Dec. 3: In-class and international presentation of completed term projects.
Discussion. Course review.
Dec. 17: Final Exam.
Britským listům zaslal Vít Novotný
