SURVEYING INSTRUCTION AT THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Education at the university should in essence be concerned more with theory than technique, with principles rather than practice. Should a university lose sight of this aim it will of a certainty become a university only in name. The attention to be given to vocational training will necessarily vary from faculty to faculty—that some vocational training is deemed desirable is shown by the very presence of an engineering department in nearly all our universities, a department in which practical training is necessarily mingled with theory. It is possible to say with truth about a certain type of engineering student that he will make a good engineer if only he can get through his examinations; to make the comparable statement about, say, a mathematics student is clearly ridiculous. In other words, the engineering profession, and in particular the civil engineering profession, has room for a good practical man to whom theory does not come easily; and yet in many of our university engineering departments no allowance is made for a man's chosen career save that after his first year of general engineering work he may elect to be a civil mechanical, electrical or aeronautical engineer. Often he has no choice of subjects for study; sometimes he is given a choice of four out of five subjects, as with the external civil engineering degree of London University where his freedom of action resolves itself into a decision between Hydraulics and Mathematics. In this examination, and many others, all candidates are required to sit the same papers in a subject, irrespective of whether they are potential first-class honours men or may expect to obtain a pass degree.     

SURVEYING INSTRUCTION AT THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The title and content of Mr. Ray's contribution to the July number of the E.S.R. entitled “Surveying Instruction at the University” is in the present writer's opinion, somewhat misleading. Obviously he is only referring to the teaching of surveying to civil engineering undergraduates and to students of such other branches of engineering as may be catered for, and does not mention the quite extensive surveying courses associated with the degrees in Geography and Mining at certain Universities. The gist of the article is confusing in that the author concludes by stating that he is “making an honest attempt to assess the merits of the surveying instruction given in the Universities of this country”, which is an admittedly worthy quest but scarcely compatible with some earlier statements such as “the long overdue overhaul of our University courses”, a statement which seems a little premature for one who is still in the stage of “honestly assessing” what is going on.     

STATISTICAL CONCEPTS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND SURVEYING

This paper was prepared as supporting documentation for a tutorial given by the authors under Photogrammetric Society auspices. The authors do not make any claims of novelty or innovation but they feel that the information contained in the paper will provide useful study material, especially for practitioners of photogrammetry and surveying. The following topics are covered: functional and stochastic models; the least squares process; statistical testing; optimal design methods; and numerical examples in the design of a horizontal control network and of a close range photogrammetric survey.     

THE DEPARTMENT OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING AT WUHAN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY,PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Many remote sensing applications are predicated on the fact that there is a known relationship between climate and vegetation dynamics as monitored from space. However, few studies investigate vegetation index variation on individual homogeneous land cover units as they relate to specific climate and environmental influences at the local scale. This study focuses on the relationship between the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and different vegetation types through the derivation of vegetation indices from Landsat 7 ETM+ data (NDVI, Tasseled Cap, and SAVI). A series of closely spaced through time images from 1999 to 2002 were selected, classified, and analyzed for an area in northeastern Ohio. Supervised classification of the images allowed us to monitor the response in individual land cover classes to changing climate conditions, and compare these individual changes to those over the entire larger areas. Specifically, the images were compared using linear regression techniques at various time lags to PDSI values for these areas collected by NOAA. Although NDVI is a robust indicator of vegetation greenness and vigor, it may not be the best index to use, depending on the type of vegetation studied and the scale of analysis used. A combination of NDVI and other prominent vegetation indices can be used to detect subtle drought conditions by specifically identifying various time lags between climate condition and vegetation response.     

STATISTICAL CONCEPTS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND SURVEYING (CONTINUED)

Inner constraints, generalised matrix inverses and S-transformations are described in relation to least squares estimation of spatial positions. A simple example is used to illustrate some of the theory. The various roles and properties of covariance functions and matrices are presented with a discussion of their practical determination and use in least squares interpolation and collocation.     

综合性高校测绘技能大赛实践与思考

介绍了武汉大学测绘学院举行的测绘技能大赛的比赛内容、评分标准、组织方法,培养了学生的参与意识和团队协作能力,提高了学生的实际操作能力和创新意识,促进了实验教学质量的提高。     

SURVEYING TECHNIQUES FOR NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Several articles which deal with instruction in surveying at the university have appeared recently in the E.S.R., notably ones by P. N. Ray (xii, 89, 104–110), A. Stephenson (xii, 91, 217–222)and K. R. Peattie (xii, 94, 376–379). Particular attention is given in them to courses for engineering students. It may be of interest to readers of this Journal to hear of a survey course for geography students. Although the pattern varies at different universities, it is common to find instruction, for all geography students, in simple surveying, with practice in chain and compass surveys and the use of the plane table, while Honours students may select surveying at a late stage in the course as one of the branches of the subject in which they are to specialize. Below are set out details of a course given at University College, Ibadan, Nigeria.     

航测大比例尺数字化测图中的若干问题

在航测全数字化测图软件还比较昂贵的情况下，立足现有高备，运用测绘新技术，进行大比例尺航测数字化成因，获取数字地图，为城市地理信息系统提供基础信息，对中小城市的测绘工作是一种较好的选择。     

开拓进取再创辉煌--武汉大学遥感信息工程学院建设发展思考

回顾了武汉大学遥感信息工程学院近几年来在遥感科学与技术新专业设置、科研建设成果、教学改革、教材建设和人才培养等方面的情况，介绍了摄影测量与遥感重点学科今后三年的建设目标和发展方向。     

应用近景摄影测量方法测制龙门桥石像等值线图

叙述了使用近景摄影测量方法绘制重庆市涪陵区蔺市龙门桥石像等值线图的全过程，包括控制测量、摄影及摄影测量处理，特别是使用了普通测量前方交会测设像片控制点的简化方法。     

THE EYE, VISION AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY

The author begins by discussing the optical system of the eye, refractive errors and their correction, the image receiving and perception system, visual resolution and fixation of objects. Binocular vision and depth perception are then considered, particularly when viewing a pair of photographs stereoscopically through independent optical systems. The effect of relevant visual anomalies on photogrammetric performance and the screening of candidates for photogrammetric work are then discussed.