This paper draws upon the application of GIS and remote sensing techniques to investigate the dynamic nature and management aspects of land in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The geomorphological characteristic of the coastal areas is highly dynamic where land erosion and accretion with different rates remain a constant phenomenon. This study focuses on three coastal zones: western, central and eastern that comprise the entire coastal area of the country. At its core, this study uses the past 30 year Landsat satellite images. This research reveals that the rate of accretion in the study area is slightly higher than the rate of erosion. Overall land dynamics indicate a net gain of 237 km² (7.9 km² annual average) of land in the area for the whole period from 1985 to 2015. The results also demonstrate that the rates of both erosion and accretion are higher in the central zone compared to the western and the eastern zones of the coastal area. This is the first time that the entire coastal areas of Bangladesh have been considered for assessment. This study also recommends that coastal managers, planners and policymakers to consider the identified dynamic trends of coastal land before opting for any specific measure. Constant monitoring using the GIS and remote sensing techniques would be a viable management for this purpose. This study has identified some causes of land dynamics, particularly for the three coastal zones, that might be helpful for policymakers in identifying the nature of interventions needs to be taken for specific coastal zones.
In the UK mobile phone ownership is high, however, there are conspicuous local protests against mobile phone masts. Protesters' concerns often focus on the claimed ill health effects of mobile phone technology, which are frequently dismissed by industry and scientific experts. This paper provides an in-depth study into the attitudes and beliefs of one local protest. It considers to what extent health issues dominate the group's concerns and how the campaigners have engaged with scientific knowledge to form their opinion. Surprisingly mobile phone ownership was high within the protest group. This apparent paradox could be rationalized, however, by considering the location of the group and the ways in which the protesters used their mobile phone. Few believed that the precautionary approach had been fully applied to mobile phones. The campaign can be interpreted as one that questions the presumption that science and technology leads to increased economic performance and quality of life.
Studies of protests against mobile phone masts typically concentrate on the potential health risks associated with mobile phones and their masts. Beck's Risk Society has been particularly influential in informing this debate. This focus on health, however, has merely served to limit the discussion to those concerns legitimated by science conveniently ignoring other disputed issues. In contrast, this paper contends that it is necessary to use a wider notion of risk to understand fully how the current political emphasis on active citizenship may have contributed to the protests. It examines how neo-liberal governmentality and the move to empower people are in contention with one another. The study draws upon case material from a small village protest group in UK and argues that much of the tension arises from the encouragement of the public on the one hand to become active citizens but on the other to be passive consumers.
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