Geographic Services Research Articles

Blue Diversion: a new approach to sanitation in informal settlements

The sanitation concept ‘Blue Diversion’ (www.bluediversiontoilet.com) was developed as a possible answer to the sanitation crisis in urban slums. It is based on two main elements: (1) diversion of urine, feces, and water at the source as the basis for efficient resource recovery, and (2) linking different scales (family toilets and semi-centralized resource recovery). Our objective was to develop an attractive ‘grid-free’ (i.e. functioning without piped water, sewer, and electrical grid) dry urine-diverting toilet, which provides water (through recycling on-site) for flushing, personal hygiene (anal cleansing and menstrual hygiene), and hand washing. This service, including the entire sanitation value chain, should eventually be made available as a profitable business with total user fees of 5 ¢/p/d. The results presented in this paper are (1) a toilet design model, (2) the development of a new type of membrane bioreactor for treating flush and wash water, (3) main results of a geographic information system-based stochastic service model to link the family-scale toilet to a community-scale Resource Recovery Plant, and (4) a business model that yields maximum profit for the local community. We conclude that the approach is feasible, but challenging from a technical as well as an organizational point of view.

Selecting the optimal healthcare centers with a modified P-median model: a visual analytic perspective.

BackgroundIn a conventional P-median model, demanding points are likely assigned to the closest supplying facilities, but this method exhibits evident limitations in real cases.MethodsThis paper proposed a modified P-median model in which exact and approximate strategies are used. The first strategy aims to enumerate all of the possible combinations of P facilities, and the second strategy adopts simulated annealing to allocate resources considering capacity constraint and spatial compactness constraint. These strategies allow us to choose optimal locations by applying visual analytics, which is rarely employed in location allocation planning.ResultsThis model is applied to a case study in Henan Province, China, where three optimal healthcare centers are selected from candidate cities. First, the weighting factor in spatial compactness constraint is visually evaluated to obtain a plausible spatial pattern. Second, three optimal healthcare centers, namely, Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, and Nanyang, are identified in a hybrid transportation network by performing visual analytics. Third, alternative healthcare centers are obtained in a road network and compared with the above solution to understand the impacts of transportation network types.ConclusionsThe optimal healthcare centers are visually detected by employing an improved P-median model, which considers both geographic accessibility and service quality. The optimal solutions are obtained in two transportation networks, which suggest high-speed railways and highways play a significant role respectively.

Collaborative Bike Sensing for Automatic Geographic Enrichment: Geoannotation of road\/terrain type by multimodal bike sensing

In this article, we describe a multimodal bike-sensing setup for automatic geoannotation of terrain types using Web-based data enrichment. The proposed classification system is mainly based on the analysis of volunteered geographic information gathered by cyclists. By using participatory accelerometer and global positioning system (GPS) sensor data collected from cyclists' smartphones, which is enriched with data from geographic Web services, the proposed system is able to distinguish between six different terrain types. For the classification of the Web-based enriched sensor data, the system employs a random decision forest (RDF) (which compared favorably for the geoannotation task against different classification algorithms). The accuracy of the novel bike-sensing system is 92% for six-class road/terrain classification and 97% for two-class on-road/off-road classification. Since the evaluation is performed on large-scale data gathered during real bike runs, these real-life accuracies show the feasibility of our novel approach.

Profiling Rural Landmarks over Time: An Integrated Approach

The present study illustrates an approach to map a landscape element typical of the Mediterranean rural landscape by integrating digitization from topographic maps and photo-interpretation on recent Google Heart imagery. The approach was applied to a case study in Greece. The location of water open reservoirs used for crop irrigation, taken as a typical element of the rural landscape in the area, was mapped through (i) digitization of Hellenic Military Geographical Service (HMGS) maps scaled 1:25,000 referring to late-1970s and (ii) interpretation of Google Heart Imagery referring to early-2010s with the support of ancillary data sources. Maps have been included into a Geographic Information System (GIS) incorporating layers, which describe land-use and population distribution. The cartography was processed to develop landscape indicators by using spatial analysis tools. The integration of digitization techniques with geographic information systems and spatial analysis represents an original approach for landscape assessment in areas suffering from the lack of digital information on the environment.

QoS 개선과 서비스 커버리지 확장을 위한 단일 주파수망 지상파 DMB 최적화 배치

본 논문에서는 지상파 DMB 단일 주파수 망(SFN) 설계에서 GPS를 기준 시각으로 모든 사이트의 송출 동기를 일치시키는 기존의 운용방식과 병행하여, 각 사이트의 지형적 특징을 반영한 송신 offset delay를 추가 적용함으로써 동일한 송신 제원으로 기존 대비 서비스 영역을 확장시키는 방법을 연구하였다. 실험결과 미약한 수신 전계강도 지역에서 송신 offset delay가 수신 신호품질을 개선시켰으며 방송 통신위원회가 권고하는 최소 수신 전계강도(<TEX>$45dB{\mu}V/m$</TEX>) 지점을 기준으로 4~8 km 서비스 영역이 확장됨을 확인하였다. 각 사이트 별 고유한 송신 offset delay를 계산하기 위해서 서비스 영역 내 지리적 특징, 인접 사이트 간 전계강도 분포, 그리고 사이트별 서비스 목표 영역 등 여러 사항을 고려하였으며 본 연구에 대한 검증 실험은 수도권 DMB 서비스 영역으로 한정하였다. 또한 산출된 송신 offset delay가 단일 주파수망에 미치는 영향을 분석하기위해 수신 전계강도와 delay 간의 상관관계를 실험을 통해 분석함으로써, 송신 offset delay의 적용이 서비스 영역을 얼마나 확장시킬 수 있는지 확인하였다. This paper suggests the method to extend service area by using the transmit offset delay in T-DMB single frequency network (SFN). In general, synchronization of the transmit time of all site can be done by using the reference clock of GPS, which dose not reflect the details geographical characteristics and transmit specifications of each site. Applying the site-specific transmit offset delay, we could extend the service area of SFN T-DMB. Applying the transmit offset delay, it is found that the signal quality in the region of weak receive field strength was improved and upto 4~8 km service area expansion was achieved by satisfying the minimum field strength (<TEX>$45dB{\mu}V/m$</TEX>) recommended by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). Site-specific offset delay was calculated considering the geographic service area characteristics, distribution of electric field strength between neighboring sites and site-specific service target area. Experiments were carried out in order to analyze impact of calculated offset delay on the T-DMB SFN and also to confirm that the offset delay extends T-DMB service coverage. The experiment was done in metropolitan T-DMB service areas.

El proyecto general para las fortificaciones de Alicante en 1721

The boom in activity at the Port of Alicante and events in the city during the War of Succession sparked interest in modernising its obsolete walled enclosure. This article describes the general project for the city’s fortifi- technical quality. It was undoubtedly the finest project of those undertaken in the 18th century to modernise Alicante’s fortifications. No record exists of the report that must have been produced, but there is a surviving map from 1721 kept at the Army’s Geographic Service that until recently had been considered anonymous. The fact that General Engineer Jorge Prospero de Verboom visited Alicante at this time, together with other technical considerations, means the report can be attributed to him. Other contemporary projects by military engineers produced by order of Verboom are also described.

Centralized Organ Procurement Organization Surgical Center: First 200 Brain Dead Organ Donor Transfer Experience.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical and business case of utilizing a stand-alone Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) surgical center following 200 brain dead organ donor transfers and removal of organs for transplant. Methods: Operational, financial, logistical and donor family satisfaction metrics among 200 organ donors transferred to an OPO surgical center are contrasted with a population of organ donors performed at the hospital where brain death was declared. Results: Between 8/26/10 and 12/30/13, 200 patients were transferred from hospitals where brain death was declared to an OPO surgical center for standardized organ procurement within a large geographical donation service area. The following table reviews a range of operational and financial metrics associated with the organ donor transfer population:Table: No Caption available.The first 12 brain dead transfers in 2010 were limited to abdominal only donors, which account for a lower number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) in the first year in contrast to the 4.2 OTPD in 2013. The 2013 median procurement cost per donor was significantly lower (p<0.5) in the transfer population ($14,982) compared to brain dead cases facilitated at the donor hospital ($19,890), with the OPO not having to increase non-Medicare organ acquisition fees for the past four years. Clinical skill set development of OPO procurement coordinators allowed for the replacement of variable anesthesiology staffing in early 2013. This staffing change nearly doubled the percent and volume of donor transfer cases from the previous year. Mean donor family satisfaction scores are statistically equivalent for the brain dead donor transfer group (4.88; n=95), when compared to the aggregate mean scores among brain dead donor cases performed at the donor hospital (4.89; n=228). Conclusion: An OPO surgical center model demonstrates the ability to increase OTPD, reduce procurement costs and sustain donor family satisfaction as compared to the more common donor procurement model.

Quality of prenatal care questionnaire: instrument development and testing

BackgroundUtilization indices exist to measure quantity of prenatal care, but currently there is no published instrument to assess quality of prenatal care. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new instrument, the Quality of Prenatal Care Questionnaire (QPCQ).MethodsData for this instrument development study were collected in five Canadian cities. Items for the QPCQ were generated through interviews with 40 pregnant women and 40 health care providers and a review of prenatal care guidelines, followed by assessment of content validity and rating of importance of items. The preliminary 100-item QPCQ was administered to 422 postpartum women to conduct item reduction using exploratory factor analysis. The final 46-item version of the QPCQ was then administered to another 422 postpartum women to establish its construct validity, and internal consistency and test-retest reliability.ResultsExploratory factor analysis reduced the QPCQ to 46 items, factored into 6 subscales, which subsequently were validated by confirmatory factor analysis. Construct validity was also demonstrated using a hypothesis testing approach; there was a significant positive association between women’s ratings of the quality of prenatal care and their satisfaction with care (r = 0.81). Convergent validity was demonstrated by a significant positive correlation (r = 0.63) between the “Support and Respect” subscale of the QPCQ and the “Respectfulness/Emotional Support” subscale of the Prenatal Interpersonal Processes of Care instrument. The overall QPCQ had acceptable internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.96), as did each of the subscales. The test-retest reliability result (Intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.88) indicated stability of the instrument on repeat administration approximately one week later. Temporal stability testing confirmed that women’s ratings of their quality of prenatal care did not change as a result of giving birth or between the early postpartum period and 4 to 6 weeks postpartum.ConclusionThe QPCQ is a valid and reliable instrument that will be useful in future research as an outcome measure to compare quality of care across geographic regions, populations, and service delivery models, and to assess the relationship between quality of care and maternal and infant health outcomes.

A Comparative Analysis of Number Portability Routing Schemes

To reap the benefits of liberalized telecom market, the implementation of number portability (NP) is utmost important. NP allows end user to retain their telephone number in case of change of geographical location or service type or service provider. This paper describes the various number portability routing schemes namely, All Call Query, Query on Release, Call Dropback and Onward routing. The comparative analysis between these routing schemes on various parameters is presented here. The issues pertaining to NP have also been described.

Auto-Scaling, Load Balancing and Monitoring As service in public cloud

Cloud computing(1)(2)(3) word has changed the classical computing environment in IT industries. it is most emerging & popular technology in IT & research field because of its great feature such as virtualization and on-demand resource allocating (dynamic) . Now - a - days because of increased use of internet the associate resource are increasing rapidly resulting generation of high work load. To provide the reliable service to client with QOS(5 ) the load balancing mechanism is necessary in cloud environment, to prevent system from overloading and crash an autoscaling mechanism must also be provided according to the application and incoming user traffic. load balancing mechanism provides the distribution of load among one or more nodes of cloud system, for efficient service model autoscaling feature also enabled with the load balancer to handle the excess load. Auto scaling scaled-up and scaled down the platform dynamically according to the clients incoming traffic this save money and physical resources. Latency based routing is the new concept in cloud computing which provide the load balancing based on DNS latency to global client by mapping domain name system (DNS) (10 )through the different hosted zone .provide the load balancing based on geographical service region. To achieve above mentioned we use the public cloud services such as amazons'EC2. ELB. This research is divided in four part such as: i) load balancing ii) auto scaling iii)latency based routing iv) resource monitoring . while discussing each topic in detailed we will implement the individual service and test while providing load from external software tool putty we will produce result for efficient load balancing.

Cluster randomized adaptive implementation trial comparing a standard versus enhanced implementation intervention to improve uptake of an effective re-engagement program for patients with serious mental illness

BackgroundPersons with serious mental illness (SMI) are disproportionately burdened by premature mortality. This disparity is exacerbated by poor continuity of care with the health system. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) developed Re-Engage, an effective population-based outreach program to identify veterans with SMI lost to care and to reconnect them with VA services. However, such programs often encounter barriers getting implemented into routine care. Adaptive designs are needed when the implementation intervention requires augmentation within sites that do not initially respond to an initial implementation intervention. This protocol describes the methods used in an adaptive implementation design study that aims to compare the effectiveness of a standard implementation strategy (Replicating Effective Programs, or REP) with REP enhanced with External Facilitation (enhanced REP) to promote the uptake of Re-Engage.Methods/DesignThis study employs a four-phase, two-arm, longitudinal, clustered randomized trial design. VA sites (n = 158) across the United States with a designated Re-Engage provider, at least one Veteran with SMI lost to care, and who received standard REP during a six-month run-in phase. Subsequently, 88 sites with inadequate uptake were stratified at the cluster level by geographic region (n = 4) and VA regional service network (n = 20) and randomized to REP (n = 49) vs. enhanced REP (n = 39) in phase two. The primary outcome was the percentage of veterans on each facility outreach list documented on an electronic web registry. The intervention was at the site and network level and consisted of standard REP versus REP enhanced by external phone facilitation consults. At 12 months, enhanced REP sites returned to standard REP and 36 sites with inadequate participation received enhanced REP for six months in phase three. Secondary implementation outcomes included the percentage of veterans contacted directly by site providers and the percentage re-engaged in VA health services.DiscussionAdaptive implementation designs consisting of a sequence of decision rules that are tailored based on a site’s uptake of an effective program may produce more relevant, rapid, and generalizable results by more quickly validating or rejecting new implementation strategies, thus enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of implementation research and potentially leading to the rollout of more cost-efficient implementation strategies.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN21059161.

Geo-Multi-Agent System Based Webmapping Approach Using Multiple Representation and Generalisation Driven by Domain Ontology

Geographic Information (GI) is currently available at any time, from anywhere on the surface of the earth, for any person connected to internet. Some applications of design, implementation, generation and dissemination of maps on the web are recognized as “Webmapping” application, geographic web services or more generally on demand-map making tools. All these web applications aims the satisfaction of user needs by providing personalized maps in a fast response time with a good quality. However, the complexity and diversity of aspects taking into account have lead researchers to focus on one aspect at the expense of others. Consequently, few works have addressed all these aspects simultaneously. The authors propose in this paper, a Webmapping approach organized into two main tasks: (1) query analysis driven by domain ontology in analyzing a query launched by a user on a web browser and (2) map generation process. The first step allows extracting and formalizing user needs through two map determinants factors: the Level of Detail (LoD) and Point of View (PoV) and the second, exploit an hybrid approach “Multi Representation and Generalization” in storing and generating geographical data with integrating Multi-Agent technology in all steps of processing. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposal, a first tool prototype implementing our approach is so developed using a geographic vector dataset provided by national cartographic agency.

A strategic approach for improving rural air transport in the United States

Commercial air transport in rural and remote areas of the United States has a long history. After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, carriers were free to serve any cities and routes they wished. In anticipation of carriers gravitating toward large urban markets, the Essential Air Service (EAS) program was created to maintain commercial service in smaller and more geographically isolated locales throughout the United States. EAS has been continuously funded since 1978, but has recently attracted the attention of many fiscal hawks. Serving only six passengers per flight, on average, with costs approaching $200 million, there are long held concerns that EAS is a poor use of federal monies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight costs of the EAS program and identify systemic inefficiencies in the allocation of EAS resources. We show that service redundancies exist, with EAS markets being cannibalized by both peer EAS airports and other commercial alternatives. Further, we highlight strategic consolidation possibilities for EAS allocations and services, facilitating federal appropriations reduction without sacrificing existing geographic service needs.

Communicable disease control in Afghanistan

Among public health challenges in Afghanistan, communicable diseases still predominate because the epidemiologic transition to chronic disease has not yet occurred. Afghanistan's 10-year journey to improve its response to communicable disease is reflected in varying degrees of progress and innovation, all while long-standing conflict and geographic inaccessibility limit outreach and effective service delivery to vulnerable populations. Although Afghanistan is close to achieving polio elimination, other reportable communicable diseases are only slowly achieving their goals and objectives through targeted, sustained programmatic efforts. The introduction of disease early warning systems has allowed for identification and investigation of outbreaks within 48 hours. Tuberculosis case detection has risen over the last 10 years, and treatment success rates have been sustained at World Health Organization targets over the last 5 years at 85%. These successes are in large part due to increased government commitment, Global Fund support, training of community health workers and improved laboratory capabilities. Malaria cases dropped between 2002 and 2010. HIV/AIDS has been kept at low levels except in only certain sub-sectors of the population. In order to build on these achievements, Afghanistan will need a comprehensive strategy for all communicable diseases, with better human and infrastructure development, better multi-sectoral development and international collaboration.

Regional Variation in Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes

ObjectiveTo examine and describe regional variation in outcomes for persons with stroke receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation. DesignRetrospective cohort design. SettingInpatient rehabilitation units and facilities contributing to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from the United States. ParticipantsPatients (N=143,036) with stroke discharged from inpatient rehabilitation during 2006 and 2007. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresCommunity discharge, length of stay (LOS), and discharge functional status ratings (motor, cognitive) across 10 geographic service regions defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ResultsApproximately 71% of the sample was discharged to the community. After adjusting for covariates, the percentage discharged to the community varied from 79.1% in the Southwest (CMS region 9) to 59.4% in the Northeast (CMS region 2). Adjusted LOS varied by 2.1 days, with CMS region 1 having the longest LOS at 18.3 days and CMS regions 5 and 9 having the shortest at 16.2 days. ConclusionsRehabilitation outcomes for persons with stroke varied across CMS regions. Substantial variation in discharge destination and LOS remained after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics.

Second-by-Second Analysis of Advertising Exposure in TV Pods

<h3>Abstract</h3> As surges in the COVID-19 pandemic have continued worldwide, SARS-CoV-2 has mutated, spawning several new variants, and impacting, to various degrees, transmission, disease severity, diagnostics, therapeutics, and natural and vaccine-induced immunity. Baylor Scott &amp; White Health has implemented, along with laboratory diagnosis, SARS-CoV-2 sequencing to identify variants in its geographical service area. We analyzed virus sequencing results of specimens collected across Central Texas and found dramatic changes in variant distribution in the first half of 2021. The alpha variant (B 1.1.7) became predominant at week 13 and continued dominance until week 25. A growth rate of 1.20 (R² = 0.92) for the first 15 weeks was noted and this growth gradually declined to -0.55 (R² = 0.99) for the final 13 weeks. Currently, B.1.1.7 is being displaced with B.1.617.2 at 0.58 growth rate (R² = 0.97). We also investigated vaccine breakthrough cases within our healthcare system and present clinical data on 28 symptomatic patients.

The geographic distribution of United States public libraries: An analysis of locations and service areas

This article explores the geography of public libraries in the United States. The distribution of libraries is examined using maps and spatial statistics to analyze spatial patterns. Methods for delineating and studying library service areas used in previous LIS research are modified and applied using geographic information systems to study variations in library accessibility by state and by socio-economic group at the national level. A history of library development is situated within the broader economic and demographic history of the US to provide insight to contemporary patterns, and Louis Round Wilson’s Geography of Reading is used as a focal point for studying historical trends. Findings show that while national library coverage is extensive, the percentage of the population that lives in a library’s geographic service area varies considerably by region and state, with Southern and Western states having lower values than Northeastern and Midwestern states.

Geographic web services and tools as instruments for territorial management

Currently, there are a large number of applications with Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities, supported by Web services and which contribute to geospatial information quality, prestige, and integrity. Likewise, a series of location-based services have been generated that have become a useful and indispensable instrument with great social content. All of these applications and services with GIS capabilities are increasingly present in the Web, looking to provide new services in real-time geographic information and becoming the central axis for public administrations that have the need to access, integrate, produce, and transmit suffi cient geographic information as the main means when making decisions for successful management of their territories. With tools such as these, many public administrations are striving to offer a range of services through the so-called geoportals, thus, multiplying the possibilities of sharing, distributing, exchanging, and accessing geographically referenced information as a plausible instrument in processes of planning and management of their Territory.

Evaluating the performance of Chinese airports

This paper assesses whether geographical characteristics and service strategies influence the performance of Chinese airports. It examines the technical efficiency of 41 Chinese airports in 2008; with data envelopment analysis then regressed on environmental factors. The results show that airports located in cities with populations of more than two million are more efficient than those for other city sizes. Further, airports that are able to accommodate A380 or Boeing 747 aircraft are operationally more efficient than other categories, and airports' efficiency improves with the number of airlines using them. The distance between an airport and the local central business district, however, does not significantly affect its performance.

Towards systematic software reuse of GIS: Insights from a case study

With the development and adoption of geographic information systems, there is an increasingly amount of software resources being stored or recorded as products to be reused. At the same time, complexity of geographic services is addressed through standardization, which allows developers reaching higher quality levels. In this paper, we introduce our domain-oriented approach to developing geographic software product lines focusing on the experiences collected from a case study. It was developed in the Marine Ecology Domain (Patagonia, Argentina) and illustrates insights of the process.