Open Data Model Research Articles

Proposing a total quality management (TQM) model for open government data (OGD) initiatives: implications for India

PurposeThis paper aims to advance a total quality management (TQM) model for the open government data (OGD) initiatives undertaken by the governments. As an example, the paper investigates the national OGD portal of India (www.data.gov.in) and provides implications of the proposed TQM model for the Indian case.Design/methodology/approachThe TQM model for the OGD initiatives (16 dimensions in terms of drivers, enablers and results) is derived from the extant literature on the principles of TQM and OGD. The proposed model is used for drawing implications for the Indian OGD initiative.FindingsThe application of TQM model for the OGD initiative in India would help in quality maintenance and sustainability. The quality of the OGD portal should be improved by taking the TQM model as a point of reference.Practical implicationsEnsuring quality of the datasets is important for any OGD initiative. The proposed TQM model leaves insights for the practitioners (policymakers and administrators) to implement the TQM model in the OGD policy initiatives. This would lead to increased trust, transparency and accountability.Social implicationsThrough the integration of the TQM model in the OGD initiative of the country, a wider section of the stakeholders may tap the qualitatively advanced datasets for value creation. Citizen participation and engagement would increase with the integration of the TQM model in the OGD initiative.Originality/valueWhile management of quality in the OGD initiatives has been underlined in the extant OGD-focused literature, the utility of applying TQM principles in OGD initiatives has not been conceived so far. The present study seeks to contribute towards the extant literature on TQM and OGD with the identification of the TQM model for the OGD initiatives.

3D CITYGML BUILDING MODELLING FROM LIDAR POINT CLOUD DATA

Abstract. With recent government initiatives for smart cities, 3D virtual city models are in demand for managing and monitoring the urban infrastructure. 3D building models forms an important component of 3D virtual city model. LiDAR remote sensing has revolutionized the way the third dimension can be precisely mapped and proved to be an important source of data for 3D models. The model thus generated should be in an open data format to be used across various applications. CityGML is an open data model framework that enables storage and exchange of 3D models which can be used for diversified applications. The main objective of this research is to develop a methodological workflow to create 3D building models in CityGML standard from airborne LiDAR point cloud. Initially building points were isolated from the airborne LiDAR data using point cloud processing algorithms. 3D building models with levels of detail (LoD1 and LoD2) were generated from the building points in CityGML standard using commercial (ArcGISPro) well as open source packages (3dfier, Citygml4j). Results prove that the models developed using open source packages are comparable to that provided by commercial packages.

A PROPOSAL FOR AN IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION MODEL IN CITYGML

Abstract. CityGML, an OGC standard, is an open data model for virtual 3D city models and includes buildings, roads, terrain, water bodies, etc. While many modules are well-developed (eg buildings, bridges, tunnels), the transportation model is, based on our consultations with various government agencies and municipalities, not sufficient for most transportation applications. We propose in this paper several improvements to the CityGML v2.0 Transportation module, and to the previous efforts for improving it. Our additions are based on the consultations we had, and on the use-cases that were identified. We argue that the following changes are necessary: A) multi-LoD modelling of roads, B) carriageway representation, C) detailed intersection modelling and, D) introducing waterways as a new sub-class.

Neuroshapes: Open data models and a design pattern for FAIR scientific data and knowledge in neuroscience

Neuroshapes: Open data models and a design pattern for FAIR scientific data and knowledge in neuroscience

Web services for data warehouses: OMOP and PCORnet on i2b2.

ObjectiveHealthcare organizations use research data models supported by projects and tools that interest them, which often means organizations must support the same data in multiple models. The healthcare research ecosystem would benefit if tools and projects could be adopted independently from the underlying data model. Here, we introduce the concept of a reusable application programming interface (API) for healthcare and show that the i2b2 API can be adapted to support diverse patient-centric data models.Materials and MethodsWe develop methodology for extending i2b2’s pre-existing API to query additional data models, using i2b2’s recent “multi-fact-table querying” feature. Our method involves developing data-model-specific i2b2 ontologies and mapping these to query non-standard table structure.ResultsWe implement this methodology to query OMOP and PCORnet models, which we validate with the i2b2 query tool. We implement the entire PCORnet data model and a five-domain subset of the OMOP model. We also demonstrate that additional, ancillary data model columns can be modeled and queried as i2b2 “modifiers.”Discussioni2b2’s REST API can be used to query multiple healthcare data models, enabling shared tooling to have a choice of backend data stores. This enables separation between data model and software tooling for some of the more popular open analytic data models in healthcare.ConclusionThis methodology immediately allows querying OMOP and PCORnet using the i2b2 API. It is released as an open-source set of Docker images, and also on the i2b2 community wiki.

Towards a Sustainable and Collaborative Data Model for Periodical Studies

This article advocates the development of a sustainable, structured, and open data model for periodical research. Considering the recent digital turn in periodical studies, it argues that a data model embracing Linked Open Data practices will not only facilitate collaboration among periodical scholars across language boundaries but also contribute to a better understanding of what periodicals are and how the relationships among periodicals may evolve over time. By way of illustration, the article presents the data model developed in the context of an ongoing five-year research project on women editors and their periodicals in early-eighteenth- to early-twentieth-century Europe.

Being ready for the next Uber: can local government reinvent itself?

The history of Uber’s interaction with local and national governments is surveyed to provide a case study for the wider issue of the governance of private-sector involvement, technological innovation and disruption in the mobility sector. Uber’s tenacious and highly competitive approach to building markets is identified as a significant challenge to authorities and the limited power they have over Uber (beyond simply refusing access) is acknowledged. Uber’s entry into the delivery of statutory services is identified as a particularly striking development. The case of Uber provides useful insights concerning technological innovation and disruption, but more important is the company’s business model. The analysis enables some findings concerning how authorities can prepare for the “next” Uber: these include working on preparedness (by conducting futures work, for example); on standing arrangements (such as insisting on an open data model); and on responding to the entry of a challenging provider or service, through the use of experimental legislation.

3DCityDB - a 3D geodatabase solution for the management, analysis, and visualization of semantic 3D city models based on CityGML

Over the last decade, more and more cities and even countries worldwide are creating semantic 3D city models of their physical environment based on the international CityGML standard issued by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). CityGML is an open data model and XML-based data exchange format describing the most relevant urban and landscape objects along with their spatial and non-spatial attributes, relations, and their complex hierarchical structures in five levels of detail. 3D city models, which are structured according to CityGML, are often used for various complex GIS simulation and analysis tasks, which go far beyond pure 3D visualization. Due to the large size and complexity of the sometimes country-wide 3D geospatial data, the GIS software vendors and service providers face many challenges when building 3D spatial data infrastructures for realizing the efficient storage, analysis, management, interaction, and visualization of the 3D city models based on the CityGML standard. Hence, there has been strong demand for an open and comprehensive software solution that can provide full support of the aforementioned functionalities. The ‘3D City Database’ (3DCityDB) is a free 3D geo-database solution for CityGML-based 3D city models. 3DCityDB has been developed as an Open Source and platform-independent software suite to facilitate the development and deployment of 3D city model applications. The 3DCityDB software package consists of a database schema for spatially enhanced relational database management systems (ORACLE Spatial or PostgreSQL/PostGIS) with a set of database procedures and software tools allowing to import, manage, analyze, visualize, and export virtual 3D city models according to the CityGML standard. Within this paper, the software suite is illustrated and explained in detail with respect to the related technical implementations and the underlying conceptual software design. Moreover, the utilization of 3DCityDB in different projects and practical application fields are also presented in this paper.

Drivers and barriers towards re-using open government data (OGD): a case study of open data initiative in Oman

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to underscore the significance, drivers and barriers towards re-use of open data sets in the context of Oman’s open government data (OGD) initiative.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative framework, the paper invoked a documentary analysis approach to probe the OGD initiative of Oman. Specifically, the national OGD portal of Oman (https://data.gov.om/) is being investigated in the paper. Furthermore, the paper invokes a theoretical model of “citizen engagement” (“Data over the wall”, “Code exchange”, “Civic issue tracker” and “Participatory open data model”) proposed by Sieber and Johnson (2015) to assess the extent to which open data sets may be re-used.FindingsAs per the theoretical model forwarded by Sieber and Johnson (2015), the OGD initiative of Oman is a cusp between “Data over the wall”, “Code exchange” and “Participatory” models. Oman’s OGD initiative facilitates the re-use of the open data sets. However, there are challenges in re-using the open data sets as well. The paper underlines the prospects of better re-use of data sets by institutionalizing the OGD initiative across all administrative levels of the country.Practical implicationsThis study holds relevance for practitioners and policy-makers in Oman to ensure the re-use of data sets is facilitated for generating public value.Originality/valueHitherto, research has underlined the significance of launching OGD initiatives in the West but studies in developing countries are few. The present study seeks to plug this research gap by underlining the significance of OGD re-usage in Oman’s context.

Geohealth: biology based mapping of vector borne disease in the Americas using NASA satellite data

Implementation of a geospatial surveillance and response system data resource for vector borne disease in the Americas (GeoHealth) will be tested using NASA satellite data, geographic information systems and ecological niche modeling to characterize the environmental suitability and potential for spread of endemic and epizootic vector borne diseases. The initial focus is on developing prototype geospatial models for visceral leishmaniasis, an expanding endemic disease in Latin America, and geospatial models for dengue and other Aedes aegypti borne arboviruses (zika, chikungunya), emerging arboviruses with potential for epizootic spread from Latin America and the Caribbean and establishment in North America. Geospatial surveillance and response system open resource data bases and models will be made available, with training courses, to other investigators interested in mapping and modeling other vector borne diseases in the western hemisphere and contributing brokered data to an expanding GeoHealth data resource as part of the NASA AmeriGEOSS initiative.

Understanding Open Data Regulation: An Analysis Of The Licensing Landscape

Open data models have been developed to improve democratic participation, transparency, and innovation. There is a growing variation in open data policies and licenses that aim to maximize dissemination and reuse of data and databases. Diverse tools have been developed, tailored to the specific field of open data licensing. However, the normative framework of open data is nuanced, and intellectual property laws differ in the treatment of data and databases. The open data regulatory system created from the existing legal framework, the adopted open data policies, and the licenses developed presents an inherent complexity that impedes data reusability. The chapter investigates legal issues stemming from that system in the current open data environment. The objective is to showcase solutions to that complexity stemming from the evolution of open data licenses, policies, and ultimately, intellectual property laws.

Over a Decade of Scholarship on the Politics and Policy of Science and Technology

Over a Decade of Scholarship on the Politics and Policy of Science and Technology

3D Visualization of Urban Area Using Lidar Technology and CityGML

3D models of urban areas have found use in modern world such as navigation, cartography, urban planning visualization, construction, tourism and even in new applications of mobile navigations. With the advancement of technology there are much better solutions for mapping earth’s surface and spatial objects. 3D city model enables exploration, analysis, management tasks and presentation of a city. Urban areas consist of terrain surfaces, buildings, vegetation and other parts of city infrastructure such as city furniture. Nowadays there are a lot of different methods for collecting, processing and publishing 3D models of area of interest. LIDAR technology is one of the most effective methods for collecting data due the large amount data that can be obtained with high density and geometrical accuracy. CityGML is open standard data model for storing alphanumeric and geometry attributes of city. There are 5 levels of display (LoD0, LoD1, LoD2, LoD3, LoD4). In this study, main aim is to represent part of urban area of Novi Sad using LIDAR technology, for data collecting, and different methods for extraction of information’s using CityGML as a standard for 3D representation. By using series of programs, it is possible to process collected data, transform it to CityGML and store it in spatial database. Final product is CityGML 3D model which can display textures and colours in order to give a better insight of the cities. This paper shows results of the first three levels of display. They consist of digital terrain model and buildings with differentiated rooftops and differentiated boundary surfaces. Complete model gives us a realistic view of 3D objects.

A PROPOSAL FOR GENERALIZATION OF 3D MODELS

Abstract. In recent years, 3D models have been created of many cities around the world. Most of the 3D city models have been introduced as completely graphic or geometric models, and the semantic and topographic aspects of the models have been neglected. In order to use 3D city models beyond the task, a generalization is necessary. CityGML is an open data model and XML-based format for the storage and exchange of virtual 3D city models. Level of Details (LoD) which is an important concept for 3D modelling, can be defined as outlined degree or prior representation of real-world objects. The paper aim is first describes some requirements of 3D model generalization, then presents problems and approaches that have been developed in recent years. In conclude the paper will be a summary and outlook on problems and future work.

A continuous deployment-based approach for the collaborative creation, maintenance, testing and deployment of CityGML models

ABSTRACTGeoreferenced 3D models are an increasingly common choice to store and display urban data in many application areas. CityGML is an open and standardized data model, and exchange format that provides common semantics for 3D city entities and their relations and one of the most common options for this kind of information. Currently, creating and maintaining CityGML models is costly and difficult. This is in part because both the creation of the geometries and the semantic annotation can be complex processes that require at least some manual work. In fact, many publicly available CityGML models have errors. This paper proposes a method to facilitate the regular maintenance of correct city models in CityGML. This method is based on the continuous deployment strategy and tools used in software development, but adapted to the problem of creating, maintaining and deploying CityGML models, even when several people are working on them at the same time. The method requires designing and implementing CityGML deployment pipelines. These pipelines are automatic implementations of the process of building, testing and deploying CityGML models. These pipelines must be run by the maintainers of the models when they make changes that are intended to be shared with others. The pipelines execute increasingly complex automatic tests in order to detect errors as soon as possible, and can even automate the deployment step, where the CityGML models are made available to their end users. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of this method, and as an example of its application, a CityGML deployment pipeline has been developed for an example scenario where three actors maintain the same city model. This scenario is representative of the kind of problems that this method intends to solve, and it is based on real work in progress. The main benefits of this method are the automation of model testing, every change to the model is tested in a repeatable way; the automation of the model deployment, every change to the model can reach its end users as fast as possible; the systematic approach to integrating changes made by different people working together on the models, including the possibility of keeping parallel versions with a common core; an automatic record of every change made to the models (who did what and when) and the possibility of undoing some of those changes at any time.

Open Data in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan: nature and scope

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and scope of Open Data in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon the two Open Data models proposed by Kalampokis et al. (2011) and Sieber and Johnson (2015), this paper seeks to underline the nature and scope of Open Data in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan.FindingsOpen Data across the three countries (Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan) is at an early stage of maturity. There is more of data aggregation and this poses a number of challenges as far as access to and usage of these data sets are concerned. Furthermore, in terms of the model proposed by Sieber and Johnson (2015), there is “data over the wall” in these countries.Practical implicationsThe study holds practical relevance in the sense that policymakers are encouraged to further the Open Data initiatives in their respective countries. Furthermore, government departments are encouraged to release data sets for use by the public and to generate public value.Originality/valueWhereas extant literature on Open Data veers around economies in the West, academic research in other countries is visibly lacking. Also, no study has been undertaken so far wherein Open Data initiatives in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan have been undertaken till date. The present study seeks to plug this gap in a major way.

Analytics for citizens: A linked open data model for statistical data exploration

SummaryA growing number of public institutions all over the world have recently started to make government statistical data available in open formats, thus enhancing transparency and accountability, stimulating innovation, and promoting civic awareness and engagement. Integration issues related to fragmentation and heterogeneity of these datasets can be partially addressed by referring to the Linked Data approach, which also enables easier access and consumption by users. However, the lack of an explicit representation of how statistical indicators are calculated still hinders their interpretation, and hence the development of applications and services especially useful for citizens, who do not have full knowledge and control over the underlying data and analysis models. In the present work, we discuss an approach to ease the interaction of communities of citizens with statistical Linked Open Data. We define a model and a set of services allowing people to recognize the mathematical structure of statistical indicators, improving in this way user awareness of the meaning of indicators and their mutual relations. Through such services, it is possible to enable interactive browsing of indicator formulas and novel typologies of data exploration, including dynamic computation of indicators not explicitly stored and comparison of different Linked Data resources.

Development of CityGML Application Domain Extension for Indoor Routing and Positioning

CityGML is an open data model for storage and exchange of 3D city models. It is categorised into thirteen thematic classes, i.e., buildings, tunnels, bridges, etc., lacking the other themes such as indoor routing and positioning. With the amplified use of indoor routing and positioning, the need for prerequisite notion of detailed semantic, as well as geometric information of the 3D building data has grown. We intend to extend the CityGML schema to add attributes of indoor features using the facility of Application Domain Extension (ADE) provided by the OGC CityGML 2.0. In this study, we aim to showcase the formation of Indoor Routing and Positioning ADE along with the process concerning its development, such as the 3D model design, network dataset creation, routing, positioning and Unified Modeling Language based ADE application schema generation. This research would help the users to easily store and exchange 3D city data on which they can perform routing and positioning inside the buildings with enhanced semantic and geometric properties.

Open data models for smart health interconnected applications: the example of openEHR.

BackgroundSmart Health is known as a concept that enhances networking, intelligent data processing and combining patient data with other parameters. Open data models can play an important role in creating a framework for providing interoperable data services that support the development of innovative Smart Health applications profiting from data fusion and sharing.MethodsThis article describes a model-driven engineering approach based on standardized clinical information models and explores its application for the development of interoperable electronic health record systems. The following possible model-driven procedures were considered: provision of data schemes for data exchange, automated generation of artefacts for application development and native platforms that directly execute the models. The applicability of the approach in practice was examined using the openEHR framework as an example.ResultsA comprehensive infrastructure for model-driven engineering of electronic health records is presented using the example of the openEHR framework. It is shown that data schema definitions to be used in common practice software development processes can be derived from domain models. The capabilities for automatic creation of implementation artefacts (e.g., data entry forms) are demonstrated. Complementary programming libraries and frameworks that foster the use of open data models are introduced. Several compatible health data platforms are listed. They provide standard based interfaces for interconnecting with further applications.ConclusionOpen data models help build a framework for interoperable data services that support the development of innovative Smart Health applications. Related tools for model-driven application development foster semantic interoperability and interconnected innovative applications.

Open Data for Science, Policy, and the Public Good

AbstractSupporters of open data believe that free and complete access to research data is beneficial for science, public policy, and society. In environmental science and policy, open data systems can enable relevant research and inform evidence‐based governmental decisions. This article examines the unlikely case of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research's transition toward an open data model. Considering Brazil's young democracy, incipient practice of government transparency and accountability, and lacking a tradition of science‐policy dialogue, this case is a striking example of how open data can support public debate by making information about forest cover widely available. The case shows the benefits and challenges of developing such open data systems, and highlights the various forms of accessibility involved in making data available to the public.