Spatial Format Research Articles

GIS Driven Urban Traffic Analysis Based on Ontology

Geographic Information System (GIS) is designed to work with data referenced by spatial coordinates. The traffic is growing at a very high pace. Since there is a limit to geographical access, the growing vehicle volume has become difficult to control. GIS is the best way to manage traffic in a particular location. However, most traffic systems cannot share and exchange data with GIS because of incompatible spatial data format and the lack of unified data format definition. The proposed system concentrates on creating the ontology and carrying out the annotations. It will perform traffic analysis and highlight the different traffic zones. It will also suggest alternate path so that users can be diverted to different routes. The system will also divert traffic if the road is blocked. Notification about traffic diversion will be made using SMS gateway.

SPATIAL DATA AWARENESS AND COORDINATION OF THE PREREQUISITES FOR LAND RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.

Land is man's most valuable resource. It has to be properly managed if optimum benefit is to be reaped from it for an ever increasing population. Increasing population creates a varied demand on land use which cannot be addressed by a single agency but becomes the responsibility of several different agencies. Each of these agencies cannot take decisions in a vacuum and should be able to assess the impact of their decisions on the others. Use of spatial data enables one just to do that.Spatial data is information related to any location in the real world. Information in a spatial format enables one to understand the interaction of things in their spatial relationships which is just what is required in land resources management. However, not many planners use spatial data in their decision making for reasons discussed in this paper.Acquisition of spatial data is a time consuming, exacting and an expensive process. Hence there is great need for coordination of efforts in the collection of spatial data.This paper discusses what spatial data is available for land resources management, how it can be used for the sustainable development of land resources and the advancements in technology that is helping to better manage our land resources.

Erôs and Oikos

: It is a commonplace that the spatial format of the Greek novels is, generally speaking, circular, taking the form of a journey outward or away from home and a return to the place of departure. Yet there is a wrinkle in this pattern: for while it is true that the protagonists come home in the end, the place where they are reunited, after having been separated from one another, lies elsewhere, prior to the final terminus of their journey. I suggest that this pattern allows for a preliminary resolution of the plot in a space where ordinary social relations are in suspension, before they are reaffirmed and reconfigured back home in the form of civic marriage and the priority of the oikos.

Application of spatial resource data to assist in farmland valuation

A land transaction is generally not a recurring action for most buyers and sellers, their experience and knowledge are limited, for this reason the services of property agents and valuers are sometimes used, just to get more information available. The condition of insufficient information and the inability to observe differences in land productivity gives rise to the undervaluation of good land and overvaluation of poor land. The advent of the Internet made access to comprehensive information sources easier for property agents and valuers whose critical time and resources can now be effectively managed through Geographic Information System (GIS) integrated workflow processes. This study aims to develop the blueprint for a farm valuation support system (FVSS) that assists valuers in their application of the comparable sales method by enabling them to do the following: (1) Rapid identification of the location of the subject property and transaction properties on an electronic map. (2) Comparison of the subject property with the transaction properties in terms of value contributing attributes that can be expressed in a spatial format, mainly (a) location and (b) land resource quality factors not considered in existing valuation systems that primarily focus on residential property. An algorithm, that generates an index value, was developed to allow easy comparison of the land of a subject property and that of transaction properties. This index value distinguishes the proposed FVSS from other existing property valuation systems and can therefore be used by valuers as a first approximation of a property's soil suitability, before doing further field work. The FVSS was successfully developed and tested, primarily using data obtained in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Sound Fields in Complex Listening Environments

The conditions of sound fields used in research, especially testing and fitting of hearing aids, are usually simplified or reduced to fundamental physical fields, such as the free or the diffuse sound field. The concepts of such ideal conditions are easily introduced in theoretical and experimental investigations and in models for directional microphones, for example. When it comes to real-world application of hearing aids, however, the field conditions are more complex with regard to specific stationary and transient properties in room transfer functions and the corresponding impulse responses and binaural parameters. Sound fields can be categorized in outdoor rural and urban and indoor environments. Furthermore, sound fields in closed spaces of various sizes and shapes and in situations of transport in vehicles, trains, and aircrafts are compared with regard to the binaural signals. In laboratory tests, sources of uncertainties are individual differences in binaural cues and too less controlled sound field conditions. Furthermore, laboratory sound fields do not cover the variety of complex sound environments. Spatial audio formats such as higher-order ambisonics are candidates for sound field references not only in room acoustics and audio engineering but also in audiology.

Urban Sprawl: Scenario Analyses For Public Policy - Makers

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 34.2pt 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This paper examines the likely effects of public-policy on residential development in the Wappinger Creek Watershed within Dutchess County in the Hudson River Valley of New York State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>An econometric model is used in combination with Monte Carlo simulation to project residential development in a spatial format using a Geographic Information System (GIS).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>GIS was used to extract data with bio-geophysical attributes, such as slope, soil, and location characteristics, to project growth trends for residential use of undeveloped land parcels due to changes in public policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Detailed scenarios present stakeholders the economic, social, and environmental implications of a possible course of action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The results indicate that public-policy can be effectively used to counteract the effects of urban sprawl and increased population.</span></p>

Soil Database Management Software Development for Optimizing Land Resource Information Utilization to Support National Food Security

Since land resource database development in 1987/1988, a large amount of digital data in spatial, tabular and metadata format has been collected and generated. There are some application softwares of soil database to manage such a large amount of data, i.e.: Side & Horizon (SHDE4), Soil Sample Analysis (SSA), and Land Unit in dbf file, while Site and Horizon is in DataEase formats. The database contains soil physics and chemical property data of each soil horizon from surface to effective soil depth, climate, land surface condi- tions, and other parameters required for soil classification. Currently, database management software for land resources is still based on DOS and is stand alone. The system is not efficient and effectively used as Agri- cultural Land Resource Information System. At present, as a key component of this system requires review and development of new database software is compatible with the development of information technology. This paper explains about development of interactive agricultural land resources information system for op- timizing land resources data utilization. Hopefully, the software can give contributions in national Agricul- tural Land Resources System Information development for supporting food security.

Spatially distributed instructions improve learning outcomes and efficiency.

Learning requires applying limited working memory and attentional resources to intrinsic, germane, and extraneous aspects of the learning task. To reduce the especially undesirable extraneous load aspects of learning environments, cognitive load theorists suggest that spatially integrated learning materials should be used instead of spatially separated materials, thereby reducing the split-attention effect (Sweller & Chandler, 1994). Recent work, however, has suggested a new distinction between two common formats of spatially separated displays: spatially distributed versus spatially stacked (Jang & Schunn, 2010). Moreover, a distinction between instructions and learning task materials has rarely been made. Across two studies with 106 college students (56 in Study 1 and 50 in Study 2), we compared spatially distributed (multiple sources of information are placed side by side) versus spatially stacked (only one at the top is visible) instructions, without changing the learning task materials, on both task performance and learning. With materials more typical of practice, Study 1 showed that the distributed-display instructions led learners to more efficient learning; learners finished the task faster and scored higher in the overall learning test. With materials more tightly controlled for spatial format per se, Study 2 replicated the effect and found that the benefit of the distributed instructions appeared to be associated with changes in cognitive load. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

The Geospatialization of Calculative Operations

In a modern, calculative world, the techniques of tracking are everywhere in the ascendant. Enhanced by algorithmic procedures and analytics, they have been incorporated into distributed network systems, augmented by new sensing and locationing technologies, and embedded into mobile devices, urban structures and environments. Simultaneously, new practices of tracking and sensing have emerged across the consumer, state and corporate sectors. These practices are amplified in the case of megacities as they strive to keep pace with rapid urban development. All movement is subordinated to a condition of 'calculative mobilization’, whereby the urban realm is understood through the spatialization of algorithmic operations. And yet, due to their unique large- and multi-scaled accumulations of data-enhanced actors and their complex, stratified modes of proximity and interoperable relationality, the particular densities of megacities challenge conventional spatial formats of movement and positioning. This article offers new formats of analysis for these calculative practices and the agential and ontological status of the hybrid urban entities that they register and engender. It also offers new structuring principles and political orientations, which are particularly urgent as we witness the ascendance of 'Spatial Data Infrastructures’ (SDIs) that are often promoted as participatory and inclusive while remaining largely inaccessible, pursuing proprietary aims, and infused with the potential not only to protect and inform but also to violate.

Mangrove vulnerability modelling in parts of Western Niger Delta, Nigeria using satellite images, GIS techniques and Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis (SMCA)

Mangroves are known for their global environmental and socioeconomic value. Despite their importance, mangrove like other ecosystems is now being threatened by natural and human-induced processes that damage them at alarming rates, thereby diminishing the limited number of existing mangrove vegetation. The development of a spatial vulnerability assessment model that takes into consideration environmental and socioeconomic criteria, in spatial and non-spatial formats has been attempted in this study. According to the model, 11 different input parameters are required in modelling mangrove vulnerability. These parameters and their effects on mangrove vulnerability were selected and weighted by experts in the related fields. Criteria identification and selection were mainly based on effects of environmental and socioeconomic changes associated with mangrove survival. The results obtained revealed the dominance of socioeconomic criteria such as population pressure and deforestation, with high vulnerability index of 0.75. The environmental criteria was broadly dispersed in the study area and represents vulnerability indices ranging from 0.00-0.75. This category reflects the greater influence of pollutant input from oil wells and pipelines and minimal contribution from climatic factors. This project has integrated spatial management framework for mangrove vulnerability assessment that utilises information technology in conjunction with expert knowledge and multi-criteria analysis to aid planners and policy/ decision makers in the protection of this very fragile ecosystem.

Methodology to map the spread of an invasive plant (Lantana camara L.) in forest ecosystems using Indian remote sensing satellite data

The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate the utility of different Indian remote sensing sensors for detection, mapping and patch size estimation of Lantana camara L. (Kurri). The latter, of the family Verbinaceae, is one of the most aggressive invasive plant species and has colonized large areas of forest land in the Himalayan foothills (Shiwalik range). The State Forest Departments of India are planning to develop a suitable strategy to halt its invasion. The first step in this direction is to have accurate information on the location and spread of the plant in spatial format. The test site is part of the forest of the Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand. Indian Remote Sensing-Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor (IRS-LISS) III (multi-spectral, 23.5 m), IRS-LISS IV (multi-spectral, 5.8 m), Cartosat-1 (Panchromatic, 2.5 m) and a merged image of LISS IV and Cartosat-1 using Brovey fusion techniques were used to map Lantana camara L. Further improvement was obtained using texture analysis. The study demonstrates the potentiality of LISS IV and Cartosat-1 data for detection and mapping of Lantana camara L. The results show the feasibility of developing a semi-automated procedure to map and analyse the distribution of Lantana in forest areas.

Calibração de modelo para a simulação de vazão e de fósforo total nas sub-bacias dos Rios Conrado e Pinheiro - Pato Branco (PR)

O desenvolvimento de modelos hidrológicos capazes de predizer o impacto de fontes difusas de poluição e do uso e ocupação do solo na qualidade das águas superficiais e subterrâneas tem auxiliado o estudo de agroecossistemas. Com esse objetivo, foi utilizado o modelo SWAT 2005 (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) para avaliar sua sensibilidade na predição da vazão e do fluxo de massa do P total. O estudo foi realizado em duas microbacias hidrográficas contíguas, dos rios Conrado e Pinheiro, afluentes do rio Pato Branco, localizadas nos municípios de Pato Branco e Mariópolis, no Estado do Paraná. Foram utilizados dados climatológicos do período 1979/2006 e dados observados de vazão e concentração de P total dos anos 2004/2005 de duas estações de monitoramento, localizadas na parte inferior do curso principal dos rios Conrado e Pinheiro. Utilizou-se a interface AvSWAT-X, com o SIG ArcView 3.3® e a extensão Spatial Analyst 2.0®, para entrada e manipulação dos dados. As médias anuais e mensais observadas de vazão e P total foram comparadas aos dados simulados. O Coeficiente de Eficiência de Nash-Sutcliffe (COE) foi utilizado para avaliar a eficiência do modelo. A modelagem foi melhorada com a associação de análise de sensibilidade, autocalibração e calibração manual, verificando-se que, com frequência de amostragem regular, o modelo SWAT 2005 realizou de forma aceitável as simulações de vazão e de exportação de P total. Já com frequência de amostragem irregular e pequeno número de dados, os procedimentos de análise de sensibilidade e de autocalibração não foram eficientes na calibração do modelo SWAT 2005 para a simulação de vazão e exportação de P total. Foram encontrados diferentes níveis de sensibilidade entre as duas estações, refletindo as desigualdades entre as Unidades de Resposta Hidrológica. A distribuição mensal simulada das exportações de P mostrou a heterogeneidade da aplicação do nutriente ao longo do ano.

Keeping the market at bay: exploring the loci of innovation in the cultural industries

ABSTRACTCultural industries are activities concerned with the production and marketing of goods and services that have aesthetic or semiotic content (SCOTT 2004). Their emergence as engines of economic growth reflects an economic and cultural conjuncture where commodity production has become tied in with artistic experimentation. Research on cultural industries, however, has revealed a latent tension between artistic/l'art pour l'art and commercial or so-called humdrum considerations (Caves 2000; Cowen and Tabarrok 2000; Kloosterman 2010a) As many cultural industries can only survive in the long run through constant product differentiation and innovation, ways have to be found to shield creative workers — at least temporarily — from direct market pressures to be able to come up with new ideas and innovations. We theorize that sector-specific capital requirements, the nature of the production process and markets, and the aesthetic and functional value of the object impact on how experimentation can be organized. Notwithstanding the basic similarities in the organizational and spatial format of cultural industries, we anticipate that there are various institutional configurations that can shield off market pressures and allow creative workers to pursue new roads. To illustrate our point, we briefly present findings from the Amsterdam case.

Motor and Linguistic Linking of Space and Time in the Cerebellum

BackgroundRecent literature documented the presence of spatial-temporal interactions in the human brain. The aim of the present study was to verify whether representation of past and future is also mapped onto spatial representations and whether the cerebellum may be a neural substrate for linking space and time in the linguistic domain. We asked whether processing of the tense of a verb is influenced by the space where response takes place and by the semantics of the verb.Principal FindingsResponses to past tense were facilitated in the left space while responses to future tense were facilitated in the right space. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the right cerebellum selectively slowed down responses to future tense of action verbs; rTMS of both cerebellar hemispheres decreased accuracy of responses to past tense in the left space and to future tense in the right space for non-verbs, and to future tense in the right space for state verbs.ConclusionsThe results suggest that representation of past and future is mapped onto spatial formats and that motor action could represent the link between spatial and temporal dimensions. Right cerebellar, left motor brain networks could be part of the prospective brain, whose primary function is to use past experiences to anticipate future events. Both cerebellar hemispheres could play a role in establishing the grammatical rules for verb conjugation.

Episodic future thinking in 3- to 5-year-old children: The ability to think of what will be needed from a different point of view

Assessing children’s episodic future thinking by having them select items for future use may be assessing their functional reasoning about the future rather than their future episodic thinking. In an attempt to circumvent this problem, we capitalised on the fact that episodic cognition necessarily has a spatial format ( Clayton & Russell, 2009; Hassabis & Maguire, 2007). Accordingly, we asked children of 3, 4, and 5 to chose items they would need to play a game (blow football) from the opposite side of the table on which they had never before played. The crucial item was the box that was needed by children to reach the table from the other side. Over four experiments, we demonstrated that, while children of 3 perform poorly on future questions and children of 5 generally perform quite well, children of 4 years find a question about what they themselves will need to play in the future harder to answer than a similar question posed about another child. We suggest that this result is due to the ‘growth error’ of over-applying newly-developed Level 2 perspective-taking skills ( Flavell et al., 1981), which encourages the selection of non-functional items. The data are discussed in terms of perspective-taking abilities in children and of the neural correlates of episodic cognition, navigation, and theory of mind.

Spatial Representations Are Specific to Different Domains of Knowledge

There is evidence that many abstract concepts are represented cognitively in a spatial format. However, it is unknown whether similar spatial processes are employed in different knowledge domains, or whether individuals exhibit similar spatial profiles within and across domains. This research investigated similarities in spatial representation in two knowledge domains – mathematics and music. Sixty-one adults completed analogous number magnitude and pitch discrimination tasks: the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes and Spatial-Musical Association of Response Codes tasks. Subgroups of individuals with different response patterns were identified through cluster analyses. For both the mathematical and musical tasks, approximately half of the participants showed the expected spatial judgment effect when explicitly cued to focus on the spatial properties of the stimuli. Despite this, performances on the two tasks were largely independent. Consistent with previous research, the study provides evidence for the spatial representation of number and pitch in the majority of individuals. However, there was little evidence to support the claim that the same spatial representation processes underpin mathematical and musical judgments.

Representing information collections for visual cognition

The importance of digital information collections is growing. Collections are typically represented with text-only, in a linear list format, which turns out to be a weak representation for cognition. We learned this from empirical research in cognitive psychology, and by conducting a study to develop an understanding of current practices and resulting breakdowns in human experiences of building and utilizing collections. Because of limited human attention and memory, participants had trouble finding specific elements in their collections, resulting in low levels of collection utilization. To address these issues, this research develops new collection representations for visual cognition. First, we present the image+text surrogate, a concise representation for a document, or portion thereof, which is easy to understand and think about. An information extraction algorithm is developed to automatically transform a document into a small set of image+text surrogates. After refinement, the average accuracy performance of the algorithm was 90%. Then, we introduce the composition space to represent collections, which helps people connect elements visually in a spatial format. To ensure diverse information from multiple sources to be presented evenly in the composition space, we developed a new control structure, the ResultDistributor. A user study has demonstrated that the participants were able to browse more diverse information using the ResultDistributor-enhanced composition space.

Spatial Learning and Computer Simulations in Science

Interactive simulations are entering mainstream science education. Their effects on cognition and learning are often framed by the legacy of information processing, which emphasized amodal problem solving and conceptual organization. In contrast, this paper reviews simulations from the vantage of research on perception and spatial learning, because most simulations take a spatial format and the pedagogical intent is to promote learning. Four learning effects help clarify the positive and negative aspects of current simulation designs: picture superiority, noticing, structuring, and tuning.

Development of Data and Information Centre System to Improve Water Resources Management in Indonesia

Most provinces in Indonesia will be facing water scarcity problems in the next decades due to increasing water demands resulting from population growth, urbanization and economic and industrial developments. As a consequence, they will also be facing a number of problems with regards water resource management, such as a lack of data and information needed to evaluate the real status of water resources, the unsystematic development of relevant infrastructure and economic instruments, inadequate human resources for the operation and maintenance of water resources, and a lack of interest in improving research and development activities. This paper examines the application of data and information management for improved water resources management in Indonesia through “one door data service system” linked among the related institutions from different sectors and levels both at the central and regional government agencies. One of the key solutions to help solve water resource problems would therefore be to obtain supporting data and information by developing an information system and water resources data centre (WRDC). Rapid developments in information and communication technology (ICT) could be used to support data communication and management requests in order to build capacity of the water resources sector, and as a prerequisite for an integrated water resources management program. Improved efficiency and effectiveness could be achieved by making relevant data and information available, as well by establishing a communication system among related institutions. Further, provinces should also prioritize developing human and social capital through education, service delivery and career development, as well as training for water resources development and management. Data and information such as the hydrological and water quality data, information of water resources potential, irrigation areas, population and economic growth as well as the others related data need to store in both the tabular and spatial formats. The water resources data management and warehouse system is a web-enabled application that permits spatial data to be stored with tabular data in a standard database management system. This system permits a dynamic generation of output from the tabular and spatial data and enables users to generate answers to their queries online, rather than simply presenting static maps and tables from the database. The WRDC applications were developed and chosen by gathering the ideas suggested by users at the ministerial, provincial and river basin levels. Within the resulting inventory system, information was grouped into irrigation scheme system; water resources potential; natural disaster; hydrological data and station networks; and other information. For the users at the ministerial level access the system by using local area network (LAN) connections and other users at the provincial and river basin levels or elsewhere in the world can use the internet for connections and regular browser software for system operation.

Investigation on the restitution system influence over perceived Higher Order Ambisonics sound field: a subjective evaluation involving from first to fourth order systems

Among the spatial audio reproduction techniques over loudspeakers, the Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA) approach is based on a sound field spherical harmonics decomposition. By truncating the decomposition to the Mth order, it remains a finite number of components that form the spatial HOA format. The more components are used to encode the sound field, the finer the spatial resolution is. Similarly, the size of the area where the sound field is accurately recreated is proportional to the order. For an Mth encoding order, N=2M+2 equally distributed loudspeakers are recommended for a homogeneous reproduction in the horizontal plane. Adding loudspeakers does not change the spatial resolution. However, what is the influence of the restitution system on the perceived sound field? An experiment was designed in order to compare four systems (from first to fourth order) and a reference one, using similarity ratings obtained from pairwise comparisons. Two sound scenes were used, simulating an audio conference and a scene in a kitchen at home. 25 listeners participated to the experiment. The results were analysed using the Indscal method. The perceptual space appeared to be a two dimensional one, highlighting the influence of the order and the number of loudspeakers on the reproduced scenes.