Spatial Information Management Research Articles

GIS and the Acquisition and Management of Archaeological Spatial Information

GIS and the Acquisition and Management of Archaeological Spatial Information

Los SIG: nuevas herramientas para el estudio de los espacios paleolíticos

El hombre, como individuo y como grupo, tiene una concepción del lugarque habita. Este enfoque, permite interpretar la forma de vida de las sociedades en contextos espaciales significativos. No se puede aislar las sociedades paleolíticas del espacio que dominaban y del que se apropian para el desarrollo de sus labores cotidianas. Los suelos dehabitación constituyen un testimonio latente de las formas de vida del hombre paleolítico, del que pocos datos se conservan, salvo aquellos que se derivan de la excavación de yacimientos y del estudio del arte conservado, ambos reflejo de las actividades desarrolladas enel espacio doméstico.Los patrones habitacionales tienen que ser comprendidos en términos de relaciones espaciales que los materiales entablan entre si, en un marco genérico, el nivel de ocupación. Para este estudio contamos con los Sistemas de Información Geográfica, herramientas indispensablespara la gestión de los datos principalmente espaciales, pero también funcionales o tecnológicos.

Space-earth based Integrated Monitoring System for Water Environment

It is of great significance to establish a space-earth based integrated monitoring system to enhance the ability for water environmental risk prevention. Modern remote sensing technology has been used in surveying and providing urban water environment information combined with GIS spatial analysis and information management capabilities of water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs. In this paper, three monitoring methods are argued. With the use of satellite image, aerial photography and other means providing all-weather, omni-directional, multi-bands, multi-temporal remote sensing image information, the water temperature, total suspended solids, particulate matter, chlorophyll, transparency (turbidity), thermal pollution and other information could be obtained; secondly, with integrated methods of laboratory testing, water quality monitoring sites, the cross-section of the routine monitoring of benzene, phenol, COD, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus concentrations could be assessed; thirdly, with the use of online monitoring of toxic chemical substances, the arsenic, mercury concentration could be monitored. And the construction framework of the space-earth based integrated monitoring system for water environment was discussed. A whole scheme integrated online monitoring device, communication system, and software support system was proposed. Meanwhile, the key techniques of this system were addressed.

Study on 3D Geological Model of Highway Tunnels Modeling Method

Geology is the base for highways and tunnels construction. With the fast development of national highway construction, highway tunnel construction project are more and more complex. The completeness and accuracy are essential for the planning, design and construction of projects, while the ground information is quite poor in systematic, reliable and timely aspects. Therefore, the development of underground road tunnels, and the implementation of informationized spatial information management is urgent for highway construction. 3D geological tunnel model is intuitive, high efficient and convenience which greatly facilitates the maintenance and security of highway tunnels construction and it will be the trend for the future highway tunnel development.

Les dyspraxies : points de repères

Despite its frequency, little is known about dyspraxia. Dyspraxia, which represents disorders in development and learning movements, within the context of a deficiency in the management of spatial information (in children whose verbal intelligence is spared), is often a severe handicap at school and in social life. Dyspraxia must be distinguished from “common” difficulties of unmotivated children at school, with which it is often confused. Hence, the diagnosis must correspond to rigorous methodology. And one should avoid proposing endless training for the deficient action (writing, getting dressed…); indeed such strategies only lead to short-term ‘pseudo’ progress, without any long term efficacy on the educational success of these intelligent children. To the contrary, the child should be rapidly oriented in two therapeutic directions: (1) a battle between the “double-task” effect stemming from the graphical and spatial difficulties; (2) the use of palliatives (including computing). In conditions of early diagnosis (at 4–8/9 years of age) and well-coordinated management with the school, the prognosis would be excellent in terms of schooling, choice of a profession and social insertion. If not, or if (as is the case in almost a third of cases) dyspraxia is not isolated (associated with dyslexia, hyperactivity, attentional deficit and psychotic traits), the child should be oriented towards a specialised classroom and care.

Trialling a web-based spatial information management tool with Land Managers in Victoria, Australia

A prototype web-based spatial information management tool (called eFarmer) was tested for its useability and usefulness by 46 Land Managers and 5 extension staff in Victoria, Australia. Participants had a range of enterprises (dairy, beef/sheep grazing, cropping, lifestyle land use), property sizes and computer ownership and expertise. A follow up study was conducted with 12 dairy farmers, where features regarding assessment of nutrient losses from paddocks (Farm Nutrient Loss Index, FNLI) were added to eFarmer. Over 27,000 maps (including 11,000 with aerial photography) were accessed by Land Managers during a 5-month trial period. Despite limited training and support, 1350 people are registered users, and approximately 700 have actively used the tool. Reasons for the success include providing improved access to spatial information, enabling measurement of farm features and creation of farm maps, providing a basis for decision-making about farm inputs, support for better farm and landscape scale action planning and production and Land Managers being able to seek management advice from the extension staff who facilitated eFarmer testing programs. For dairy farmers in the FNLI trial, awareness of off-site impacts increased and most changed management practices. Provision of on-going training and support will be at least as important as further development of the tool itself. Web-based spatial information tools have potential to improve the awareness of Land Managers about their environmental impacts and influence their decision-making. Access to spatial information has potential to reduce information asymmetry between Land Managers, extension staff and catchment planners in a constructive way. It will also change the role of extension staff away from being an expert with answers, to a facilitator enabling learning. Results have applicability in countries where there is a high level of farm computer ownership, relevant spatial information is available in GIS format, where governments are happy to make spatial information available to the public and there is pressure for increased environmental awareness and improved decision making by Land Managers.

Improved Corporate Search Engine for the National (Australian) Spatial Information Management System: Case Study

AbstractPaper presents case study of the evolution of the National Spatial Information Management System (NSIMS). It also describes trade‐off analysis approach used to compare different Search Engines for NSIMS. Paper addresses design considerations of the Improved Corporate Search Engine (ICSE) recently developed in Australia. The architecture of the NSIMS has been described, as well as existing search engine capabilities and limitations. Two key areas for search engine improvements have been identified: (1) search context information usage for data relevance criteria application in a search algorithm; (2) user interfaces for entering search requests and query results presentations. Paper presents technical details of ICSE implementation and discussion of characteristics of the proposed improvements in the identified areas. Practical evaluation technique of the search engine efficiency has been proposed and results of trade‐off analysis discussed.Paper sections: National Spatial Information System Overview Existing Search Engine Capabilities and NSIMS Limitations The Research Problem and Solution Approach System and Data Analysis Trade‐off Study between Existing and Proposed Search Engine Conclusion

Potentials and limitations of coordinated spatial and non-spatial information management in protected areas: requirements of park projects in Switzerland

Information management and geoinformation systems (GIS) have become indispensable in a large majority of protected areas all over the world. These tools are used for management purposes as well as for research and in recent years have become even more important for visitor information, education and communication. This study is divided into two parts: the first part provides a general overview of GIS and information management in a selected number of national park organizations; the second part lists and evaluates the needs of evolving large protected areas in Switzerland. The results show a wide use of GIS and information management tools in well established protected areas. The more isolated use of singular GIS tools has increasingly been replaced by an integrated geoinformation management. However, interview partners pointed out that human resources for GIS in most parks are limited. The interviews also highlight uneven access to national geodata. The concept of an integrated geoinformation management is not yet fully developed in the park projects in Switzerland. Short-term needs, such as software and data availability, motivate a large number of responses collected within an exhaustive questionnaire. Nevertheless, the need for coordinated action has been identified and should be followed up. The park organizations in North America show how an effective coordination and cooperation might be organized. 33

Improving GIScience in UK Spatial Planning Education

This paper describes activities of three organisations involved in effortsto strengthen the education of UK urban planners related to spatial thinking and spatial planning: The Royal Town Planning Institute, The Spatial Literacy in Teaching Consortium, and the Centre for Education in the Built Environment.The paper focuses on the relationship between spatial planning and GIScience.GIScience refers to a body of knowledge about the collection, management, analysis, and display of spatial information using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and related spatial information technologies such as remote sensing. This knowledge domain is sometimes referred to simply as GIS or by other names.This paper describes activities of the three organisations and summarises the status of and recent developments related to the teaching of spatial planning in the UK with a particular emphasis on the way in which GIScience is (and is not) currently taught. Finally it suggests ways in which the three organisations might collaborate to strengthen spatial thinking and GIScience skills in UK spatial planning education.

Real-time management of spatial information of design: A space-based floor plan representation of buildings

The current trend towards globalization forces the AEC community to change its practical approach from a non-systematic, labor-intensive to a systematic one. Based on the paradigm shifted from ‘drawing’ to ‘constructing’ in architectural design practice, this paper focuses on developing a new type of CAD system that automatically constructs and manages well-structured floor plans with minimum geometrical input from the designer. The paper also took advantage of the building data models developed from the prior research. The model includes hierarchical building components such as ‘building’, ‘plan’, ‘space’, ‘ring’, ‘wall skeleton’, ‘surface’, ‘column’, etc. The creation algorithm developed assures a semantically rich and structurally correct floor plan at any point in the design process. In particular, the floor plan constructed through the design process contains spatial information as well as other design information about the building components. Thus, the system effectively manages spatial design information in the real-time basis. Since the system implemented on the basis of the algorithm is the very first step toward a complete intelligent CAD system, research and development issues to be considered next are identified at the end of the paper.

Community Resource Mapping in Sustainable Natural Resource Management: A Case Study of SW Uganda

AbstractSouthwestern Uganda represents a fragile ecosystem of complex and interrelated ecology with extreme socio‐cultural and biophysical diversity. The area has productive soils and receives bimodal rainfall promoting varied agricultural systems and land use practices. With population growth of 2.2% per annum, this ecosystem is exposed to environmental and socio‐economic problems like land degradation, soil erosion, low‐income, poor nutrition, fragmented farms and low agricultural output. To mitigate these environmental and socio‐economic uncertainties, and continue exploiting these rich natural resources areas, ICRAF and FORRI developed intervention strategies ranging from integrated watershed management to tree germplasm production and distribution. These intervention strategies were supported by community resource mapping for integrating predefined‐research areas into community knowledge of their own resources. Acquired geospatial data were analyzed to support community resource mapping and scientific analysis was used for assessment of impacts of land management practices, conservation and conflict resolution. Community–based resource managers and local policy makers were trained in geospatial tools and applications. A GIS node was established in Kabale district to support future spatial analysis and information management. This paper reviews how integrated natural resource intervention strategies and community resource mapping were complemented to realize sustainable development action planning in SW Uganda. It also reviews the benefits of community resource mapping in property rights and geospatial technology transfer. IN this paper, technical backstopping of community effort and capacity building are recommended for sustainable community resource mapping activities.

Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication in Developing Countries

The merging of participatory development methods with geo-spatial technologies has come to be known as Participatory GIS and is now an emergent development practice in its own right. PGIS combines a range of geo-spatial information management tools and methods such as sketch maps, participatory 3D models, community-based air photo and satellite imagery interpretation, GPS transect walks and GIS-based cognitive mapping. Participatory GIS implies making GIT&S available to disadvantaged groups in society in order to enhance their capacity in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information. PGIS practice is geared towards community empowerment through measured, demand-driven, user-friendly and integrated applications of geo-spatial technologies. GIS-based maps and spatial analysis thus become major conduits in the process. A good PGIS practice is embedded into long-lasting and locally driven spatial decision-making processes, is flexible, adapts to different socio-cultural and bio-physical environments, depends on multidisciplinary facilitation and skills and builds essentially on visual language. If appropriately utilized, the practice should exert profound impacts on community empowerment, innovation and social change. More importantly, by placing control of access and use of culturally sensitive spatial information in the hands of those who generated them, PGIS practice can protect traditional knowledge and wisdom from external exploitation. Effective participation is the key to good PGIS practice. Whilst the focus of traditional GIS applications is often on the outcome, PGIS initiatives tend to emphasize the processes by which outcomes are attained. At times the participatory process can obfuscate systematic inequalities through unequal and superficial participation. For example, PGIS applications may be used to legitimise decisions which in fact were taken by outsiders. The process can also easily be hijacked by community elites. For PGIS practices to be successful, they must be placed in a well thought out and demand-driven process based on the proactive collaboration of the custodians of local and traditional knowledge and of facilitators skilled in applying PGIS and transferring technical know-how to local actors. Participation thus cuts across the process from gaining a clear understanding of the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, to jointly setting project objectives, defining strategies and choosing appropriate geo-spatial information management tools. The integrated and multifaceted nature of PGIS provides legitimacy for local knowledge and generates a great sense of confidence and pride which prepares participant communities in dealing with outsiders. The process is intended to build self-esteem, raise awareness about pressing issues in the community and produce concrete and sustainable spatial solutions.

A multigranular object‐oriented framework supporting spatio‐temporal granularity conversions

Several application domains require handling spatio‐temporal data. However, traditional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and database models do not adequately support temporal aspects of spatial data. A crucial issue relates to the choice of the appropriate granularity. Unfortunately, while a formalisation of the concept of temporal granularity has been proposed and widely adopted, no consensus exists on the notion of spatial granularity. In this paper, we address these open problems, by proposing a formal definition of spatial granularity and by designing a spatio‐temporal framework for the management of spatial and temporal information at different granularities. We present a spatio‐temporal extension of the ODMG type system with specific types for defining multigranular spatio‐temporal properties. Granularity conversion functions are introduced to obtain attributes values at different spatial and temporal granularities.

Location Modeling for Ubiquitous Computing Based on the Spatial Information Management Technology

Location modeling, a basis of location-aware applications, is a critical area of research in ubiquitous computing and related applications. In particular, location is a key element of contexts in architectural space. It should be defined through the comprehension of the physical environment, as the locations of users or objects are not merely numerical coordinates; they refer to situations related to the physical contexts of the users or objects. In other words, a location model for architectural space should be based on the simplification of the physical environment, the consideration of various changes, and the particular relationships among spatial data. These issues have been studied experimentally in the fields of CAAD (Computer Aided Architectural Design) research, and the results can be applied to a ubiquitous computing system. This paper draws upon CAAD theory to propose a location model and utilization method for ubiquitous computing in architectural space. At the end of the paper we present the CAAD system ″Vitruius″, designed to define architectural spaces appropriately and manage them easily for the ubiquitous computing environment.

Manage data – manage hazards

This work aims at developing guidelines and methods for establishing urban hazard information infrastructure (UHII) for the City of Windhoek (CoW) in Namibia, to set up an institutional and technical framework for spatial data exchange and sharing in development control and hazard management. An analysis of UHII requirements in the Twente Fire Brigades (The Netherlands) was first conducted and the Spatial Information Management Reference Model (RSIMM) was created. RSIMM was used as a reference to the Case‐Specific Spatial Information Management Model (CSIMM) for the CoW, where young institutions face financial, structural, legal and technical uncertainties. The new methodology to introduce UHII to the CoW was developed using combined soft and structured system development methods. The policies and strategies supporting UHII development were identified. The Urban Hazard and Emergency Management Information System (UHEMIS) development was chosen to initiate UHII introduction creating data and metadata management base for decision making in spatial development control, risk assessment and emergency response planning. The UHII and UHEMIS models are being designed next in this on‐going research.

Mapping arable soils using GIS‐based soil information database in Kuwait

A soil information system was developed to manage soil survey data and to ensure that soil information is readily available to support land use planning and development. The Soil Information System combined spatial information management of a Geographical Information System (GIS) with the textural information management of a relational database management system. The GIS is capable of manipulating and displaying area and point data with the logical framework of a database to store data for interpretation. The main objective of this paper was to demonstrate one of the approaches to utilize and interpret data from the soil information system for identifying soil suitable for irrigated agriculture. The design and implementation of the soil information system are discussed, and an example of system output, such as mapping soils suitable for irrigated agricultural, is presented in this paper. For mapping these areas, a criterion was defined to select potential areas for irrigated agriculture. The criterion was applied to each of the soil property classes and subclasses to determine the most limiting rating for each soil. The rating was applied to map units and was allocated by the geographic soil map units in the GIS to produce a suitability map for irrigated agricultural areas in Kuwait. The soil information for the State of Kuwait provided information in a digitized format that can be further extended to interpret other land uses.

The use of a spatial information system in the management of HIV/AIDS in South Africa

BackgroundSouth Africa is experiencing an HIV/AIDS pandemic of shattering dimensions. The availability and provision of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs could bring relief to the situation, but the treatment is unfortunately complex with each patient being assigned a different antiretroviral therapy varying in diet-medication regiment. The context of South Africa, its variety of urban and rural settings adds to the challenge of administering and monitoring the HIV+ person throughout the treatment, which will last for the rest of their lives. The lack of physical infrastructure, reliable statistics and adequate resources hinder the efficient management of HIV/AIDS.ResultsThe collection of reliable data will be a first step to assess the status of HIV/AIDS in communities. A number of hospitals have started this process using the conventional approach to collect information about their patients using a paper-based system. Since time is of essence in the fight against the pandemic, data exchange between various hospitals, municipalities and decision-making bodies is becoming more and more important. The logical response to such a need is a computerised system, which will collect and administer HIV/AIDS related information within the local context and allow a monitored access to the data from a number of stakeholders.ConclusionsThe purpose of this study was to design and develop an HIV/AIDS database, which is embedded in a Spatial Information Management System. The pilot study area is the Gugulethu township in Cape Town where more than 27% of the 325 000 residents are HIV+. It is shown that the implementation of the HIV/AIDS database and the Spatial Information Management System can play a critical role in determining where and when to intervene, improving the quality of care for HIV+ patients, increasing accessibility of service and delivering a cost-effective mode of information.

Research Article: A GIS-embedded system to support land consolidation plans in Galicia

Land consolidation is a strategic instrument for rural planning and thus economic development in the Spanish region of Galicia. This paper describes an experimental system embedded in a GIS environment to aid rural engineers to develop land consolidation plans. The system supports all the stages of the plan and many functionalities are implemented as heuristic processes based on expert knowledge and advice. The overall aim is to overcome administrative and technical problems of traditional consolidation procedures. The system provides an integrated framework for the management of spatial and administrative consolidation information. It also includes optimization-based algorithms for the automated generation of multiple alternative parcel reallocations, as well as an environment to refine and objectively evaluate the proposed solutions. These key capabilities result in a powerful tool for decision making that dramatically reduces the time and cost of land consolidation plans. Pilot experiences in two consolidation zones of Galicia assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the system.

Integrating spatial regression into healthcare decision support systems

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are beginning to be used in the healthcare industry both in the practice of medicine, as well as policy analysis and decision-making. However, a typical DSS does not support spatial data that is crucial in analysing healthcare policy related issues. Spatial Information Management is gaining popularity and upper management in the healthcare industry is beginning to utilise the power and application of spatial modelling in decision support. A new breed of DSS called the Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) is emerging, which supports spatial data and spatial modelling. This paper highlights the importance of spatial modelling with examples and presents an architecture for an SDSS and discusses its components. A prototype of the environment is under development using ArcView, SpaceStat, Jess and Visual Basic.

THE NEXT GENERATION SPATIAL DATA WAREHOUSE

Woodside Energy, based in Perth, Western Australia, has commenced the implementation of its next generation spatial data warehousing and visualisation system. The warehouse facilitates access to data in various corporate geoscience data sets, as well as up-to-date cultural and environmental data. It expands the capabilities of the existing geoscience database by providing a facility to handle spatial data at the database level rather than in files and maps. Spatial data can now be kept in the database, in its correct spatial location, and with a known provenance.Woodside’s worldwide exploration, development and production activities require the use of a wide variety of geographic data such as seismic, bathymetry, wells, permits, coastlines, political boundaries, navigation charts, remote sensing and geological interpretations.Geo-spatial data comes to Woodside in a variety of formats, datums and conditions. The Geomatics Department, through the Geoscience Database and Spatial Information Management teams, loads, maintains and manages all data considered to be corporate. It is quality controlled and placed into the warehouse, where it is readily accessible to technical and administrative staff.Location is an essential element in most Woodside decisions. Because of the new spatial capabilities, a number of geographic information processes are now possible. Additionally information can also be made available through the internet if required.Reliable geographic information will become more widely available in the organisation, and be more easily merged with traditional data types, enhancing the decision-making process.