Value Of Geographic Information Systems Research Articles

Expanding Value of Geographic Information Systems in Renewable Energy

Expanding Value of Geographic Information Systems in Renewable Energy

Os SIG como ferramenta de suporte nos cuidados de saúde primários: caso de estudo na distribuição de enfermeiros de família por área geográfica

Com este trabalho procuramos mostrar o valor acrescentado dos Sistemas de Informação Geográfica (SIG) quando arquitetados e construídos de raiz numa perspetiva sistémica para um fim específico. Neste caso em concreto utilizamos a nossa questão de partida - definição de áreas geográficas homogéneas para a distribuição de enfermeiros de família para a Unidade de Saúde Familiar (USF) da Nova Via pertencente ao Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Espinho/Gaia na Área Metropolitana do Porto- para construir um suporte de gestão adaptado à realidade vivida numa Unidade de Saúde Familiar. https://doi.org/10.14195/1647-7723_24_11

Health GIS in Ireland- Lessons from New Zealand

The potential added value of geographical information systems (GIS) to population health surveillance and investigation is well known. However the adoption of this tool by Health Boards in Ireland is patchy and uncoordinated. Most progress on the use of GIS that has taken place in the Health Boards, is largely the result of individual commitment (most notably by the late Dr Zachary Johnson of the EHB), and has been unevenly spread throughout the country. Different GIS systems have been purchased by health boards and there is little or no liaison between them on any aspect of this issue. It is clear from the poor progress to date that there is a clear need for leadership and support in this field.

Using GIS to map impacts upon agriculture from extreme floods in Vietnam

The frequency of extreme weather events has been increasing in Vietnam, with 1:10, 1:20 and 1:100 year floods all experienced in central Vietnam in the last decade. A geo-spatial model is used in a case study to assess the impacts of extreme flood events on agricultural production in the Quang Nam province of Vietnam. Eighty-six flood depth marks were interpolated by the inverse distance weighting (IDW) algorithm to generate the water surface, and a digital elevation model (DEM) was employed to create the flood inundation map. Another overlay algorithm used the flood inundation map and land use map to estimate the potential impact of floods on agricultural land. The study demonstrates the value of geographic information system (GIS) modeling, particularly when meteorological and hydrological data are limited, and remote sensing images taken during flood events are unavailable. The maps that were generated showed that the 1:10, 1:20 and 1:100 year floods led to 27%, 31% and 33%, respectively, of arable land being inundated. Wet rice was the crop most affected, with the flooded area accounting for more than 40% of the province's supply under each flood scenario. Whilst the exact loss of agricultural production will depend upon a number of factors including crop variety, stage of plant development, length of flooding period and level of inundation, this study provides valuable information for flood disaster planning, mitigation and recovery activities in Vietnam.

Spatio-temporal assessment of food safety risks in Canadian food distribution systems using GIS

While the value of geographic information systems (GIS) is widely applied in public health there have been comparatively few examples of applications that extend to the assessment of risks in food distribution systems. GIS can provide decision makers with strong computing platforms for spatial data management, integration, analysis, querying and visualization. The present report addresses some spatio-analyses in a complex food distribution system and defines influence areas as travel time zones generated through road network analysis on a national scale rather than on a community scale. In addition, a dynamic risk index is defined to translate a contamination event into a public health risk as time progresses. More specifically, in this research, GIS is used to map the Canadian produce distribution system, analyze accessibility to contaminated product by consumers, and estimate the level of risk associated with a contamination event over time, as illustrated in a scenario.

“To me it's just another tool to help understand the evidence”: Public health decision-makers’ perceptions of the value of geographical information systems (GIS)

While geographical information systems (GIS) have applications in a range of diverse fields, they remain underused by decision-makers in health settings. Through analysis of data captured in semi-structured interviews, the paper explores four thematic areas (the ontological, power, functionality and collaboration discourses) to understand how GIS are perceived and valued by public health decision-makers. The findings suggest that although GIS are viewed as useful tools to inform decision-making, they are in no way a panacea for practice. Participants’ concerns that GIS outputs can potentially be misinterpreted or used erroneously might partly explain resistance to their use. GIS are, therefore, likely to be most effective in decision-making when applied in a multi-disciplinary context to facilitate sharing of data, knowledge and expertise across the public health landscape.

How to Improve the Social Utility Value of Geographic Information Systems for French Local Governments? A Delphi Study

Today, geographic information technologies (GITs) stand out as the unavoidable answers to the French local governments' new stakes. Yet, an important discrepancy has been noticed between the utility levels (in the qualitative sense) and the theoretical intrinsic potential of these technologies. The social utility value of GIT seems quite low compared with the quantitative level at which they are diffused. The authors focus on the ‘determination of value’, by considering the obstacles to the development of a spatial data infrastructure in the French context. From the results of a Delphi study, the authors bring to the fore the fact that the institutional and organisational barriers 0ack of a clear policy in matters of access and dissemination; cost of public data; absence of fully operational norms and standards; failure to raise the awareness of the potential users as a whole; etc) more than technical difficulties, are the prime causes of this phenomenon. Through this analysis, the authors emphasise the need to organise a French national spatial data infrastructure, strongly linked with most of the local initiatives developed by the local governments.

A GIS–Environmental Justice Analysis of Particulate Air Pollution in Hamilton, Canada

The authors address two research questions: (1) Are populations with lower socioeconomic status, compared with people of higher socioeconomic status, more likely to be exposed to higher levels of particulate air pollution in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada? (2) How sensitive is the association between levels of particulate air pollution and socioeconomic status to specification of exposure estimates or statistical models? Total suspended particulate (TSP) data from the twenty-three monitoring stations in Hamilton (1985–94) were interpolated with a universal kriging procedure to develop an estimate of likely pollution values across the city based on annual geometric means and extreme events. Comparing the highest with the lowest exposure zones, the interpolated surfaces showed more than a twofold increase in TSP concentrations and more than a twentyfold difference in the probability of exposure to extreme events. Exposure estimates were related to socioeconomic and demographic data from census tract areas by using ordinary least squares and simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models. Control for spatial autocorrelation in the SAR models allowed for tests of how robust specific socioeconomic variables were for predicting pollution exposure. Dwelling values were significantly and negatively associated with pollution exposure, a result robust to the method of statistical analysis. Low income and unemployment were also significant predictors of exposure, although results varied depending on the method of analysis. Relatively minor changes in the statistical models altered the significant variables. This result emphasizes the value of geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial statistical techniques in modelling exposure. The result also shows the importance of taking spatial autocorrelation into account in future justice – health studies.

Health GIS in Ireland‐ Lessons from New Zealand

The potential added value of geographical information systems (GIS) to population health surveillance and investigation is well known. However the adoption of this tool by Health Boards in Ireland is patchy and uncoordinated. Most progress on the use of GIS that has taken place in the Health Boards, is largely the result of individual commitment (most notably by the late Dr Zachary Johnson of the EHB), and has been unevenly spread throughout the country. Different GIS systems have been purchased by health boards and there is little or no liaison between them on any aspect of this issue. It is clear from the poor progress to date that there is a clear need for leadership and support in this field.

Book Reviews

Abstract The Mountains of the Mediterranean World: An Environmental History. J. R. McNeill. Reviewed by Karl W. Butzer, Departments of Geography and Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The Biophilia Hypothesis. Stephen R. Kellert and Edward O. Wilson, eds. Reviewed by Robin W. Doughty, Department of Geography, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. Andean Ecology: Adaptive Dynamics in Ecuador. Gregory Knapp. Reviewed by Karl S. Zimmerer, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis-consin. Las Chacras de Coporaque: Andenería y Riego en el Valle del Colca. John M. Treacy. Reviewed by Gregory Knapp, Department of Geography, University of Texas, Austin, Texas. Gold Seeking: Victoria and California in the 1850s. David Goodman. Reviewed by Randall Rohe, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, Waukesha, Wis-consin. La Géographie Culturelle. Paul Claval. Reviewed by Philip L. Wagner, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Geography and the Human Spirit. Anne Buttimer. Reviewed by Paul Claval, Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France. Vancouver's Chinatown: Racial Discourse in Canada, 1875–1980. Kay J. Anderson. Reviewed by Benjamin Forest, Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, and American Bar Foundation, Chicago, Illinois. The Sounds of People and Places: A Geography of American Folk and Popular Music. George O. Carney, ed. Reviewed by Peter H. Nash, Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective. Wayne A. Cornelius, Philip L. Martin, James F. Hollifield, eds. Reviewed by Brigitte Waldorf, Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Sustainable Cities. Graham Haughton and Colin Hunter. Reviewed by William D. Solecki, Department of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. The Added Value of Geographical Information Systems in Public and Environmental Health. Marion J. C. de Lepper, Henk J. Scholten and Richard M. Stern, eds. Reviewed by Russell S. Kirby, Medical School, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Possibilities and Constraints of GIS Applications in Developing Countries. Pieter van Teeffelen, Leo van Grunsven, and Otto Verkoren, eds. Reviewer: Gary L. Gaile, Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. Key Words: deforestationenvironmental historyMediterraneanmountain ecologyrural depopulationsoil erosionecologyenvironmentenvironmental ethicsperceptionadaptive dynamicsagricultureAndescultural ecologyecologyEcuadoragriculturecultural ecologyenvironmental historyirrigationPeruCaliforniacomparative historygold rushVictoriacommunicationcultural geographycultureenvironmentmodernizationvalueshistory of geographyhumanismphilosophy of geographyworld hypothesisCanadaChinesehegemonyplaceracesocial constructionfolk musicmusic geographypopular musicimmigrantsimmigration policiesrefugeescitiesdevelopmentenvironmentsustainabilityurbanismenvironmental healthGISmedical geographypublic healthappropriate technologydeveloping countriesGIS

The Added Value of Geographical Information Systems in Public and Environmental Health

The Added Value of Geographical Information Systems in Public and Environmental Health

Geographical information systems for studying the epidemiology of cattle diseases caused by Theileria parva.

Data on selected variables which influence the epidemiology of cattle diseases caused by Theileria parva were assembled and entered in a computerised geographical information system. Variables studied included the distributions of major hosts (cattle and buffalo), the vector ticks (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and related species) and the reported presence of East Coast fever, corridor disease and January disease. In addition, the distribution of climatic suitability for R appendiculatus was assessed using the model CLIMEX run on an interpolated climate database developed for Africa. Distribution maps of each variable were produced. The potential value of geographical information systems in studies of disease epidemiology and control is discussed, with examples of how sensitivity may be enhanced by the inclusion of additional variables. In addition, subject areas in which poor data quality and inadequate data standardisation may limit the use of these systems are identified and discussed.