Virtual geographic environments in socio-environmental modeling: a fancy distraction or a key to communication?

Modeling and simulation are recognized as effective tools for management and decision support across various disciplines; however, poor communication of results to the end users is a major obstacle for properly using and understanding model output. Visualizations can play an essential role in making modeling results accessible for management and decision-making. Virtual reality (VR) and virtual geographic environments (VGEs) are popular and potentially very rewarding ways to visualize socio-environmental models. However, there is a fundamental conflict between abstraction and realism: models are goal-driven, and created to simplify reality and to focus on certain crucial aspects of the system; VR, in the meanwhile, by definition, attempts to replicate reality as closely as possible. This elevated realism may add to the complexity curse in modeling, and the message might be diluted by too many (background) details. This is also connected to information overload and cognitive load. Moreover, modeling is always associated with the treatment of uncertainty–something difficult to present in VR. In this paper, we examine the use of VR and, specifically, VGEs in socio-environmental modeling, and discuss how VGEs and simulation modeling can be married in a mutually beneficial way that makes VGEs more effective for users, while enhancing simulation models

Evaluating presentation formats of local climate change in community planning with regard to process and outcomes

This study synthesizes two evaluations of a local climate change planning process in a rural town in British Columbia (Canada), which was supported through landscape visualizations. First, the impact of the visualizations, based on scientific environmental modeling and presented in three different presentation formats, verbal/visual presentation, posters and a virtual globe, was evaluated with regard to immediate impacts during the process. Second, the long-term impacts on decision-making and actual outcomes were evaluated in a retrospective evaluation 22 months after the end of the initial planning process. Two results are highlighted: according to the quantitative pre-/post-questionnaires, the visualizations contributed to increased awareness and understanding. Most importantly, the retrospective evaluation indicated that the process informed policy, operational and built changes in Kimberley, in which the landscape visualizations played a role. The post interviews with key decision-makers showed that they remembered most of the visualizations and some decision-makers were further using them, particularly the posters. The virtual globe seemed to be not a "sustainable" display format suitable for formal decision-making processes such as council meetings though. That may change with the further mainstreaming of visualization technologies or mobile devices. Until then, we recommend using display formats that can be re-used following a specific planning event such as an Open House, to ensure on-going support for effective decision-making over the longer-term

Geomatics in physiognomic landscape research: A Dutch view

Geomatics is a technology and service sector focussing on the acquisition, storage, analysis and management of geographically referenced information for improved decision-making. Landscape physiognomic and research –and its GI science application. The geomatics developments since 40 years confront us with many new algorithms and a variety of geo data. Due to these the interest in physiognomic research has been increased. This article links the variety of geodata and its processing functions to the landscape physiognomic research framework. This link is based on an overview of the geo data, the intended applications in landscape physiognomic research and the functions to perform. The article provides an overview of geographical data using/driving methods and applications that may support physiognomic landscape research that longs from methods that rely on geo-data that ranges from a administratively defined (INSPIRE), professional experiment acquired  up to collected by volunteers. These methods may act manifold: describe, proof and project of space as could be perceived, imagined and created from both perspectives affectively and cognitively. Besides to communicate results the methods include persistently also analysis by visualization. Other findings are the interest in changing objects of the landscape and perception via moving subjects

Making the third dimension (3D) explicit in hedonic price modelling : A case study of Xi’an, China

Recent rapid population growth and increasing urbanisation have led to fast vertical developments in urban areas. Therefore, in the context of the dynamic property market, factors related to the third dimension (3D) need to be considered. Current hedonic price modelling (HPM) studies have little explicit consideration for the third dimension, which may have a significant influence on modelling property values in complex urban environments. Therefore, our research aims to narrow the cognitive gap of the missing third dimension by assessing both 2D and 3D HPM and identifying important 3D factors for spatial analysis and visualisation in the selected study area, Xi’an, China. The statistical methods we used for 2D HPM are ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). In 2D HPM, they both have very low R2 (0.111 in OLS and 0.217 in GWR), showing a very limited generalisation potential. However, a significant improvement is observed when adding 3D factors, namely view quality, sky view factor (SVF), sunlight and property orientation. The obtained higher R2 (0.414) shows the importance of the third dimension or—3D factors for HPM. Our findings demonstrate the necessity to include such factors into HPM and to develop 3D models with a higher level of details (LoD) to serve more purposes such as fair property taxation. © 2020 by the authors. Li-censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

An investigation into LandXML for implementation of 3D Cadastre in eSurvey

With the rapid growth of urban environments including the increasing complexity of infrastructures, there is an urgent need to develop more innovative and efficient land administration systems. Many countries, including Australia, are now developing and implementing three dimensional (3D) cadastral frameworks to address these situations, but capturing and registering these rights within existing systems brings considerable challenges. In Australia, the existing approach of registering 3D rights and storing partial geometry in databases does not support 3D functionalities such as 3D validation, query, visualisation, and manipulation. The existing Digital Cadastral Data Base (DCDB) does not support the storage of 3D data. There is also no digital lodgement of 3D cadastral, and no automated validation (Karki, 2013). The Intergovernmental Committee of Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) has endorsed LandXML as the national standard for digital lodgement of cadastral plans. LandXML is an extensible mark-up language (XML) package which can be used for exchanging spatial information. In Queensland Surveying information is captured digitally using tools built in-house, such as the Surveying Information Processing (SIP) tool which is based on LandXML and is used to electronically capture a paper based cadastral plans. The Electronic Access for Registry Lodgement (eSurvey, previously called EARL) project is developed and run by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) and it has three stages namely eSurvey-I, eSurvey-II, and eSurvey-III. The eSurvey Services Portal allows users to submit, validate and visualise survey data via Web Services. eSurvey-I developed a tool for internal DNRM use to digitally capture the information on a survey plan. eSurvey-II has developed a validation tool that will be applied to Cadastral Information Files (CIFs) that are submitted to the Department by external surveyors as a component of the digital lodgement of survey plans process. eSurvey-III will be the full digital lodgement and implementation of electronic capture and visualisation of 3D cadastral data where the digital files become the legal document. The objective of this research is to explore the capability of LandXML for the definition of 3D spatial objects within the eSurvey project for 3D Cadastre development in Queensland. An overview of 3D Cadastre and characteristics of eSurvey, volumetric plans and LandXML were reviewed. Two representative cases from Queensland digital cadastral database were selected and examined using three standard CAD software and eSurvey web portal and Queensland DCDB standards. This study shows that eSurvey can successfully validate LandXML files

A sense of change: media designers and artists communicating about complexity in social-ecological systems

To take on the current and future challenges of global environmental change, fostering a widespread societal understanding of and engagement with the complex dynamics that characterize interacting human and natural systems is essential. Current science communication methods struggle with a number of specific challenges associated with communicating about complex systems. In this study we report on two collaborative processes, a short workshop and longer course, that aimed to harness the insights of interactive media designers and artists to overcome these challenges. The two processes resulted in 86 new interactive media concepts which were selected by the participants and organizers using set criteria and then evaluated using the same criteria by a panel of communication and media design experts and a panel of complex systems scientists using the same criteria. The top eight concepts are discussed in this paper. These concepts fell into the categories of serious games, group interaction concepts, and social media storytelling. The serious games focused directly on complex systems characteristics and were evaluated to be intuitive and engaging designs that combined transparency and complexity well. The group interaction concepts focused mostly on feedbacks and nonlinearity but were fully developed and tested in the workshops, and evaluated as engaging, accessible, and easy to implement in workshops and educational settings. The social media storytelling concepts involved less direct interactions with system dynamics but were seen as highly accessible to large scale audiences. The results of this study show the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration between complex systems scientists, designers, and artists. The results and process discussed in this paper show the value of more structural engagement of interactive media designers and artist communities in the development of communication tools about human and natural systems change

An Evaluation Framework for Business Intelligence Visualization

Nowadays, data visualization is becoming an essential part of data analysis. Business Intelligence Visualization (BIV) is a powerful tool that helps modern business flows faster and smoother than ever before. However, studies on BIV evaluation are severely lacking; most evaluation studies for BIV is guided by general principles of usability, which have limited aspects covered for customers? needs. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework that evaluates BIV, including decision-making experience. First, we did a literature review for good understanding of research progress on related fields, and established a conceptual framework. Second, we performed a user study that implemented this framework with a set of questionnaires to demonstrate how our framework can be used in real business. Our result proved that this framework can catch differences among different designs of BIV from the users? standpoints. This can help design BIV and promote better decision-makings on business affairs