37,535 research outputs found
Reappraising GIS from A Tool Perspective
Session 3B: Planning and DevelopmentThe past 50 years has seen a rapid development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in assisting
urban development in multiple fronts. To better release the potentials of GIS as an auxiliary tool for
pursuing sustainable built environment, it is necessary to seek a retrospective understanding of GISâ
origins, evolution and capabilities that are closely tied to the chronic problems of urban renewal. Built
upon a longitudinal study of interdisciplinary literature, this paper represents an initial conceptual
exploration to relate GISâ capabilities in facilitating complex urban renewal practices whose efficiency and
quality of handling multi-sourced information holds the key to project success. Key findings include the
classification of three thematic eras of GIS since the 1960s; and the identification of the 3In capabilities of
GIS developed in the three eras respectively - intelligence in data synthesis, interoperability with other ICT
tools, and interconnection among stakeholders. It is suggested that GISâ 3In capacities could open a new
way of addressing complex urban renewal, but a wider adoption of GIS in this under-developed area will
hinge on a number of factors.published_or_final_versio
Visibility studies in archaeology: a review and case study
This paper describes the history and current state of archaeological visibility studies. The first part is a survey of both GIS (geographic information systems) and non-GIS studies of visibility by archaeologists, which demonstrates how advances in GIS visibility studies have tended to recapitulate, albeit over a compressed timescale, theoretically driven developments in non-GIS studies. The second part presents an example of the kind of methodological development required for the use of GIS to contribute to the agenda set by certain strands of a more humanistic archaeology. An algorithm developed to retrieve various summaries of the inclination at which points on the horizon are visible from a specified viewpoint was applied to nineteen recumbent stone circles in the Grampian region of Scotland. The results suggest that these summaries provide a useful tool for 'unpacking' what archaeologists mean when they claim that the topographic setting of certain stone circles creates an 'impression of circularity'
Computing the Unique Information
Given a pair of predictor variables and a response variable, how much
information do the predictors have about the response, and how is this
information distributed between unique, redundant, and synergistic components?
Recent work has proposed to quantify the unique component of the decomposition
as the minimum value of the conditional mutual information over a constrained
set of information channels. We present an efficient iterative divergence
minimization algorithm to solve this optimization problem with convergence
guarantees and evaluate its performance against other techniques.Comment: To appear in 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory
(ISIT); 18 pages; 4 figures, 1 Table; Github link to source code:
https://github.com/infodeco/computeU
Evaluating complex digital resources
Squires (1999) discussed the gap between HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and the educational computing communities in their very different approaches to evaluating educational software. This paper revisits that issue in the context of evaluating digital resources, focusing on two approaches to evaluation: an HCI and an educational perspective. Squires and Preece's HCI evaluation model is a predictive model â it helps teachers decide whether or not to use educational software â whilst our own concern is in evaluating the use of learning technologies. It is suggested that in part the different approaches of the two communities relate to the different focus that each takes: in HCI the focus is typically on development and hence usability, whilst in education the concern is with the learner and teacher use
Mapping an ancient historian in a digital age: the Herodotus Encoded Space-Text-Image Archive (HESTIA)
HESTIA (the Herodotus Encoded Space-Text-Imaging Archive) employs the latest digital technology to develop an innovative methodology to the study of spatial data in Herodotus' Histories. Using a digital text of Herodotus, freely available from the Perseus on-line library, to capture all the place-names mentioned in the narrative, we construct a database to house that information and represent it in a series of mapping applications, such as GIS, GoogleEarth and GoogleMap Timeline. As a collaboration of academics from the disciplines of Classics, Geography, and Archaeological Computing, HESTIA has the twin aim of investigating the ways geography is represented in the Histories and of bringing Herodotus' world into people's homes
Geographic Information Science
This chapter begins with a definition of geographic information science (GIScience). We then discuss how this research area has been influenced by recent developments in computing and data-intensive analysis, before setting out its core organizing principles from a practical perspective. The following section reflects on the key characteristics of geographic information, the problems posed by large data volumes, the relevance of geographic scale, the remit of geographic simulation, and the key achievements of GIScience to date. Our subsequent review of changing scientific practices and the changing problems facing scientists addresses developments in high-performance computing, heightened awareness of the social context of geographic information systems (GISystems), and the importance of neogeography in providing new data sources, in driving the need for new techniques, and in heightening a human-centric perspective
Preliminary Investigations into the Usability of 3D Environments for 2D GIS Users
Although the need for 3D GIS is growing, migrating from traditional 2D to 3D GIS can be
frustrating due to the familiarity of users with 2D. This paper describes a preliminary
investigation into the problems that users encounter when migrating from 2D to 3D
environments from a theoretical perspective and via two usability evaluation tests: Cognitive
Walkthrough and User Testing. As expected, the results demonstrate the influence of 2D
perceptions when interacting with 3D GIS and that users experienced more difficulties
interacting in 3D, resulting in lower confidence and satisfaction
Geographic Information Systems: A Tutorial and Introduction
his tutorial provides a foundation in GIS including its basic structure, concepts, and spatial analysis. GIS is a new field in business schools and presents opportunities for research. It is derived from about a dozen disciplines, some unfamiliar to most IS researchers. Following an overview of vertical-sector uses of GIS, the paper introduces their costs and benefits. The links of GIS to related technologies such as GPS, wireless, location-based technologies, web services, and RFID are examined. Conceptual models and research methodologies are discussed, including Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), and GIS in visualization, organizational studies, and end user computing. Suggestions for future research are presented
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