A review of GIS-based information sharing systems

GIS-based information sharing systems have been implemented in many of England and Wales' Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs). The information sharing role of these systems is seen as being vital to help in the review of crime, disorder and misuse of drugs; to sustain strategic objectives, to monitor interventions and initiatives; and support action plans for service delivery. This evaluation into these systems aimed to identify the lessons learned from existing systems, identify how these systems can be best used to support the business functions of CDRPs, identify common weaknesses across the systems, and produce guidelines on how these systems should be further developed. At present there are in excess of 20 major systems distributed across England and Wales. This evaluation considered a representative sample of ten systems. To date, little documented evidence has been collected by the systems that demonstrate the direct impact they are having in reducing crime and disorder, and the misuse of drugs. All point to how they are contributing to more effective partnership working, but all systems must be encouraged to record how they are contributing to improving community safety. Demonstrating this impact will help them to assure their future role in their CDRPs. By reviewing the systems wholly, several key ingredients were identified that were evident in contributing to the effectiveness of these systems. These included the need for an effective partnership business model within which the system operates, and the generation of good quality multi-agency intelligence products from the system. In helping to determine the future development of GIS-based information sharing systems, four key community safety partnership business service functions have been identified that these systems can most effectively support. These functions support the performance review requirements of CDRPs, operate a problem solving scanning and analysis role, and offer an interface with the public. By following these business service functions as a template will provide for a more effective application of these systems nationally

Usability dimensions in collaborative GIS

Collaborative GIS requires careful consideration of the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability aspects, given the variety of users that are expected to use these systems, and the need to ensure that users will find the system effective, efficient, and enjoyable. The chapter explains the link between collaborative GIS and usability engineering/HCI studies. The integration of usability considerations into collaborative GIS is demonstrated in two case studies of Web-based GIS implementation. In the first, the process of digitising an area on Web-based GIS is improved to enhance the user's experience, and to allow interaction over narrowband Internet connections. In the second, server-side rendering of 3D scenes allows users who are not equipped with powerful computers to request sophisticated visualisation without the need to download complex software. The chapter concludes by emphasising the need to understand the users' context and conditions within any collaborative GIS project. © 2006, Idea Group Inc

Public Participation GIS for sustainable urban mobility planning: methods, applications and challenges

Sustainable mobility planning is a new approach to planning, and as such it requires new methods of public participation, data collection and data aggregation. In the article we present an overview of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) methods with potential use in sustainable urban mobility planning. We present the methods using examples from two recent case studies conducted in Polish cities of Poznań and Łodź. Sustainable urban mobility planning is a cyclical process, and each stage has different data and participatory requirements. Consequently, we situate the PPGIS methods in appropriate stages of planning, based on potential benefits they may bring into the planning process. We discuss key issues related to participant recruitment and provide guidelines for planners interested in implementing methods presented in the paper. The article outlines future research directions stressing the need for systematic case study evaluation

The use of GIS in Brownfield redevelopment

In recent years, the issue of Brownfield site development - the re-use of previously used urban land - has gained a significant place in the planning agenda. However, not all Brownfield sites are derelict or contaminated land, some are significant as environmental amenities - be it part of wider ecosystem or a green area for the local population. The growing concern to include environmental aspects into the public debate have lead the Environment Agency, the Jackson Environment Institute and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis to commission a short term pilot study to evaluate the contribution of a GIS for decision support and for "discussion support".In this paper, we describe how the state-of-the-art in geographic information (GI) and GI Science (GISc) can be used in a short term and limited project to achieve a practical and usable system. We are drawing on developments in information availability, as made accessible through the World Wide Web and research themes in GISc ranging from Multimedia GIS to Public Participation GIS

GIS as new tools and approach in state planning and monitoring: the experience of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Malaysian planning methodology has changed over the years as emphasis has shifted from producing plan, which described a state of affairs expected of some future date, to one which acknowledged the continuous and cyclical nature of planning. Thus planning should be based on the identification of needs and goals, the formulation and evaluation of alternative courses of action and monitoring of adopted programmes. Using examples from current Geographical Information Systems (GIS) implementation projects, this paper will discuss GIS development and application for planning and monitoring of development in one of the Malaysian states, Negeri Sembilan. The development include a well-integrated and comprehensive database which is part of the important elements that could determine the ultimate success of GIS application in plan making. A distinctive feature of the Negeri Sembilan GIS (GIS9) that was developed for this purpose is that it is capable of operating on two distinct levels of planning – the state and district level. It is used to assist decision-making, taking into account among other things, the current scenarios of the proposed development, physical constraint and future impacts. The monitoring system that has been developed for both the state and district levels make it possible to evaluate the success of plan implementation. While the adopted data sharing framework is seen as a strong basis for extension of GIS development as well as integration and coordination in all state and local agencies involved in ensuring the success of the implementation of state development plan. The implementation of GIS9 has also contributed to raising recognition of the importance of vertical integration of the developed and maintained datasets at regional and local levels. This paper will discuss the approach and overall strategies employed in the preparation of GIS9 database and development plans monitoring system for the Negeri Sembilan State

Recommendation domains for pond aquaculture

This publication introduces the methods and results of a research project that has developed a set of decision-support tools to identify places and sets of conditions for which a particular target aquaculture technology is considered feasible and therefore good to promote. The tools also identify the nature of constraints to aquaculture development and thereby shed light on appropriate interventions to realize the potential of the target areas. The project results will be useful for policy planners and decision makers in national, regional and local governments and development funding agencies, aquaculture extension workers in regional and local governments, and researchers in aquaculture systems and rural livelihoods. (Document contains 40 pages

Geoinformation, Geotechnology, and Geoplanning in the 1990s

Over the last decade, there have been some significant changes in the geographic information available to support those involved in spatial planning and policy-making in different contexts. Moreover, developments have occurred apace in the technology with which to handle geoinformation. This paper provides an overview of trends during the 1990s in data provision, in the technology required to manipulate and analyse spatial information, and in the domain of planning where applications of computer technology in the processing of geodata are prominent. It draws largely on experience in western Europe, and in the UK and the Netherlands in particular, and suggests that there are a number of pressures for a strengthened role for geotechnology in geoplanning in the years ahead

GIS Application to Support Land Administration Services in Ghana: Institutional Factors and Software Developments

In June 1999, the Ghanaian Government launched a new land policy document that sought to address some fundamental problems associated with land administration and management in the country. The document identified the weak land administration system as a particular problem and recommended the introduction of computer-aided information systems in the ‘lands sector’. In 2001, the Government made further proposals to prepare and implement a Land Administration Programme (LAP) to provide a better platform for evolving an efficient land administration that would translate the ‘National Land Policy’ into action. Thus, an up-to-date land information system (LIS), supporting efficient management of land records, is to be constructed, which provides a context for the research reported in this paper. We document two aspects of our research on the adoption of GIS by the Lands Commission Secretariat (LCS) which form part of a pilot project in GIS diffusion. Part one of the paper mainly outlines the empirical results arising from fieldwork undertaken during 2001 to determine the information and GIS requirements of the LCS in relation to their routine administrative processes and to identify the critical factors that are required to ensure that any new GIS applications are successfully embraced. Part two explains the prototype software system developed using ArcView 3.2 and Access that provides the LCS with a means to automate some of the routine administrative tasks that they are required to fulfil. The software has been modified and upgraded following an initial evaluation by LCS employees also conducted as part of the fieldwork in Accra

e-Report Generator Supporting Communications and Fieldwork: A Practical Case of Electrical Network Expansion Projects

In this piece of work we present a simple way to incorporate Geographical Information System tools that have been developed using open source software in order to help the different processes in the expansion of the electrical network. This is accomplished by developing a novel fieldwork tool that provides the user with automatically generated enriched e-reports that include information about every one of the involved private real estates in a specific project. These reports are an eco-friendly alternative to paper format, and can be accessed by clients using any kind of personal device with a minimal set of technical requirements

Public access to environmental information - challenges and research directions: a review of current issues with environmental information provision

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