Proposal of an Academic Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Federal University of Viçosa

Universities use and produce significant amounts of cartographic data. Besides the administrative sector, which is responsible for the management of the territory, several research, education and extension projects also involve large volumes of maps and other types of spatial information. However, much of the data produced in higher education institutions is lost in laboratories or in the possession of researchers - making it impossible to reuse this information and doubling expenses in the reproduction of such data. An Academic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) would enable the availability and standardization of spatial data produced in higher education institutions. Understanding this potentiality, the article at hand describes the development of an Academic SDI for the Federal University of Viçosa (SDI-UFV). In order to identify all the elements to be provided by the SDI-UFV, we began with the conceptual modeling of existing data and user needs. For the implementation of this SDI, we had to establish partnerships with the administrative bodies of the university. This helped us to define an institutional structure that ensures the management, maintenance and continuity of the SDI within the university. We proposed the appointment of a permanent commission and a resolution model. Regarding the technological components, we decided to use Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). We used the PostGIS database management system, the i3Geo software for the publication of spatial data, the edpMGBs editor for creating metadata, and the GeoNetwork software for managing the metadata catalog. The standards adopted were those approved by the Brazilian National Spatial Data Infrastructure (INDE), which follow the standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)

Can indicators fill the gap between science and policy? An exploration of the (non) use and (non) influence of indicators in EU and UK policymaking

This article examines the various roles that indicators, as boundary objects, can play as a science-based evidence for policy processes. It presents two case studies from the EU-funded POINT project that examined the use and influence of two highly different types of indicators: composite indicators of sustainable development at the EU level and energy indicators in the UK. In both cases indicators failed as direct input to policy making, yet they generated various types of conceptual and political use and influence. The composite sustainable development indicators served as “framework indicators”, helping to advocate a specific vision of sustainable development, whereas the energy indicators produced various types of indirect influence, including through the process of indicator elaboration. Our case studies demonstrate the relatively limited importance of the characteristics and quality of indicators in determining the role of indicators, as compared with the crucial importance of “user factors” (characteristics of policy actors) and “policy factors” (policy context)

Adaptive Development of a Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure Facing Local Prospects and Socio-Technological Trends

The regional Lounaispaikka-SDI (Spatial Data Infrastructure) in south-west Finland is being developed by a dynamic assembly of the region’s geospatial expertise and its networking, spatial data and geoportal services. Emerging as a data-centric constellation that supported the region’s geographical information professionals, this assembly has developed into a geospatial service with more broadly-focused public information on the region. This development has had five adaptive phases, each as a response to changing local needs and fast-evolving trends in information and communication technologies. Alongside these processes, the Lounaispaikka-SDI has also reinforced the region’s geospatial competencies with benefits offered to academia, public sector institutions, and companies

Modeling and improving Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)

Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) development is widely known to be a challenging process owing to its complex and dynamic nature. Although great effort has been made to conceptually explain the complexity and dynamics of SDIs, few studies thus far have actually modeled these complexities. In fact, better modeling of SDI complexities will lead to more reliable plans for its development. A state-of-the-art simulation model of SDI development, hereafter referred to as SMSDI, was created by using the system dynamics (SD) technique. The SMSDI enables policy-makers to test various investment scenarios in different aspects of SDI and helps them to determine the optimum policy for further development of an SDI. This thesis begins with adaption of the SMSDI to a new case study in Tanzania by using the community of participant concept, and further development of the model is performed by using fuzzy logic. It is argued that the techniques and models proposed in this part of the study enable SDI planning to be conducted in a more reliable manner, which facilitates receiving the support of stakeholders for the development of SDI.Developing a collaborative platform such as SDI would highlight the differences among stakeholders including the heterogeneous data they produce and share. This makes the reuse of spatial data difficult mainly because the shared data need to be integrated with other datasets and used in applications that differ from those originally produced for. The integration of authoritative data and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), which has a lower level structure and production standards, is a new, challenging area. The second part of this study focuses on proposing techniques to improve the matching and integration of spatial datasets. It is shown that the proposed solutions, which are based on pattern recognition and ontology, can considerably improve the integration of spatial data in SDIs and enable the reuse or multipurpose usage of available data resources

Understanding how and why practitioners evaluate SDI performance

Practitioners around the world are building frameworks for spatial data interoperability and cross-agency coordination, referred to as spatial data infrastructure (SDI). In this study, we attempt to understand how and why SDI practitioners ‘on the ground’ are evaluating their ‘own’ efforts in developing such frameworks. For this purpose, we mobilize concepts from ‘control’ evaluation, as well as from public sector evaluation research, because ‘control’ evaluation appears to be the approach most favored by SDI practitioners, and SDI evaluation is unfolding within public sector settings. ‘Control’ evaluation emphasizes operations, supports rationalistic investment decisions and efficiency analysis, and typically is based on measures such as ratios, percentages, and indexes; evaluators act as auditors, controlling, ranking or assessing success. We examine and classify several recent examples of SDI ‘control’ evaluation by using the concepts of ‘timing’, ‘perspective’, ‘formal demand’, ‘use’, and ‘input specificity’. Our study reveals that the most comprehensive practices have resulted when ‘control’ evaluations have been in compliance with a demand from an executive agency, such as a central budget agency, and when there has been specificity of inputs. We anticipate that these dimensions are key to the institutionalization of SDI evaluation and point to the need for further research to understand how such evaluation practices emerge

The effect of bright light on sleep in nursing home patients with dementia

Background: Up to 70% of nursing home patients with dementia suffer from disrupted sleep, often characterized by multiple awakenings at night and excessive daytime sleep. Sleep disruption may have negative effects on the cognition, mood, behaviour, and well-being of nursing home patients, while also representing a challenge for nursing home staff. However, few sleep scales are developed and validated specifically for the nursing home setting. Sleep problems among nursing home patients are frequently treated by medications, which are associated with severe side effects, including daytime sleepiness, and an increased risk of falls. Thus, there is a need for non-pharmacological interventions to improve sleep in this population. Bright light treatment (BLT) may represent such an intervention, providing increased light exposure aiming to impact sleep, circadian rhythmicity, mood, and/or behaviour. Light is the most important zeitgeber to the circadian system, and consequently has a significant impact on sleep-wake behaviour. Unfortunately, studies have reported low indoor light levels in nursing homes, which in combination with dementia-related neuropathology and age-related reductions in light sensitivity, are likely to contribute to sleep problems in this population. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether increasing daytime light exposure, by means of BLT, can improve sleep in nursing home patients with dementia, and also to address methodological challenges in this field of research. Methods: Paper 1 is a systematic review of the literature, focusing on the methodological features of the included studies, in addition to their findings. Paper 2 and 3 are based on data from the DEM.LIGHT trial; a cluster-randomized placebo-controlled trial conducted in Norwegian nursing homes, including 69 patients. The intervention comprised a diurnal cycle of ambient light with a maximum of 1,000 lux and 6,000 Kelvin (K) from 10:00-15:00, administered using light emitting diode (LED) light. Before and after this interval, the light levels gradually increased/decreased in lux and K. In the placebo condition, standard light levels were maintained at 150-300 lux and approximately 3,000 K throughout the day. The intervention and placebo lights were installed in the common rooms of the included nursing home units. Outcomes were measured at baseline and at follow-up at week 8, 16, and 24. Paper 2 was a validation study of a proxy-rated sleep scale, using the baseline data from the DEM. LIGHT trial. Actigraphy was used as the reference standard. Paper 3 reported on the sleep outcomes of the trial, which were the primary outcomes. Results: Paper 1 found that there are promising, though inconsistent, results regarding the effect of BLT on sleep and circadian rhythmicity in dementia. Large heterogeneity in terms of interventions, study designs, population characteristics, and outcome measurement tools may explain some of the inconsistencies of results across studies. Paper 2 showed that the proxy-rated Sleep Disorder Inventory (SDI) had satisfactory internal consistency and convergent validity. Using actigraphy as the reference standard, the SDI was termed clinically useful, and we suggested a cut-off score of five or more as defining disrupted sleep in nursing home patients with dementia. These results should be interpreted keeping in mind that actigraphy have some important weaknesses, such as underestimating wake time. Paper 3 evaluated the effects of the BLT on sleep and found an improvement in sleep according to the SDI scores in the intervention group, as compared to the control group, from baseline to week 16 and baseline to week 24. There was no effect in terms of sleep measured by actigraphy. Conclusion: In summary, this thesis found that the evidence for an effect of BLT on sleep in nursing home patients with dementia is promising, but equivocal. Importantly, the research field faces some important methodological challenges, such as accurately measuring sleep. The SDI may represent a valid tool to measure sleep in the nursing home setting, which may be used both by researchers and by practitioners. Although the results of this thesis are not conclusive regarding the effect of BLT on sleep in nursing home patients with dementia, it may represent a step forward in understanding the potential value of BLT in this population, and may lay the ground for further investigation. The lack of an improvement on the SDI at week 8 indicates that the effect of BLT may take a long time to manifest in this population.Doktorgradsavhandlin