Variation in the Use of Subregional Integration Courts between Business and Human Rights Actors: The Case of the East African Court of Justice

Residential energy visualization has increased in popularity during the past years, due to both legislation and an increased focus on the environmental impact of buildings. Meanwhile, the European energy efficiency directive has raised a debate on legislation on individual metering and charging (IMC), in which many negative voices among property owners and developers are being raised. The controversies bring interesting aspects to the analysis of energy visualization and its prerequisite IMC. This thesis will analyze the possibilities and barriers to implement residential energy visualization in new buildings in Stockholm, and the focus will be on local developers' perspective. The purpose of the thesis is to establish Stockholm developers' willingness to pay (WTP) for an IMC and energy visualization solution. The thesis defines perceived utility as the driving force for WTP, and accordingly the developer WTP is analyzed by evaluation of the developers' perceived utility of different technical aspects of an energy visualization solution. The solution has been modularized into three modules; IMC of hot water, IMC of heating and residential visualization. The hypothesis is that utility of the solution modules is perceived differently depending on developer ownership and developer business model; if the developer builds for property management or to sell. The empirical data has been collected through twelve in-depth interviews with developers in Stockholm. The developers were of different size, ownership and with different business models. When looking at the developers from an overall perspective, the analysis shows that there is some willingness to pay for IMC of hot water but none for IMC of heating. It can also be seen that residential visualization is something that the developers have some interest in although the overall WTP is considered low. Although environmental and fairness aspects are often mentioned by the developers in the context of IMC and energy visualization, operational and financial utility seem to be more influential in driving willingness to pay and as these utilities are not perceived, the overall WTP is low or non-existent for IMC and energy visualization. The hypothesis that developers would perceive utility differently depending on ownership or business model, if they build for property management of for sales, could not be proven. There are possibly tendencies for such differences but in this study such patterns were not clear enough to state the hypothesis as true. Additional to the WTP and developer groups, insights and takeaways are presented. The insights and takeaways are based on opportunities and risks that developers perceive with IMC and visualization, as well as requirements they have on the systems

Real-Time Mining Control Cockpit: a framework for interactive 3D visualization and optimized decision making support

Real-Time Mining is a research and development project within the European Union\'s Horizon 2020 initiative and consists of a consortium of thirteen European partners from five countries. The overall aim of Real-Time-Mining is to develop a real-time framework to decrease environmental impact and increase resource efficiency in the European raw material extraction industry. The key concept of the research conducted is to promote a paradigm shift from discontinuous to a continuous process monitoring and quality management system in highly selective mining operations. The Real-Time Mining Control Cockpit is a framework for the visualization of online data acquired during the extraction at the mining face as well as during material handling and processing. The modules include the visualization of the deposit-model, 3D extraction planning, integrated data of the positioning-system as well as the visualization of sensor and machine performance data. Different tools will be developed for supporting operation control and optimized decision making based on real-time data from the centralized database. This will also integrate results from the updated resource model and optimized mine plan. The developed Real-Time Mining cockpit software will finally be integrated into a wider central control and monitoring station of the whole mine

Linked Open Data for Environmental Protection in Smart Regions – the New Challenge for the Use of Environmental Data and Information.

This paper will introduce the specific objectives of the recently initiated project SmartOpenData - “Linked Open Data for Environmental Protection in Smart Regions” (SOD project) that is supported by Seventh Framework ENV.2013.6.5-3: Exploiting the European Open Data Strategy to Mobilize the Use of Environmental Data and Information. The main concept of the project is to create a Linked Open Data (SOD) infrastructure (including software tools and data sets) fed by public and freely available data resources, existing sources for biodiversity and environment protection and research in rural and European protected areas and its national parks. The aim of the SOD project to develop real proposals for building a SOD infrastructure for biodiversity and environment protection in European protected areas that satisfy the requirements of four kinds of target users: public bodies, researchers, companies (also small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and citizens. The SOD project will focus also on how the SOD Initiative can be linked with the INSPIRE directive, GEOSS Data-CORE, GMES, completed European scale Geographic Information System (GIS) projects (like a Habitats project, which defines models and tools for managing spatial data in environmental protection areas), and external third parties, as well as how it can impact economic and sustainability progress in European environmental research and protection. The key elements of the project will be five target pilot projects in related areas (agro forestry management, environmental research and biodiversity, water monitoring, forest sustainability and environmental data re-use), where harmonization of metadata, improvement of spatial data fusion, as well as visualization and publication of the resulting information according to user requirements will take place. Key words: Linked Open Data, Geographic Information Systems, GIS, INSPIRE directive, environmental data, natural resources, sustainable development and research

Environmental Decision-making utilizing a Web GIS to Monitor Hazardous Industrial Emissions in the Valencian community of Spain

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.Air pollution is a critical issue in contemporary times. For this reason, officials and environmental managers are in need of suitable tools for visualization, manipulation and analysis of environmental data. Environmental concerns in Europe have encouraged the European Environmental Agency (EEA) to create the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR). The E-PRTR is vital and valuable because society will benefit if the data are used to improve monitoring and consequently advance environmental management. However, the data are not accessible in an interoperable way, which complicates their use and does not allow for a contribution to environmental monitoring. This paper describes a Web GIS system developed for the monitoring of industrial emissions using environmental data released by the EEA. Four research objectives are addressed: (1) design and create an interoperable spatial database to store environmental data, (2) develop a Web GIS to manipulate the spatial database, facilitate air pollution monitoring and enhance risk assessment, (3) implement OGC standards to provide data interoperability and integration into a Web GIS, (4) create a model to simulate distribution of air pollutants and assess a population’s exposure to industrial emissions. The proposed approach towards interoperability is an adoption of servicebased architecture for implementation of a three-tier Web GIS application. This system’s prototype is developed using open source tools for the Valencian Community of Spain

Using phenocams to monitor our changing earth: Toward a global phenocam network

Rapid changes to the biosphere are altering ecological processes worldwide. Developing informed policies for mitigating the impacts of environmental change requires an exponential increase in the quantity, diversity, and resolution of field-collected data, which, in turn, necessitates greater reliance on innovative technologies to monitor ecological processes across local to global scales. Automated digital time-lapse cameras – “phenocams” – can monitor vegetation status and environmental changes over long periods of time. Phenocams are ideal for documenting changes in phenology, snow cover, fire frequency, and other disturbance events. However, effective monitoring of global environmental change with phenocams requires adoption of data standards. New continental-scale ecological research networks, such as the US National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and the European Union's Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS), can serve as templates for developing rigorous data standards and extending the utility of phenocam data through standardized ground-truthing. Open-source tools for analysis, visualization, and collaboration will make phenocam data more widely usable

The harmonised geological map of Italy 1:100,000 scale

The INSPIRE Directive establishes a European infrastructure for spatial information to support the environmental policies of the European Union. Thirty-four different themes representing various environmental information have been identified. Geology theme is modelled conforming specific data structure that is Geology, Geophysic, Hydrogeology, which is further divided into three subthemes. Geology is in "priority dataset" list as it provides fundamental knowledge about the physical properties and composition of rocks and sediments, their structure, and their age, as depicted in geological maps, including geomorphological features and it represents the base map for geological phenomenon monitoring. In the INSPIRE data model, specific codelists have been reused in the different field types to satisfy the compliance to the geological information content. Some of the codelists fully comply with the features contained in the 1:100,000 geological map database are integrated in the semantic harmonization process. In 2021-22, the dataset was further harmonized in accordance with the INSPIRE and GeoSciML data models. The Geological Map of Italy at a scale of 1:100,000 is currently the most comprehensive and detailed geological map available for Italy. It consists of a compilation of 277 sheets and was created over a period exceeding 100 years, with certain sheets having two editions. In the late 1990s, the map was converted into a vector database through the digitization of raster format data. The dataset underwent revision, integration, and correction by the Geological Survey of Italy between 2005 and 2009. The dataset is served through a specific online resource allows the visualization of the Geologic Map of Italy 1:100,000 scale, in a digital format. The geology has been grouped based on the lower age of the geological units. Additionally, the service allows for the visualization of tectonic features. The map has been harmonized in the framework of the activity of the Geological Survey of Italy - ISPRA with a support by the Joint Research Unit - EPOS Italia (2020-2022)

The effect of scaling methods on the calculation of environmental indices

Landscape structure quantification is a subject of great interest in the environmental sciences because of the practical advantages it offers, including calculation of the environmental indices useful for land management, ecology and many other fields. A trend of developing new systems of environmental indices can be observed in European Institutions such as EEA and EUROSTAT, but there has been criticism about approaches based on Corine Land Cover (CLC). One of the aims of this article is to review the method of this database preparation for the purpose of calculating environmental indices. This study tests the ability of three methods to scale categorical maps and retaining as much of the original landscape structure information as possible. The vector scaling method is comparable to the preparation of the CLC data. Two other methods use Geo-Object Image Analysis as the main tool for classification. The scaling is performed in this method through building a hierarchy of objects and scaling the raster imagery. The results are compared and evaluated for scale effects and the calculation of environmental indices on the basis of the scaled data. There is no universal method for all the characteristics of the landscape pattern. The GEOBIA-based methods demonstrate greater applicability to fine grained structural and landscape configuration analyses. The vector scaling method is applicable mainly to landscape configuration, its results are also better for visualization of the scaled map.

GODIVA2: interactive visualization of environmental data on the Web

GODIVA2 is a dynamic website that provides visual access to several terabytes of physically distributed, four-dimensional environmental data. It allows users to explore large datasets interactively without the need to install new software or download and understand complex data. Through the use of open international standards, GODIVA2 maintains a high level of interoperability with third-party systems, allowing diverse datasets to be mutually compared. Scientists can use the system to search for features in large datasets and to diagnose the output from numerical simulations and data processing algorithms. Data providers around Europe have adopted GODIVA2 as an INSPIRE-compliant dynamic quick-view system for providing visual access to their data

Audio Cartography: Visual Encoding of Acoustic Parameters

Our sonic environment is the matter of subject in multiple domains which developed individual means of its description. As a result, it lacks an established visual language through which knowledge can be connected and insights shared. We provide a visual communication framework for the systematic and coherent documentation of sound in large-scale environments. This consists of visual encodings and mappings of acoustic parameters into distinct graphic variables that present plausible solutions for the visualization of sound. These candidate encodings are assembled into an application-independent, multifunctional, and extensible design guide. We apply the guidelines and show example maps that acts as a basis for the exploration of audio cartography

A European research roadmap for optimizing societal impact of big data on environment and energy efficiency

We present a roadmap to guide European research efforts towards a socially responsible big data economy that maximizes the positive impact of big data in environment and energy efficiency. The goal of the roadmap is to allow stakeholders and the big data community to identify and meet big data challenges, and to proceed with a shared understanding of the societal impact, positive and negative externalities, and concrete problems worth investigating. It builds upon a case study focused on the impact of big data practices in the context of Earth Observation that reveals both positive and negative effects in the areas of economy, society and ethics, legal frameworks and political issues. The roadmap identifies European technical and non-technical priorities in research and innovation to be addressed in the upcoming five years in order to deliver societal impact, develop skills and contribute to standardization.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl