ZoomAzores project: implementation of a WebGIS for Nature and Adventure Tourism.

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de InformaçãoNowadays, the Web offers new ways to make available information to users. This creates new ways and tools that can be used to make available tourist information and promotion of these destinations. The main objective this work is to develop a Web application for the ZoomAzores project. This web application uses dynamic maps and user-generated content features, which are focused on make available useful information for the tourist and the promotion of Nature and Adventure Tourism (NAT) in the archipelago of Azores. The solutions encountered were always determined by the technologies used and from the point of view of tourists visiting the Azores, which frequently doesn’t know about the Azores territory. The ZoomAzores Web application has Geographic Information System (GIS) visualization and navigation capabilities on the Internet, turning it into a WebGIS. It also encompasses the principles of Web 2.0 providing functionalities such as the generation of contents by users. The existing link between the use of dynamic maps and Web 2.0 in the tourism promotion and travel planning tasks seems to be a solid reality putting up new opportunities for the business in tourism.In this work, the development of the ZoomAzores WebGIS is based on the use of Open Standards (OS) and Free Open Source Software (FOSS). The use of OS is a key to the development of a WebGIS application able to interoperate with other systems and then use and consume Web Services (WS) that other systems can offer, concurrently enriching the data sources used. The FOSS technologies allow creates a more low cost solution without licensing cost software. This document exposes some design aspects in the system development and describes some functional and architectural features about the WebGIS ZoomAzores

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR POLLUTION MONITORING: SMART ACQUIREMENT AND SMART INFORMATION

Air quality is a factor of primary importance for the quality of life. The increase of the pollutants percentage in the air can cause serious problems to the human and environmental health. For this reason it is essential to monitor its values to prevent the consequences of an excessive concentration, to reduce the pollution production or to avoid the contact with major pollutant concentration through the available tools. Some recently developed tools for the monitoring and sharing of the data in an effective system permit to manage the information in a smart way, in order to improve the knowledge of the problem and, consequently, to take preventing measures in favour of the urban air quality and human health. In this paper, the authors describe an innovative solution that implements geomatics sensors (GNSS) and pollutant measurement sensors to develop a low cost sensor for the acquisition of pollutants dynamic data using a mobile platform based on bicycles. The acquired data can be analysed to evaluate the local distribution of pollutant density and shared through web platforms that use standard protocols for an effective smart use

Open Source Interactive Map of Albania Cultural Heritage

AbstractICTs represent strategic resources for Cultural Heritage (CH) projects. Anyway, several conditions put the success of promotion projects at risk, especially if carried out at the local level. Firstly, local scale amplifies the weight of budget constraints on the priorities of public administrations, compelled to allocate funds to the physical conservation of heritage rather than to software and training. Secondly, proprietary SW, often sophisticated and complex in procedures, fails to integrate precious unformalized knowledge from local stakeholders and communities, particularly in the field of cultural tourism. Finally, a changing demand for cultural tourism, with potential visitors frequently searching for information directly on the Web before moving, requires a higher interactivity in tools and systems. The paper illustrates the work carried out at the Construction Technologies Institute for delivering procedures and SW specifically designed to simplify the publication of geo-referenced information and reduce the need for specialized skills and equipments. The described results were achieved along different research programs focusing on the Albanian CH with a learning-by-doing approach

MSUO Information Technology and Geographical Information Systems: Common Protocols & Procedures. Report to the Marine Safety Umbrella Operation

The Marine Safety Umbrella Operation (MSUO) facilitates the cooperation between Interreg funded Marine Safety Projects and maritime stakeholders. The main aim of MSUO is to permit efficient operation of new projects through Project Cooperation Initiatives, these include the review of the common protocols and procedures for Information Technology (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This study carried out by CSA Group and the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) reviews current spatial information standards in Europe and the data management methodologies associated with different marine safety projects. International best practice was reviewed based on the combined experience of spatial data research at NCG and initiatives in the US, Canada and the UK relating to marine security service information and acquisition and integration of large marine datasets for ocean management purposes. This report identifies the most appropriate international data management practices that could be adopted for future MSUO projects

StudMap 3.0 : an interoperable web-based platform for geospatial data offers in academic life

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesGeographic Information Systems has now entered the realm of web and yields for feasible solutions to balance the technology offers with the users’ needs to share, access and explore the massive amounts of geodata available. Challenges occur when moving forward from old 2D platforms towards innovative and integrated webGIS systems that align functionality with the necessity to grant a complete understanding of the surrounding reality. 3D space responds to this but, however, stands only at the beginning of its era and cannot yet reach the development of 2D web integration. Research is now aiming at possible webGIS solutions to adapt to the special structure imposed by 3D data. In this context, this thesis focuses on designing an architecture for 2D and 3D geospatial data integration on a student-oriented web platform. This concept was further delivered and validated through a real case scenario – Studmap 3.0, a webGIS platform to serve the students of the University of Muenster in their academical life. The portal currently grants availability of geospatial data and web services of regional interest in a smart GIS environment that allows access and comparison of official services with own data. The implementation of Studmap 3.0 aided in the continuous improvement of the proposed architecture model and developed under a design science research cycle that reached its end once the final approval of its users was attained via a usability evaluation. Final strengths and drawbacks of the proposed architecture were ultimately identified together with an expert usability evaluation and a lab-based usability test of the resulting portal interface suitability for academic use. The results fall under the acceptable range with an 83.75 score for the System Usability Scale standardized questions when addressed to experts and a score of 83.87 when addressed to students. For the open-ended questions, the interface received an overall positive critique. A summary of future participants’ opinion on the benefits, drawbacks and proposed improvements was also delivered. Peers interested in similar concepts can use both this model and its final remarks as a reference for their work

Human Machine Interaction

In this book, the reader will find a set of papers divided into two sections. The first section presents different proposals focused on the human-machine interaction development process. The second section is devoted to different aspects of interaction, with a special emphasis on the physical interaction

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)

WebGIS applied to improve spatial knowledge of high school students

This research seeks to design and implement a WebGIS application allowing high school students to work with information related to the disciplinary competencies of the competency-teaching model, in Mexico. This paradigm assumes knowledge to be acquired through the application of new technologies and to link it with everyday life situations of students. The WebGIS provides access to maps regarding natural risks in Mexico, e.g. volcanism, seismic activities, or hurricanes; the prototype's user interface was designed with special emphasis on scholar needs for high school students