Designing maps to support native title negotiation and arbitration in Australia

An understanding of the space around us (spatiality) is fundamental to our consciousness and in the explanation of heritage• the idea that a map represents both the world we live in and our experiences of it For example, the visual language of Aboriginal maps represents a synergistic amalgam of the metaphorical, metaphysical and material worlds. Thus maps can be said \0 be representations that facilitate an understanding of things, concepts, conditions, processes or events in the human world and provide a way of ordering our knowledge of our environment Our research is concerned with the exploration of these concepts in the context of the design of maps arid other graphics to support negotiations and legal proceedings regarding native title land tenure claims in Australia. This paper reports progress on the muHidisciplinary research project at Murdoch University, involving the principal disciplines of information systems, cartography and law. The research project is examining how information systems may be best utilised to support the variety of (often competing) interests of the various parties involved in native title claims. It also addresses important methodological issues relating to the analysis, design and evaluation of information systems which accommodate users w~h different cultural backgrounds. Spatial representations of various kinds (including maps) can help bridge the .cultural gap and support the empathetic process so critical to successful negotiation and arbitration. The design of appropriate maps and other graphics to support negotiation and arbitration procedures reiated to native @e claims needs to be considered within the context of the information systems in which they are used. In turn, the design of the information systems must be based on an understanding Of the decision making environment within which they are Situated and the characteristics of system users. This requires the detailed analysis of the procedures used and the roles of the various people involved. This process enables a clear understanding of the purpose of each graphic (or graphic sequence) to be developed and hence its deSign in the most cogent and effective manner. The paper reports on research findings regarding the use of trad~ional and innovative procedures for the design of information systems; and maps and other graphic products. The relationship of these procedures to Aboriginal concepts of place and representational style is also explored

Collaboration on an Ontology for Generalisation

To move beyond the current plateau in automated cartography we need greater sophistication in the process of selecting generalisation algorithms. This is particularly so in the context of machine comprehension. We also need to build on existing algorithm development instead of duplication. More broadly we need to model the geographical context that drives the selection, sequencing and degree of application of generalisation algorithms. We argue that a collaborative effort is required to create and share an ontology for cartographic generalisation focused on supporting the algorithm selection process. The benefits of developing a collective ontology will be the increased sharing of algorithms and support for on-demand mapping and generalisation web services

Process Modelling, Web Services and Geoprocessing

Process modelling has always been an important part of research in generalisation. In the early days this would take the form of a static sequence of generalisation actions, but currently the focus is on modelling much more complex processes, capable of generalising geographic data into various maps according to specific user requirements. To channel the growing complexity of the processes required, better process models had to be developed. This chapter discusses several aspects of the problem of building such systems. As the system gets more complex, it becomes important to be able to reuse components which already exist. Web services have been used to encapsulate generalisation processes in a way that maximises their interoperability and therefore reusability. However, for a system to discover and trigger such a service, it needs to be formalised and described in a machine understandable way, and the system needs to have the knowledge about where and when to use such tools. This chapter therefore explores the requirements and potential approaches to the design and building of such systems

Personalised Information Systems in Multi-Modal Transportation Decision Making

The ambition of this research was to explore ways of providing personalised, context sensitive information to public transport travellers: can generic information be replaced by individualised snippets of information tailored to help the traveller with his or her decision making? Using an ontological approach, we explicitly model the relationships between various types of information and travellers and the subtasks associated with their (multi-modal) journey. This affords a means of automatic reasoning, and the automatic delivery of tailored information. This paper focusses on the spatial aspects of the research

Interactions between vaccinia virus and sensitized macrophages in vitro

The action of peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) from normal and vaccinia virus infected mice on infectious vaccinia virus particles was investigatedin vitro. PEC from immune mice showed a significantly higher infectivity titre reduction (virus clearance, VC) than normal cells. This effect could be clearly attributed to the macrophage. Vaccinia virus multiplied in PEC from normal animals while there was no virus propagation in cells from immunized mice. The release of adsorbed or engulfed virus was reduced significantly in PEC from immunized animals. Anti-vaccinia-antibodies seem to activate normal macrophages to increased virus clearance. This stimulating effect was demonstrable only in the IgG fraction of the antiserum. The activity of macrophages from mice injected three times over a period of 14 days with vaccinia virus could be entirely blocked with anti-mouse-IgG, while PEC from mice injected one time six days previously were not inhibited

Scaling of Geographic Space as a Universal Rule for Map Generalization

Map generalization is a process of producing maps at different levels of detail by retaining essential properties of the underlying geographic space. In this paper, we explore how the map generalization process can be guided by the underlying scaling of geographic space. The scaling of geographic space refers to the fact that in a geographic space small things are far more common than large ones. In the corresponding rank-size distribution, this scaling property is characterized by a heavy tailed distribution such as a power law, lognormal, or exponential function. In essence, any heavy tailed distribution consists of the head of the distribution (with a low percentage of vital or large things) and the tail of the distribution (with a high percentage of trivial or small things). Importantly, the low and high percentages constitute an imbalanced contrast, e.g., 20 versus 80. We suggest that map generalization is to retain the objects in the head and to eliminate or aggregate those in the tail. We applied this selection rule or principle to three generalization experiments, and found that the scaling of geographic space indeed underlies map generalization. We further relate the universal rule to T\"opfer's radical law (or trained cartographers' decision making in general), and illustrate several advantages of the universal rule. Keywords: Head/tail division rule, head/tail breaks, heavy tailed distributions, power law, and principles of selectionComment: 12 pages, 9 figures, 4 table

Improving the Sampling Strategy for Point-to-Point Line-Of-Sight Modelling in Urban Environments

Visibility modelling calculates what an observer could theoretically see in the surrounding region based on a digital model of the landscape. In some cases it is not necessary, nor desirable, to compute the visibility of an entire region (i.e. a viewshed), but instead it is sufficient and more efficient to calculate the visibility from point-to-point, or from a point to a small set of points, such as computing the intervisibility of predators and prey in an agent based simulation. This paper explores how different line-of-sight (LoS) sample ordering strategies increases the number of early target rejections, where the target is considered to be obscured from view, thereby improving the computational efficiency of the LoS algorithm. This is of particular importance in dynamic environments where the locations of the observers, targets and other surface objects are being frequently updated. Trials were conducted in three UK cities, demonstrating a robust five-fold increase in performance for two strategies (hop, divide and conquer). The paper concludes that sample ordering methods do impact overall efficiency, and that approaches which disperse samples along the LoS perform better in urban regions than incremental scan methods. The divide and conquer method minimises elevation interception queries, making it suitable when elevation models are held on disk rather than in memory, while the hopping strategy was equally fast, algorithmically simpler, with minimal overhead for visible target cases

Genetic Basis of Virulence Attenuation Revealed by Comparative Genomic Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strain H37Ra versus H37Rv

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains a leading infectious disease despite the availability of chemotherapy and BCG vaccine. The commonly used avirulent M. tuberculosis strain H37Ra was derived from virulent strain H37 in 1935 but the basis of virulence attenuation has remained obscure despite numerous studies. We determined the complete genomic sequence of H37Ra ATCC25177 and compared that with its virulent counterpart H37Rv and a clinical isolate CDC1551. The H37Ra genome is highly similar to that of H37Rv with respect to gene content and order but is 8,445 bp larger as a result of 53 insertions and 21 deletions in H37Ra relative to H37Rv. Variations in repetitive sequences such as IS6110 and PE/PPE/PE-PGRS family genes are responsible for most of the gross genetic changes. A total of 198 single nucleotide variations (SNVs) that are different between H37Ra and H37Rv were identified, yet 119 of them are identical between H37Ra and CDC1551 and 3 are due to H37Rv strain variation, leaving only 76 H37Ra-specific SNVs that affect only 32 genes. The biological impact of missense mutations in protein coding sequences was analyzed in silico while nucleotide variations in potential promoter regions of several important genes were verified by quantitative RT-PCR. Mutations affecting transcription factors and/or global metabolic regulations related to in vitro survival under aging stress, and mutations affecting cell envelope, primary metabolism, in vivo growth as well as variations in the PE/PPE/PE-PGRS family genes, may underlie the basis of virulence attenuation. These findings have implications not only for improved understanding of pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis but also for development of new vaccines and new therapeutic agents

Travelers' health problems and behavior : prospective study with post-travel follow-up

Background: The annual number of international tourist arrivals has recently exceeded one billion, yet surprisingly few studies have characterized travelers' behavior, illness, and risk factors in a prospective setting. Particularly scarce are surveys of data spanning travel, return, and follow-up of the same cohort. This study examines behavior and illness among travelers while abroad, after return home, and at follow-up. Patterns of behavior connected to type of travel and illness are characterized so as to identify risk factors and provide background data for pre-travel advice. Methods: Volunteers to this prospective cohort study were recruited at visits to a travel clinic prior to departure. Data on the subjects' health and behavior were collected by questionnaires before and after journeys and over a three-week follow-up. In addition, the subjects were asked to fill in health diaries while traveling. Results: The final study population consisted of 460 subjects, 79 % of whom reported illness during travel or on arrival: 69 % had travelers' diarrhea (TD), 17 % skin problems, 17 % fever, 12 % vomiting, 8 % respiratory tract infection, 4 % urinary tract infection, 2 % ear infection, 4 % gastrointestinal complaints other than TD or vomiting, and 4 % other symptoms. Of all subjects, 10 % consulted a doctor and 0.7 % were hospitalized; 18 % took antimicrobials, with TD as the most common indication (64 %). Ongoing symptoms were reported by 25 % of all travelers upon return home. During the three-week follow-up (return rate 51 %), 32 % of respondents developed new-onset symptoms, 20 % visited a doctor and 1.7 % were hospitalized. Factors predisposing to health problems were identified by multivariable analysis: certain regions (Southern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, and Eastern Africa), female gender, young age, and long travel duration. Conclusions: Despite proper preventive measures like vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis, and travel advice, the majority of our subjects fell ill during or after travel. As the symptoms mostly remained mild, health care services were seldom needed. Typical traveler profiles were identified, thereby providing a tool for pre-travel advice. The finding that one third reported new-onset illness during follow-up attests to the importance of advising clients on potential post-travel health problems already during pre-travel visits.Peer reviewe