Investigating the impact of different types of directions on wayfinding efficiency in an informal settlement

Informal settlements are a common occurrence in the South African landscape. These settlements are not planned and therefore lack conventional urban characteristics, such as street names and a regular grid or block structure, which are useful aids during wayfinding. As a result, it is difficult to navigate through such a settlement or to provide directions to a specific destination. The lack of street names also implies that directions provided by others play a more important role. In this paper, we present the results of a qualitative between-subjects study that assessed individuals’ wayfinding efficiency when using different types of directions in an informal settlement. Participants were divided into two groups of six participants each (3 males and 3 females). Two sets of directions were constructed for the same route, one based on left-right turn descriptors and landmarks, and the second based on cardinal directions and distances. The performance of participants was measured for each set of directions. Earlier studies reported that people preferred left-right directions but performed better when using cardinal directions. The results of our study show the opposite. We think that this is due to the lack of regular wayfinding aids in informal settlements, but further studies are required to confirm this. The results of our study are interesting for developers of navigational tools aimed at addressing the needs of people in informal settlements

Results Of and Evaluation Of Augmented Reality Mobile Development Frameworks For Addresses in Augmented Reality

Addresses displayed on dwellings and buildings play a key role in society. Amongst others, they are used for deliveries, in household surveys, to navigate, or to find friends. Sometimes, address signs are destroyed, displaced or illegible, for example, as a result of vandalism, disasters, or poor maintenance. In augmented reality, computer-generated information is superimposed onto a live view of the real world. When address signs are not available, displaying the address in augmented reality could be immensely useful. The research presented in this article is part of a larger research endeavour to investigate augmented reality for addressing. This article presents the results of an evaluation of augmented reality mobile development frameworks for the implementation of a mobile application that displays addresses in augmented reality. Firstly, the requirements for addresses in augmented reality were identified. Three use cases informed these requirements: disaster relief, e.g. address signs are destroyed by an earthquake; household surveys, e.g. locating dwellings in informal settlements or rural areas where addresses are not assigned in any specific sequence and signs do not exist; and address data quality management, e.g. validating digital address data against addresses displayed in the physical world. Due to procurement challenges in the use cases, open source licensing and integration with open source products was identified as an important requirement. The internet was searched and a list of augmented reality mobile development frameworks was compiled. Based on the requirements, the list was shortened to seven frameworks, which were evaluated against a set of criteria informed by the requirements. The evaluation results can guide developers in choosing a framework best suitable for their specific needs and/or for integration with open source products

Evaluating a public sector organisation for SDI Readiness – The case of a South African government department

Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) facilitates the collection and sharing of geographic information developed by different organisations. As a result, SDI initiatives are occurring in different countries. Various government departments are implementing SDI in order to contribute to the achievements of its objectives. SDI assessments to evaluate the implementation thereof is also occurring from local levels to international levels. This paper establishes the availability of geographic information within the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) by describing DEA’s contribution to the South African SDI objectives and by assessing DEA’s SDI readiness.The qualitative method was used to collect data. The techniques used in this research were literature review, interviews, mainly in-depth interview, document and internet analysis.The results indicate that geographic information is available and the department continues to make more means to make it available. They also reveal that there are some challenges with respect to accessibility. Currently there is a process to make it even more easily accessible. The results show DEA’s willingness and capacity to contribute to the South African SDI. The voluntary participation in SDI activities and the ability to obtain additional funding for geographic information is a clear indicator of DEA’s willingness to contribute to SASDI’s objectives. The results contribute to the body of knowledge that if an SDI is still in the early stages of development, it is challenging to make conclusions on some of the key SDI assessment indices. Future research is required once South African SDI has reached mature stages

Analysing the practical feasibility of FOSSGIS in military operations – A Cholera outbreak use case

Remaining ahead of the enemy in all circumstances is crucial to any military power. Geographic information systems (GIS) can provide the military commander with geospatial information about the theatre of war to assist with the planning and execution of a mission. Unfortunately, technology usually comes at a price. GIS is no exception. The cost of acquiring and maintaining GIS software licenses, as well as training staff in the use of the software, needs to be considered. The question arises whether open source software, which can be used without any software license expenses, is a feasible alternative in military operations. The problem is that the perception exists that open source GIS software is neither user-friendly nor mature enough to be used in military operations. This study evaluates the functionality of an open source desktop GIS product in a military operations use case. A list of specific GIS functionalities was compiled based on the literature study and by developing a use case. The functionalities were executed in QGIS. Results were compared against results of the same functionalities in ArcGIS, which is widely used in military operations. Results show that all GIS functions tested by this study could be performed by both software products. These results are interesting because it means that FOSSGIS can be successfully deployed by units or directorates that has limited funds available to expand the existing GIS capabilities for military operations

An analysis of a data grid approach for spatial data infrastructures

The concept of grid computing has permeated all areas of distributed computing, changing the way in which distributed systems are designed, developed and implemented. At the same time ‘geobrowsers’, such as Google Earth, NASA World Wind and Virtual Earth, along with in-vehicle navigation, handheld GPS devices and maps on mobile phones, have made interactive maps and geographic information an everyday experience. Behind these maps lies a wealth of spatial data that is collated from a vast number of different sources. A spatial data infrastructure (SDI) aims to make spatial data from multiple sources available to as wide an audience as possible. Current research indicates that, due to a number of reasons, data sharing in these SDIs is still not common. This dissertation presents an analysis of the data grid approach for SDIs. Starting off, two imaginary scenarios spell out for the first time how data grids can be applied to enable the sharing of address data in an SDI. The work in this dissertation spans two disciplines: Computer Science (CS) and Geographic Information Science (GISc). A study of related work reveals that the data grid approach in SDIs is both a novel application for data grids (CS), as well as a novel technology in SDI environments (GISc), and this dissertation advances mutual understanding between the two disciplines. The novel evaluation framework for national address databases in an SDI is used to evaluate existing information federation models against the data grid approach. This evaluation, as well as an analysis of address data in an SDI, confirms that there are similarities between the data grid approach and the requirement for consolidated address data in an SDI. The evaluation further shows that where a large number of organizations are involved, such as for a national address database, and where there is a lack of a single organization tasked with the management of a national address database, the data grid is an attractive alternative to other models. The Compartimos (Spanish for ‘we share’) reference model was developed to identify the components with their capabilities and relationships that are required to grid-enable address data sharing in an SDI. The definition of an address in the broader sense (i.e. not only for postal delivery), the notion of an address as a reference and the definition of an addressing system and its comparison to a spatial reference system contribute towards the understanding of what an address is. A novel address data model shows that it is possible to design a data model for sharing and exchange of address data, despite diverse addressing systems and without impacting on, or interfering with, local laws for address allocation. The analysis in this dissertation confirms the need for standardization of domain specific geographic information, such as address data, and their associated services in order to integrate data from distributed heterogeneous sources. In conclusion, results are presented and recommendations for future work, drawn from the experience on the work in this dissertation, are made.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Computer Scienceunrestricte

Reference model for a data grid approach to address data in a dynamic SDI

A grid is concerned with the integration, virtualization, and management of services and resources in a distributed, heterogeneous environment that supports virtual organizations across traditional administrative and organizational domains. Spatial data infrastructures (SDI) aim to make spatial data from multiple sources available and usable to as wide an audience as possible. The first SDIs of the 1990s followed a top–down approach with the focus on data production and centralization. In recent years, SDIs have seen a huge increase in the number of participants, necessitating a more dynamic bottom-up approach. While much research has been done on web services and SDIs, research on the use of data grids for SDIs is limited. In this paper an emergency response scenario is presented to illustrate how the data grid approach can be used as a decentralized platform for address data in a dynamic SDI. Next, Compartimos (Spanish for ‘we share’) is presented, a reference model for an address data grid in an SDI based on the Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA). Compartimos identifies the essential components and their capabilities required for a decentralized address data grid in a dynamic SDI. It deviates from the current centralized approach, allows data resources to come and go and node hosts to grow and shrink as necessary. An address data grid in an SDI is both a novel application for data grids as well as a novel technology in SDI environments and thus advances the mutual understanding between data grids and SDIs. In conclusion, additional research required for address data grids in SDIs is discussed.South African Department of Trade and Industry. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comhttp://www.springerlink.com/content/1384-6175/nf201

The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure – Where are the Municipalities?

Many municipalities in South Africa, especially those in rural areas, do not have the resources to maintain the geospatial information required to deliver essential services. Conversely, National Geo-spatial Information (NGI), the national mapping agency (NMA), captures data themes required by municipalities but not at scales suitable for municipal purposes. In 2003, the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI) was initiated through national legislation as the ‘national technical, institutional and policy framework’ to govern public geospatial information. However, involvement of the country’s more than 250 municipalities in SASDI has been limited. In order to better understand the role of municipalities in the development and implementation of SASDI, we reviewed this over four periods: (1) before 1994, i.e., before the new Constitution of South Africa came into force; (2) 1994 to 2000, when the idea of an SDI emerged through voluntary participation; (3) 2000 to 2009, when the SASDI legislation was enacted but nothing really happened; and (4) from 2010 to date, starting with the first meeting of the Committee for Spatial Information, the SASDI coordinating body. The review confirms that unless SASDI steps in to provide coordination mechanisms between different spheres of government, the NMA will continue to supply unsuitable data and municipalities will be left to their own devices. A SASDI that caters for diverse user needs through bottom-up influences could greatly improve local municipalities’ service delivery. We have used the results of our study to propose a governance framework where all spheres of government are involved in SASDI and municipalities have an opportunity to communicate their data needs from the bottom, upward

Application of the Land Administration Domain Model to the City of Johannesburg Land Information System

The paper explores the adoption of ISO 19152, Geographic information -- Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), in the enhancement of the current City of Johannesburg Land Information System (CoJLIS) data model. The CoJLIS was established to support integration of property data within various departments of the city. The current CoJLIS is designed for core land information only. There is a need for a comprehensive data model for all property information to support data management. The current CoJLIS upgrade coincides with the development of the LADM by ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics. The LADM was published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) late in 2012 as an International Standard for modelling basic land administration (LA) information. The LADM aims to provide a common vocabulary within the LA domain. This research examined the core data model of CoJLIS against the corresponding LADM basic classes. The LADM presents an opportunity to adopt an ISO conformant model in the CoJLIS, thus leveraging the benefits associated with the LADM. We show that the LADM can be used to describe land administration information at a municipality in South Africa, but that there are semantic differences, similarities and mismatches of classes and attributes between the LADM and the CoJLIS. The current disconnect between different systems, each managing a different part of the land administration information at the CoJ, is a cause for concern. The research was restricted to the City of Johannesburg. The results improve the understanding of land administration at municipal level in South Africa, but more empirical explorations are necessary to examine the applicability of the LADM within different contexts, more especially in cadastre-less areas (e.g. informal settlements and rural areas).This is an extension paper of a paper titled ‘Land administration domain model: application to the City of Johannesburg land information system, South Africa’, presented at GISSA Ukubuzana 2012, Kempton Park, South Africa, October 2012.http://www.sajg.org.zaam201

Implications of security mechanisms and service level agreements (SLAs) of platform as a service (PaaS) clouds for geoprocessing services

Cloud computing is an emerging computing paradigm aimed at running services over the internet to provide scalability and flexibility. The advantages in using the cloud for start‐up and small businesses that lack infrastructure have been shown to far outweigh the disadvantages. Cloud platform services, also known as Platform as a Service (PaaS), provide a computing platform or solution stack on which software can be developed for later deployment in a cloud. However, there are a number of security challenges because users of the cloud have to rely on third party companies to provide confidentiality, integrity and availability. Geoprocessing is the manipulation of geographic information, ranging from simple feature overlays and geocoding to raster processing and advanced climate modelling. The Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC) Web Processing Service (WPS) defines a standardized interface that facilitates the publishing of geospatial processes. Parallelization and distribution of geoprocessing services have received much attention lately, including running them in a cloud. However, work on the security aspects of geoprocessing in a cloud is limited. In this paper, we anaylse security mechanisms and Service Level Agreements (SLA) of PaaS clouds and present results of experiments run in the PaaS clouds. The implications of these results for the development of geoprocessing services in a PaaS cloud are discussed. Finally, recommendations for future work are presented.The South African Department of Trade and Industryhttp://www.springerlink.com/content/1866-9298

Address databases for national SDI : comparing the novel data grid approach to data harvesting and federated databases

The original purpose of addresses was to enable the correct and unambiguous delivery of postal mail. The advent of computers and more specifically geographic information systems (GIS) opened up a whole new range of possibilities for the use of addresses, such as routing and vehicle navigation, spatial demographic analysis, geo-marketing, and service placement and delivery. Such functionality requires a database which can store and access spatial data effectively. In this paper we present address databases and justify the need for national address databases. We describe models used for national address databases, and present our evaluation framework for an address database at a national level within the context of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). The models of data harvesting, federated databases and data grids are analyzed and evaluated according to our novel framework, and we show that the data grid model has some unique features that make it attractive for a national address database in an environment where centralized control and/or coordination is difficult or undesirable.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tgis2