Modelling concrete and abstract geoprocessing workflows with ILWIS 4

A workflow represents a combination of process steps to be handled by computers or humans. Geoprocessing workflows consist of geodata (satellite images, in-situ sensor data, human sensor data) and the operations needed for their storage, analysis and presentation. In this research we develop methods for creating and sharing geo-workflows between humans and computers to support knowledge sharing and system interoperability

Geo-Information Visualizations of Linked Data

Ponencias, comunicaciones y pósters presentados en el 17th AGILE Conference on Geographic Information Science "Connecting a Digital Europe through Location and Place", celebrado en la Universitat Jaume I del 3 al 6 de junio de 2014.Linked Data provides an ever-growing source of geographically referenced data for application development. In this paper, we analyse the workflow behind the development of such an application. Using two examples based on worldwide development aid and refugee data, we discuss the steps from locating data for use and data integration, up to the actual visualization in a web-based application. At each step, we discuss the skill set required for completion and point to potential challenges. We conclude the paper by putting our case study in the context of GIScience curriculum development

Not just a tool. Taking context into account in the development of a mobile App for rural water supply in Tanzania

The 'eGovernance' hype around the potential of mobile phone and geoweb technologies for enhancing 'good governance' is soaring. In East Africa, the extensive use of mobile telephony adds to the imagined promises of ICT. We reflect on the assumptions made by the proponents of such tools, using our own action research project as an example. We took great care to consider context in the development of software for enhancing empowerment and accountability in rural water supply in Tanzania. However, we found that the rural water supply context in Tanzania is much more complex than the contexts for which successful mApps have been developed previously. Institutional analysis and public administration theory help to understand why. Rural water supply shows institutional hybridity, with water being at the same time a private, public and common-pool good. In addition, in accountability relations, many informal mechanisms prevail where explicit reporting is not relevant. Finally, our proposal sat uneasily with other ongoing iGovernment initiatives. We conclude that we need to consider eGovernance tools as political Apps that can be expected to trigger political response

A skeleton design theory for spatial data infrastructure:methodical construction of SDI nodes and SDI networks

In this paper, we look into the theory of designing geoservice systems, i.e., SDI networks and their constituent SDI nodes. As the field of SDI is strongly about bridging between geoservice systems, interoperability and harmonisation, it is not surprising that standardisation efforts are of crucial importance in it. These efforts have historically addressed abstract and concrete content models for data and metadata exchange, as well as abstract and concrete behavioural models for computational processes. The list of standards that are in use in the SDI field continues to expand, and reaches out to neighbouring fields such as sensor nets. We argue that given these trends, the resulting levels of standardisation in actual systems, and the complexity of geoservice systems in general, it appears only natural to look into the possibility to define a standardised design theory for SDI and its nodes, which addresses the function base and the communication base. Specifically, we provide an overview of those components that need to be designed, and what are their relationships. We do so in an abstract way, focussing on the concern of information content in this paper, and only hinting at an appropriate theory of realisation based on our skeleton theory

New Generation Sensor Web Enablement

Many sensor networks have been deployed to monitor Earth’s environment, and more will follow in the future. Environmental sensors have improved continuously by becoming smaller, cheaper, and more intelligent. Due to the large number of sensor manufacturers and differing accompanying protocols, integrating diverse sensors into observation systems is not straightforward. A coherent infrastructure is needed to treat sensors in an interoperable, platform-independent and uniform way. The concept of the Sensor Web reflects such a kind of infrastructure for sharing, finding, and accessing sensors and their data across different applications. It hides the heterogeneous sensor hardware and communication protocols from the applications built on top of it. The Sensor Web Enablement initiative of the Open Geospatial Consortium standardizes web service interfaces and data encodings which can be used as building blocks for a Sensor Web. This article illustrates and analyzes the recent developments of the new generation of the Sensor Web Enablement specification framework. Further, we relate the Sensor Web to other emerging concepts such as the Web of Things and point out challenges and resulting future work topics for research on Sensor Web Enablement

The Recent Past and Possible Futures of Citizen Science: Final Remarks

Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/173349This book is the culmination of the COST Action CA15212 Citizen Science to Promote Creativity, Scientific Literacy, and Innovation throughout Europe. It represents the final stage of a shared journey taken over the last 4 years. During this relatively short period, our citizen science practices and perspectives have rapidly evolved. The COST Action started in 2016, when citizen science was gaining momentum in Europe and worldwide. The first international citizen science conference took place in San José, California, in 2012. This period also saw the foundation of citizen science organisations, such as the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, in 2014. These milestones were not isolated events in the evolution of citizen science. There was a confluence of factors on multiple levels: globally, nationally, and locally. There was a sense of urgency to find common spaces to discuss the widespread flourishing of citizen science practices. These factors led to the formation of the citizen science COST Action. The impetus for citizen science in Europe over the last few years is partially indebted to the activities and interactions of this COST Action. This has offered a panoramic view of new initiatives, recently built digital platforms, and ongoing hot topic debates in the citizen science community of practitioners. It also helped spark several European-funded projects. The most relevant example is EU-Citizen. Science, a coordination and support platform launched in 2019. Its goal is to become the European reference point for citizen science, through cross-network knowledge sharing on a multi-language repository website with access to projects and resources for all stakeholders...