THEMATIC MAPPING OF PLANETS: CURRENT SITUATION AND PROSPECTS

Principles and objectives governing Soviet thematic mapping of nearby planets are outlined, types of information sources for such mapping categorized, and the suitability of different types of information sources for thematic mapping are evaluated. This is followed by a classification of thematic planetary maps according to type. The need for a standardized, systems approach to the determination of map scales, compilation and generalization, symbolization, and map design is emphasized as an essential prerequisite for the development of complex atlases of individual planets, atlases of “comparative planetology,” and the establishment of “planetary information systems.” Translated by Jay Mitchell; PlanEcon, Inc.; Washington, DC 20005 from: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, geografiya, 1987, No. 6, pp. 60-67.     

Design and Implementation of a Model,Web-based,GIS-Enabled Cancer Atlas

Abstract

The design and development of a highly interactive web-based, GIS-enabled atlas is reported. The atlas is a prototype, designed as a model for implementation of atlases to support government cancer-control activities. This model integrates symbolisation and design principles from print cartography, interaction strategies from exploratory geovisualisation, and web-map/web-feature service advances from GIS. The atlas has been implemented using a client-server architecture. It makes use of two open-source GIS tools, PostGIS (as the system database) and GeoServer (to connect the database to the client mapping application). The client mapping application has been built in Macromedia Flash. The entire client-server architecture is described, then direct primary emphasis is focused on the client mapping application. For this component of the system, the interface design strategy is detailed, the approach taken to implement this strategy in Flash is documented, and the mechanisms developed to build dynamic links from the client to the underlying database through the server are outlined. Features of the atlas are presented through a prototypical use scenario for a target user.     

Epistemology of Geopolitical Atlases from the 1980s to the Early 2000s

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, we have seen a new influx of numerous geopolitical atlases. They have been produced to meet society's implicit need to fix the boundaries of international issues and the relationships of force between the various powers. These atlases clearly express established ideologies and allow us to determine various trends of thought; messages which the authors wish us to take on board by studying cartographic themes. This is the approach we will be taking in this article.

In this paper, we aim to show the epistemological development of geopolitical atlases. The first part of the article gives the general outline of the epistemological development of geopolitical atlases, in which two main periods stand out. The first corresponds with the 1980s, which can be described as a realist decade. The state was a geopolitical player that could not be overlooked within a bipolar world; maps showing conflicts between the two major powers and thematic maps showing an ideological clash between them are typical of the period. The second period, corresponding with the 1990s, begins with the fall of the regimes in the Soviet bloc. This period can be described as having a neo-realist approach, where the threat from the East had moved to terrorism and drug trafficking. The atlases follow the geopolitical development of the world and describe international structural changes. In conclusion, the paper will return to the important educational and informative role of atlases and their effects on the ideas they are able to disseminate amongst the population.     

Modelling and predicting the spatial dispersion of skin cancer considering environmental and socio-economic factors using a digital earth approach

ABSTRACT

Almost all causative factors of diseases depend on location. The Digital Earth approach is suitable for studying diseases globally. Geospatial information systems integrated with statistical models can be used to model the relationship between a disease and its causative factors. Through modelling, the most important causative factors can be extracted and the epidemiology of the disease can be observed. In this paper, skin cancer (the most common type of cancer) has been modelled based on its causative factors, including climate factors, people's occupations, nutrition habits, socio-economic factors, and usage of chemical fertiliser. To fit the model, a data framework was first designed, and then data were gathered and processed. Finally, the disease was modelled using Generalised Linear Models (GLM), a statistical model based on the location of the factors. The results of this study identify the most important causative factors together with their relative priority. Furthermore, a model was used to predict the change in skin cancer occurrences caused by a change in one of its causative factors. This work illustrates the ability of the model to predict disease occurrence. Thus, by using this Digital Earth approach, skincancer can be studied in all the key countries around the world.     

Geographic information systems in Europe

Abstract

Electronic atlases possess certain advantages over their paper counterparts. However these are not achieved lightly because of the considerable differences between these media, particularly in terms of cartographic design. These problems, and the process of converting an existing atlas of marine information into an electronic version, are the subject of this paper.     

县市区级综合性地图集内容结构与信息表达方式初探

进入21世纪,以县、市、区为行政单元的区域性综合性地图集越来越多,这些图集虽然可以借鉴以省、市行政区域为制图单元的地图集已经形成的模式,但是由于制图区域的限制,在内容结构、信息表达方式、资料处理等方面有自己的特点。结合了《萧山区地图集》的设计与研制,对两种图集内容体系设计、资料选择和处理、地理信息表示方法异同进行论述,为今后编制市县区级综合性地图集在理论、方法和技术上提供参考。     

Coupling of remote sensing data and environmental-related parameters for dengue transmission risk assessment in Subang Jaya,Malaysia

In Malaysia, the endemic level of dengue fever (DF) has already changed morbidity indicators, and the magnitude of these incidences in the last few years has surpassed the incidences of all other diseases of compulsory notification. The reasons for the dramatic emergence of DF are complex and not well understood. There are many factors that contribute to the epidemiological conditions that favour viral transmission by the main mosquito vector. This study, therefore, is filling this gap by analysing the impact of dengue incidence at a local (Subang Jaya) scale using environmental factors. Meteorological data and land-use pattern were consolidated using geographic information system (GIS) and its components as an analytical tool. We have shown that weather variables (relative humidity, temperature and precipitation) have significant correlation with DF incidence with seasonal variation. Besides land-use pattern, DF incidence shows the higher distribution in the residential area, followed by commercial and industrial area. This is due to the higher population density in residential area as well as favourable places for the breeding of dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitos created by humans in the residential area, especially one-storey houses. The analysis on the trends of DF incidence towards various housing types indicate that most of the victims’ houses fall into interconnection houses and mixed houses types compared to the independent houses area. The outcome driven from this analysis suggested that each character of the environmental factors has their own risk towards dengue incidence. In line with that, it is possible to develop a dynamic model of DF transmission using the knowledge produced by this comprehensive time series data and the results provided by the different analyses.     

顾及地理空间视角的区域SDGs综合评估方法与示范

目前世界各国正积极落实联合国《2030年可持续发展议程》及其17项可持续发展目标(Sustainable Development Goals,英文缩写为SDGs),重要举措之一是利用统计和地理信息进行SDGs进展评估监测。就总体而言,国内外这方面研究尚处于概念设计、方法探讨和单指标、小范围试点阶段。究其原因,主要是涉及因素众多、技术过程复杂,既面临全球指标体系的科学理解、海量时空数据的融合处理、顾及地理视角的指标计算、基于事实的SDGs分析评估等诸多技术难题,还要实现跨学科的综合分析、多机构的沟通协调等。针对这一国际前沿课题,笔者研究提出了统计和地理信息相结合的综合评估方法,完成了浙江省德清县践行2030议程情况的定量综合评估。既为总结当地践行SDGs经验、发现存在问题、制定改进方案提供了重要科学依据,也为国内外其他区域开展SDGs定量评估监测提供了可借鉴的方法与范例。     

现代地图学的最新进展与新世纪的展望

本文第一部分国际地图学的最新进展,阐述了专题制图进一步拓宽领域并向纵深发展;计算机制图已广泛应用于各类地图生产,多媒体电子地图集与互联网地图集迅速推广;地图学-遥感-地理信息系统相结合已形成一体化的研究技术体系;计算机制图-电子出版生产一体化,从根本上改变了地图设计与生产的传统工艺;地图学新概念与新理论的不断探索。第二部分分析了中国地图学与地图事业近30年的发展与成就,论述了测绘部门完成了全国大比例尺地形图的测制,完成1:100万与1:25万数字地形图制作.在完成一大批专题地图的同时,广泛开展区域与部门的综合制图,编制出版了一大批不同类型的高水平综合地图集;遥感制图、计算机制图与地理信息系统已达到世界先进水平。第三部分是对中国地图学新世纪的展望:①抓住数字地球的机遇,创建地学信息图谱;②专题与综合制图进一步向纵深发展;③地图学、遥感制图与地理信息系统一体化,形成完整的研究技术体系与生产体系,发展地球信息科学;④为适应市场经济与社会发展的需要,应进一步扩大地图应用领域与范围,增加地图新品种;⑤加强地图学、遥感制图与地理信息系统基础理论及其应用原理与方法的研究。     

Defining a Digital Earth System

In a 1998 speech before the California Science Center in Los Angeles, then US Vice‐President Al Gore called for a global undertaking to build a multi‐faceted computing system for education and research, which he termed “Digital Earth.” The vision was that of a system providing access to what is known about the planet and its inhabitants’ activities – currently and for any time in history – via responses to queries and exploratory tools. Furthermore, it would accommodate modeling extensions for predicting future conditions. Organized efforts towards realizing that vision have diminished significantly since 2001, but progress on key requisites has been made. As the 10 year anniversary of that influential speech approaches, we re‐examine it from the perspective of a systematic software design process and find the envisioned system to be in many respects inclusive of concepts of distributed geolibraries and digital atlases. A preliminary definition for a particular digital earth system as: “a comprehensive, distributed geographic information and knowledge organization system,” is offered and discussed. We suggest that resumption of earlier design and focused research efforts can and should be undertaken, and may prove a worthwhile “Grand Challenge” for the GIScience community.     

Re-cartographies of Landscape: New Narratives in Architectural Atlases

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of a different kind of counter-mapping. It focuses upon a critical reading of five different architectural atlases and argues that their construction and design reveals how ‘re-cartographies’ can narrate novel stories about places. The narrative power of these atlases is traced back to a focus upon relations between phenomena, and a careful consideration of how to map the mutability and dynamism of the built and natural environment. They offer new kinds of selection, classification and symbolisation; deploy hybrid forms to destabilize taken for granted binary distinctions between nature and culture; use montage and juxtaposition to reveal scalar linkages; re-imagine figure–ground relationships to reveal functional city forms and processes; and explore the potential of meta-structures in the relations between different maps in an atlas layout. Taken together, they show how the cartographic imagination can escape from standard and accepted orthodoxies. They also reveal the importance of a situated and historicized narrative approach to all mapping, and offer a kind of counter-mapping from an academic field, which might allow more creative professional engagement with the making of places.     

Volunteered geographic information systems: Technological design patterns

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) has been studied extensively within various contexts, however, generally focusing on isolated aspects of data. Therefore, we still need to advance the structured knowledge of the mechanisms that affect and support its creation. This article aims to contribute to the integrated study of VGI systems (VGIS) in order to enhance design processes that lead to a more systematic and efficient VGI management. We define VGIS, their main components, and general architectures. Then, we use the service blueprinting technique to conduct the case study of several systems, identifying system actions to find the processes and technologies forming the different functional components of VGIS: elements of the technological infrastructure that implement diverse processes to facilitate participation and data management. Integrated in the data collection component, we also propose a typology of crowdsourcing tasks that—coupled with the functional components—establishes a foundation for VGIS research and design. We characterize these components, arguing that they are necessary in the development of VGIS, however, there is still a need for a more detailed study of the flow of processes and subprocesses and how they work under the criteria of different types of projects to continue facilitating their design.     

NATIONAL ATLASES: CONCEPTS,CONTENT, AND EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPMENT

This article summarizes the experience gained from collaboration between the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences and geographers and cartographers of Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam in the creation of national atlases for these countries. The scientific concepts embodied in the atlases are analyzed, as well as the interrelationships and scope of topics, the combination of scientific and practical directions, and characteristics of their organization. Translated from: Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, seriya geograficheskaya, 1988, No. 3, pp. 31-38 by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005.     

The GeoCitizen-approach: community-based spatial planning – an Ecuadorian case study

Over the last years, geospatial web platforms, social media, and volunteered geographic information (VGI) have opened a window of opportunity for traditional Public Participatory GIS (PPGIS) to usher in a new era. Taking advantage of these technological achievements, this paper presents a new approach for a citizen-orientated framework of spatial planning that aims at integrating participatory community work into existing decision-making structures. One major cornerstone of the presented approach is the application of a social geoweb platform (the GeoCitizen platform) that combines geo-web technologies and social media in one single tool allowing citizens to collaboratively report observations, discuss ideas, solve, and monitor problems in their living environment at a local level. This paper gives an account of an ongoing participatory land-zoning process in the Capital District of Quito, Ecuador, where the GeoCitizen platform is applied in a long-term study.     

Korea: A Cartographic History

Abstract