Usability evaluation and PPGIS: towards a user-centred design approach

Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) is a field of research that, among other things, focuses on the use of GIS by non-experts and occasional users. These users tend to have a diverse range of computer literacy, world views, cultural backgrounds and knowledge. These aspects require that the systems used within PPGIS are accessible and easy to use. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and the related usability evaluation techniques focus on how to make computer systems more accessible, while focusing on user needs and requirements. Thus, the synergy between PPGIS and HCI seems natural. In this paper, we discuss the aspects of this synergy, building on our experience from three workshops. We demonstrate how usability evaluation can contribute to PPGIS research, and how PPGIS research can contribute to the HCI aspects of GIS in general. We conclude this paper with a call for a user-centred design approach to PPGIS projects.     

Global retail capital and the city: towards an intensification of gentrification

The emerging literature on retail gentrification has not paid much attention to the link between recent reconfigurations of retail capital (concentration, internationalization, and financialization) and the contemporary wave of “generalized gentrification”. In this paper, I argue that analyzing the strategies of stakeholders involved in sectors other than housing (in this case, the retail sector) should allow us to identify different forms of gentrification intensification. I investigate the case of the Marais – that is, one of the first Parisian neighborhoods having undergone gentrification – by mapping the frontier of retail gentrification over the long term (1965–2011) and at the scale of an entire neighborhood (more than 130 ha comprising over 2,000 commercial units). The key drivers of the process (commercial real estate, new brand development strategies, changing commercial environment, the role of public policies) and its social stakes (displacement/replacement of former stores) are then discussed.     

An information systems approach to the preservation of biological diversity

Abstract

Although biological diversity has emerged in the 1980s as a major scientific and political issue, efforts at scientific assessment have been hampered by the lack of cohesive sets of data. We describe, in concept, a comprehensive national diversity information system, using geographical information system (GIS) techniques to organize existing data and improve spatial aspects of the assessment. One potential GIS analysis, to identify gaps in the network of nature reserves for California, is discussed in greater detail. By employing an information systems approach, available data can be used more effectively and better management strategies can be formulated.     

Mapping ecosystem services at the regional scale: the validity of an upscaling approach

Mapping ecosystem services (ES) over large scales is important for environmental monitoring but is often prohibitively expensive and difficult. We test a hybrid, low-cost method of mapping ES indicators over large scales in Pará State, Brazil. Four ES indicators (vegetation carbon stocks, biodiversity index, soil chemical quality index and rates of water infiltration into soil) were measured in the field and then summarized spatially for regional land-cover classes derived from satellite imagery. The regionally mapped ES values correlated strongly with independent and local measures of ES. For example, regional estimates of the vegetation carbon stocks are strongly correlated with actual measures derived from field samples and validation data (significant anova test – p-value = 4.51^e?9) and differed on average by only 20 Mg/ha from the field data. Our spatially-nested approach provides reliable and accurate maps of ES at both local and regional scales. Local maps account for the specificities of an area while regional maps provide an accurate generalization of an ES’ state. Such up-scaling methods infuse large-scale ES maps with localized data and enable the estimation of uncertainty of at regional scales. Our approach is first step towards the spatial characterization of ES at large and potentially global scales.     

The Taconite Inlet Lakes Project: a systems approach to paleoclimatic reconstruction

A comprehensive study of meteorological, hydrological, limnological and sedimentological conditions in the watersheds of density-stratified (meromictic) lakes around Taconite Inlet, Northern Ellesmere Island, N.W.T., Canada was carried out from 1990–1992. Lakes C1 and C2 contain seawater trapped by isostatic uplift as the former embayments became isolated from the sea. These lakes, and Lake C3, contain varved sediments which provide an annually resolvable paleoclimatic record. By studing the major systems influencing sedimentation in one of these lakes (Lake C2) a better understanding of the climatic controls on varve formation, and hence on the paleoclimatic signal in the varved sediment record, was obtained. The varves of Lake C2 provide a proxy record of summer temperature for the region.This is the first in a series of papers published in this issue on the Taconite Inlet Lakes Project. These papers were collected by Dr R. S. Bradley.     

An approach to the design principles for indicator system of desertification degree

Over the past 20 years great progress has been made in the desertification study, however the general tendency of desertification development worldwide has not been radically reversed, oppositely in some regions desertification remains in an expansion stagte. Accordingly, the desertification study is still an arduous and long-term task facing the world today. As one of the central problems of the desertification study, the indicator system for desertification degree still requires further perf…     

陆地表层综合地域系统划分的探讨--以青藏高原为例

近年来地理学研究的突出特点是,愈益与区域可持续发展这个主题密切联系起来,强调综合性。其中的关键科学问题难点是自然因素与人文因素的结合。本文从综合区域系统划分的指标体系入手,在传统的地域系统划分原则的基础上,强调了自然与社会经济因素在区划中具有同等重要性的原则,并区分了不同空间层级两者的不同作用。等级单位采用五级制, 本研究以青藏高原为例,将其划分为3个生态带,15个地-人区,22个生态经济地区,29个经济小区。研究显示,刻画这样的陆地表层综合地域系统,有助于认识我国陆地表层中的人地关系,为区域可持续发展服务。     

An ecosystem approach for determining environmental water allocations in Australian dryland river systems: the role of geomorphology

The allocation of water for environmental purposes is a key management issue in many dryland regions. Many different methods have been developed for determining environmental water requirements but these are not directly applicable to dryland rivers because of inherent flow and habitat variability. An ecosystem approach for determining environmental water allocations in dryland regions is presented in this paper. This four-step process involves (1) a hierarchical characterisation of the river system, to assess what mesohabitats are present and where they are located; (2) the determination of flows that would inundate these habitats and perform other key ecological processes; (3) hydrological analyses in which the key hydrological signatures of the river are identified and the impact of water resource development on these is determined; and (4) the derivation of a water management decision tree that enables managers to allocate water to consumptive users during individual flood pulses (events). It is recommended that the flood pulse should be the focus for environmental flow management in dryland regions. If rivers are indeed nested hierarchies, then a change in hydrological behaviour at the scale of a flood pulse will, with time, extend throughout the hydrological hierarchy. Current environmental flow management strategies in dryland river systems are essentially focused at the flow regime and history scale; this is inappropriate given the inherent flow variability of these systems. The ecosystem approach is outlined for the Condamine-Balonne River, a large dryland system in Australia.     

Landscape eco planning and design: concepts, a framework approach and case study

Ｉ.ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＴｈｅＥｕｒｏｐｅａｎｓｃｉｅｎｔｉｓｔｓｈａｖｅｌｏｎｇａｇｏｒｅｃｏｇｎｉｚｅｄｔｈｅｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｖａｌｕｅｏｆｔｈｅｓｙｓｔｅｍａｔｉｃｌａｎｄｓｃａｐｅｓｔｕｄｙａｎｄａｐｐｌｉｅｄｉｔｓｕｃｃｅｓｓｆｕｌｌｙｔｏａｎｕｍｂｅｒｏｆｌｏｃａｌａｎｄｎａｔｉｏｎａｌｐｌａｎｎｉｎｇｐｏｌｉｃｉｅｓ.ＴｈｅＷｏｒｋｉｎｇＧｒｏｕｐｏｆＬａｎｄｓｃａｐｅＥｃｏｐｌａｎｎｉｎｇｗｈｉｃｈｗａｓｅｓｔａｂｌｉｓｈｅｄｂｙＩＡＬＥ(ＩｎｔｅｒｎａｔｉｏｎａｌＡｓｓｏｃ…     

'Bearing the burden': towards a restructured geography of caring

Summary This paper focuses on the ways in which demographic, social and environmental factors, combined with differential emphases on priorities and patterns of spending between local authority jurisdictions, are contributing to a changing spatial geography of caring. This is examined firstly by highlighting how macro factors contribute to a restructured landscape of care, and secondly by examining the personal geographies of carers located within the Scottish environment. Finally, the paper suggests that as care moves from institutional space to the homespace, it may be creating a blurring of the boundaries between what has traditionally been public/institutional space, and the homespace. ¹     

Density of rural population in an Indian situation: a contemporary approach

The spatial patterns in the density of rural population in an area are a function of the complex interplay of physical, economic, social, and technological forces. However, natural forces play a more prominent role than others in this respect. This is especially true of the developing world where application of modern technologies is limited and economies are predominantly agricultural in nature. This paper establishes quantitatively the superiority of the physical environment in effecting spatial patterns in the density of the rural population in Punjab. Only 3 variables taken from natural setup, rainfall, soil, and water, jointly explain over 53% of the spatial variance in the density of the rural population in Punjab. This clearly proves the supremacy of physical forces over others in determining spatial patterns in the density of the rural population in an agricultural area of the developing world. However, the concept needs further testing in some similar areas to establish its validity on a wider scale.     

直航背景下海峡两岸集装箱港口体系空间结构——基于复杂网络的视角

自1997 年以来,两岸集装箱港口体系在“间接通航”、“试点直航”以及“全面直航”特殊政策的影响下,先后经历了直航萌芽期、直航发展期及直航成熟期三个阶段。以国家交通部发布的台湾海峡两岸集装箱海上运输航线为主干数据,基于复杂网络的分析视角,利用网络分析软件GEPHI和GIS技术,对直航背景下海峡两岸集装箱港口体系空间联系格局、中心性空间分异和区域集散效应的演化特征进行定量测度,并进一步探究两岸集装箱港口体系空间结构演化的动力机制。结果表明：① 两岸集装箱港口体系空间结构总体呈现“特定转运港集中—枢纽港集中—区域网络化发展”的三阶段演变过程,主要表现为航线联系范围的扩大和干线权重的减弱,中心性功能在枢纽港弱化、在次级港口增强,以及新兴小型港口呈现“小世界”区域集聚的现象,体现了重要的复杂网络特性。② 两岸直航前,港口区域集聚性主要分布于珠三角及环渤海地区,两岸直航后,区域集聚现象主要分布于珠三角地区与海峡西岸经济区。③ 两岸航运网络的空间演化机制受制度、市场及技术三方面因素共同驱动,特殊的通航政策是港口体系形 成、演化的重要社会制度环境,两岸经贸联系和ECFA的全面推进在很大程度上重塑了中国沿海四大经济区主要港口与台湾港口间的航运联系,而基于技术革新的港口竞争机制影响了两岸航运企业的航线配置。     

Publishing and publishers: towards an historical geography of countryside writing, c. 1930-1950

The role of publishers as cultural agents is under-researched by those who have made use of the extensive canon of twentieth-century countryside writing. This paper calls for an historical geography of publishing, which treats publishers as a vital element in the production and circulation of knowledge.     

Urban expansion in Auckland,New Zealand: a GIS simulation via an intelligent self-adapting multiscale agent-based model

ABSTRACT

Abstract: When modelling urban expansion dynamics, cellular automata models focus mostly on the physical environments and cell neighbours, but ignore the ‘human’ aspect of the allocation of urban expansion cells. This limitation is overcome here using an intelligent self-adapting multiscale agent-based model. To simulate the urban expansion of Auckland, New Zealand, a total of 15 urban expansion drivers/constraints were considered over two periods (2000–2005, 2005–2010). The modelling takes into consideration both a macro-scale agent (government) and micro-scale agents (residents of three income levels), and their multi-level interactions. In order to achieve reliable simulation results, ABM was coupled with an artificial neural network to reveal the learning process and heterogeneity of the multi-sub-residential agents. The ANN-ABM accurately simulated the urban expansion of Auckland at both the global and local scales, with kappa simulation value at 0.48 and 0.55, respectively. The validated simulation result shows that the intelligent and self-adapting ANN-ABM approach is more accurate than an ABM with a general type of agent model (kappa simulation = 0.42) at the global scale, and more accurate than an ANN-based CA model (kappa simulation = 0.47) at the local scale. Simulation inaccuracy stems mostly from the outdated master land use plan.