A data‐mining approach for assessing consistency between multiple representations in spatial databases

When different spatial databases are combined, an important issue is the identification of inconsistencies between data. Quite often, representations of the same geographical entities in databases are different and reflect different points of view. In order to fully take advantage of these differences when object instances are associated, a key issue is to determine whether the differences are normal, i.e. explained by the database specifications, or if they are due to erroneous or outdated data in one database. In this paper, we propose a knowledge‐based approach to partially automate the consistency assessment between multiple representations of data. The inconsistency detection is viewed as a knowledge‐acquisition problem, the source of knowledge being the data. The consistency assessment is carried out by applying a proposed method called MECO. This method is itself parameterized by some domain knowledge obtained from a second method called MACO. MACO supports two approaches (direct or indirect) to perform the knowledge acquisition using data‐mining techniques. In particular, a supervised learning approach is defined to automate the knowledge acquisition so as to drastically reduce the human‐domain expert's work. Thanks to this approach, the knowledge‐acquisition process is sped up and less expert‐dependent. Training examples are obtained automatically upon completion of the spatial data matching. Knowledge extraction from data following this bottom‐up approach is particularly useful, since the database specifications are generally complex, difficult to analyse, and manually encoded. Such a data‐driven process also sheds some light on the gap between textual specifications and those actually used to produce the data. The methodology is illustrated and experimentally validated by comparing geometrical representations and attribute values of different vector spatial databases. The advantages and limits of such partially automatic approaches are discussed, and some future works are suggested.     

GVG采样线代表性检验

通过在实验区内设置不同类型的采样线,对GVG采样线的代表性进行检验.结果表明,高速公路和乡村道路类型的采样线对区域代表性的精度在95%以上;国道为86.726%;省道为65.447%.对于不同的缓冲区,高速公路、省道和乡村道路类型采样线,以200m缓冲区的代表性最好.而国道则以800m缓冲区的代表性最好.对于不同的作物而言,无论何种类型的采样线或者缓冲区,种植面积最大的棉花的精度是最好的.最低的是省道采样线1000m缓冲区,精度是78.146%,最好的是国道采样线800m缓冲区,精度是99.974%.除省道外,其他精度都在94.8%以上.这说明GVG采样线所获得的成数对于区域主要作物的代表性是很好的.     

不同时频分析方法的精度比较及应用

在传统的地震资料分析、处理和属性分析提取等研究中,基于平稳信号分析处理理论的傅里叶变换是核心技术之一。地震信号往往是非线性、非平稳信号,传统傅里叶变换是一种整体变换,难于反映非平稳信号的局部特征,而时频分析技术能同时展示信号在时间域和频率域的局部化特征。在介绍几种地震常用的时频分析方法基础上,进一步深入研究自适应时频分析方法。理论分析和试验表明,自适应最优核时频分布在抑制交叉项的同时,时频聚集性也较好,因此,更有利于地震勘探信号的分析和地震属性的提取、频谱分解等。     

Exploring the reasons for the seasons using Google Earth, 3D models,and plots

ABSTRACT

Public understanding of climate and climate change is of broad societal importance. However, misconceptions regarding reasons for the seasons abound amongst students, teachers, and the public, many of whom believe that seasonality is caused by large variations in Earth’s distance from the Sun. Misconceptions may be reinforced by textbook illustrations that exaggerate eccentricity or show an inclined view of Earth’s near-circular orbit. Textbook explanations that omit multiple factors influencing seasons, that do not mesh with students’ experiences, or that are erroneous, hinder scientifically valid reasoning. Studies show that many teachers share their students’ misconceptions, and even when they understand basic concepts, teachers may fail to appreciate the range of factors contributing to seasonal change, or their relative importance. We have therefore developed a learning resource using Google Earth, a virtual globe with other useful, weather- and climate-related visualizations. A classroom test of 27 undergraduates in a public research university showed that 15 improved their test scores after the Google Earth-based laboratory class, whereas 5 disimproved. Mean correct answers rose from 4.7/10 to 6/10, giving a paired t-test value of 0.21. After using Google Earth, students are helped to segue to a heliocentric view.     

Representation and participation in formulating Nepal’s REDD+ approach

ABSTRACT

REDD+ is an international policy aimed at incentivizing forest conservation and management and improving forest governance. In this article, we interrogate how newly articulated REDD+ governance processes established to guide the formulation of Nepal’s REDD+ approach address issues of participation for different social groups. Specifically, we analyse available forums of participation for different social groups, as well as the nature of their representation and degree of participation during the country’s REDD+ preparedness phase. We find that spaces for participation and decision-making in REDD+ have been to date defined and dominated by government actors and influential civil society groups, whereas the influence of other actors, particularly marginalized groups such as Dalits and women’s organizations, have remained limited. REDD+ has also resulted in a reduction of influence for some hitherto powerful actors (e.g. community forestry activists) and constrained their critical voice. These governance weaknesses related to misrepresentation and uneven power relations in Nepal cast doubt on the extent to which procedural justice has been promoted through REDD+ and imply that implementation may, as a consequence, lack the required social legitimacy and support. We discuss possible ways to address these shortcomings, such as granting greater prominence to neglected civil society forums within the REDD+ process, allowing for an increase in their influence on policy design, enhancing capacity and leadership of marginalized groups and institutionalizing participation through continued forest governance reform.

Key policy insights

• Participation is a critical asset in public policy design.

• Ensuring wide and meaningful participation can enhance policy legitimacy and thus its endorsement and potential effective implementation.

• Fostering inclusive processes through dedicated forums such as multi-stakeholder groups can help overcome power dynamics.

• While REDD+ is open to participation by different actors through a variety of formal means, many countries lack a clear framework for participation in national policy processes.

• Nepal’s experience with representation and participation of non-state actors in its REDD+ preparedness programme provides useful insights for similar social and policy contexts.

     

三维动态交互式可视化模型——-地理信息系统中的三维表示与分析

针对当前计算机图形技术的发展和GIS多专业应用需求的特点,本文以吉奥之星(Geostar)地理信息系统平台为例,研究了在当前二维系统中如何考虑三维或者2.5维表面表示与分析的问题。提出了集成数字高程模型(DEM)、数字正射影像、常规的矢量数据和各种属性信息在一起,建立一体化的三维数据输入、操作与可视化机制,并在此基础上提出了二维与三维混合表示的空间查询与分析模型。该模型扩展了可视化概念,将可视化技术贯穿于整个GIS运行过程。     

Cardboard monuments: City, language and 'nation' in contemporary Telugu cinema

This paper looks at how the city of Hyderabad, the capital of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and production centre of the Telugu film industry, has been represented in recent popular cinema. It outlines the history of a new mode of representing the city in Telugu cinema and argues that its significance lies in the tendency to delocalize the city. Criminalization of the city's older inhabitants, who are marked by either religion (Islam) or their 'non-standard' dialect of Telugu, often accompanies this move. In the process, any claims that they might have on the city are delegitimized. Okkadu, a major commercial hit, restaged the country versus city dichotomy and the antagonisms complicated by cultural and political tensions between the three constituent regions of Andhra Pradesh. This film follows the late 1990s trend in the film industry to recreate entire cityscapes within the studio, ensuring that location shooting in busy city streets and neighbourhoods merely returns us to the grandeur of lavish and 'realistic' studio sets. It reconstructs Hyderabad's most recognizable monument, the 400-year-old Charminar, in addition to its obviously imaginary residential neighbourhood. This paper looks at how and why the city of Hyderabad, especially its older parts, for which Charminar is a metonym, is rendered into a fantasy space in the film.     

A formal framework for the representation of stack-based terrains

This paper presents a formal framework for the representation of three-dimensional geospatial data and the definition of common geographic information system (GIS) spatial operations. We use the compact stack-based representation of terrains (SBRT) in order to model geological volumetric data, both at the surface and subsurface levels, thus preventing the large storage requirements of regular voxel models. The main contribution of this paper is fitting the SBRT into the geo-atom theory in a seamless way, providing it with a sound formal geographic foundation. In addition we have defined a set of common spatial operations on this representation using the tools provided by map algebra. More complex geoprocessing operations or geophysical simulations using the SBRT as representation can be implemented as a composition of these fundamental operations. Finally a data model and an implementation extending the coverage concept provided by the Geography Markup Language standard are suggested. Geoscientists and GIS professionals can take advantage of this model to exchange and reuse geoinformation within a well-specified framework.     

基于机器学习的南京市旅游地个性及其文化景观表征

旅游地具有物质和精神双重属性。鉴于旅游地精神属性在量化表达和测量方面的困难,以往旅游地研究较少涉及。旅游地个性概念的提出为旅游地精神属性研究打开了思路。由于开展时间不长,当前旅游地个性研究大多基于营销学中的品牌个性研究思路展开,缺乏对地方适用性的考量,且尚未深入到对个性表征形式及表征机制的探讨。基于此,从地理学视角出发,选取城市旅游地作为研究对象,着眼地方特性,系统构建城市旅游地个性量表,在此基础上,开展针对案例地城市南京的个性测量和分析,并以城市文化景观作为表征媒介,深入探究城市旅游地个性的景观表征形式及表征机制。研究发现：城市旅游地个性主要包含态度、气质、性格、能力四大特征;城市文化景观是城市旅游地个性的重要表征媒介,包含现代空间景观、传统空间景观、生态景观、生活景观、社会景观五大维度;以上景观维度及其所辖景观元素在表征城市旅游地个性方面发挥不同作用。研究过程及结论为包括旅游地在内的地方精神属性研究提供了一种概念框架和方法体系,是对精神层面人地关系认识上的丰富。机器学习这一智能化探索型数据分析手段的运用为处理地理学中普遍存在的高维非线性噪声数据提供了有力的方法支撑。     

《军官地图集》的设计特色

本文根据作者参与组织指导《军官地图集》设计与生产的体会,从设计思想、结构模式、内容选题、表示方法、整体协调和制印工艺等方面阐述《军官地图集》的设计特色,通过对这一典型作品的剖析,探讨地图集设计与生产的基本规律。