Spatial Databases

Cultural Heritage Management of Historical Centers: the Old Town of Rethymno, Crete, Greece

by Sophia Topouzi

Using the Newly‐created ILE DBMS to Better Represent Temporal and Historical GIS Data

by J. B. (Jack) Owens

* Kantabutra, V., Owens, J. B., Ames, D. P., Burns, C. N., and Stephenson, B. (2010). “Using the Newly-created ILE DBMS to Better Represent Temporal and Historical GIS Data.” Transactions in GIS 14, s1: 39-58; doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9671.2010.01222.x.

This article introduces a type of DBMS called the Intentionally-Linked Entities (ILE) DBMS for use as the basis for... more This article introduces a type of DBMS called the Intentionally-Linked Entities (ILE) DBMS for use as the basis for temporal and historical Geographical Information Systems. ILE represents each entity in a database only once, thereby mostly eliminating
redundancy and fragmentation, two major problems in Relational and other database systems. These advantages of ILE are realized by using relationship objects and pointers to implement all of the relationships among data entities in a native fashion using dynamically-allocated linked data structures. ILE can be considered to be a modern and extended implementation of the E/R data model. ILE also facilitates storage of things that are more faithful to the historical records, such as gazetteer entries of places with imprecisely known or unknown locations. This is difficult in Relational database systems but is a routine task using ILE because ILE is implemented using modern memory allocation techniques. We use the China Historical GIS (CHGIS) and other databases to illustrate the advantages of ILE. This is accomplished by modeling these databases in ILE and comparing them to the existing Relational implementations.

A new method for representing and translating the semantics of hetrogenous spatial databases

by Kristin Stock

Stock, K. (2000). A New Method for Representing, Integrating and Translating the Semantics of Heterogeneous Spatial Databases. PhD Thesis. Queensland University of Technology.

Many real world problems are best solved using data that does not coincide with organisational boundaries. Data is... more Many real world problems are best solved using data that does not coincide with organisational boundaries. Data is usually stored in organisational databases, and optimal use of this data requires that the databases be integrated. However,
heterogeneity often confounds database integration efforts. Semantic heterogeneity causes particular difficulties, because different users interpret the world in different ways. Spatial data is especially heterogeneous, because users have widely varying
backgrounds, resulting in large differences in interpretation.
Data sharing between semantically heterogeneous databases requires that semantically equivalent elements from the databases be matched. The Inclusion Rules Method is a new method for equivalence determination that addresses the
limitations of current methods by proposing a new approach to the representation of semantics. The Method represents semantics in a way that reduces reliance on natural language, and allows the complex differences between the semantics of
different individuals to be identified.

The Inclusion Rules Method has its basis in cognitive science and linguistics theories of semantics. These theories show that individuals interpret the world using cognitive models. Cognitive models are made up of concepts, or categories which in
turn are made up of rules that dictate whether a real world entity is an example of a concept. Rules are made up of dimensions and properties. Dimensions are drawn from a primitive set of characteristics that individuals use to classify real world
entities.

The Inclusion Rules Method is primarily a Method for representing the semantics of database schema elements and then using the representation to determine the equivalence of those elements. However, the Method also contains a number of
other stages, including integrating and translating between schemas, deriving the semantics of new integrated schema elements and populating the translated or integrated schema. The semantic representation of the schema elements is used
during each stage to aid in the process. In this way, the Inclusion Rules Method can be used to integrate or translate between semantically heterogeneous databases.

WPŁYW GENERALIZACJI OBIEKTÓW NA OPTYMALIZACJĘ ZAPYTAŃ W BAZACH DANYCH PRZESTRZENNYCH1

by Artur Krawczyk

L'aplicació de tecnologies SGBD, SIG i GPS en la planificació de les prospeccions

by GIAP Landscape Archaeology Research Group

Orengo, H.A.; Abela, J.; Prevosti, M. & de Soto, P. 2010. ‘3.2 L’aplicació de tecnologies SGBD, SIG i GPS en la planificació de les prospeccions’ in M. Prevosti & J. Guitart (dirs.) Ager Tarraconensis 2. El poblament / The population. Tarragona, Institut d’Estudis Catalans / ICAC: 112-116.

Integración de tecnologías SGDB, SIG y GPS en la planificación y desarrollo de las prospecciones del Ager Tarraconensis

by GIAP Landscape Archaeology Research Group

Prevosti, M.; Orengo, H.A.; de Soto, P. & Abela, J. 2011. ‘Integración de tecnologías SGDB, SIG y GPS en la planificación, desarrollo y análisis de las prospecciones intensivas del ager tarraconensis’ in V. Mayoral & S. Celestino (Eds.) Tecnologías de Información Geográfica y análisis arqueológico del territorio, Anejos del Archivo Español de Arqueología, LIX: 59-66.

TerraLib: An open source GIS library for large-scale environmental and socio-economic applications

by Gilberto Camara

Reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene Palaeogeography of Qatar using Remotely Sensed Datasets, and the implications for the integration of such data into the National Monument Record for Qatar

by Richard Cuttler

Beardmore, R., Cuttler, R., Ramsey, E., Kallweit, H, Al-Naimi, F., A. and Fitch, S.  2010

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies.  Vol. 40

During the course of 2008 and 2009 the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) and the VISTA Centre at Birmingham University... more During the course of 2008 and 2009 the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) and the VISTA Centre at Birmingham University collaborated together on a project to analyse remotely sensed data in both the marine and terrestrial areas of Qatar. This was with a view to identifying not only archaeological sites, but also deposits that would provide information about changes in the environment during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The interpreted data from this was subject to ground truthing and accessed via a GIS platform. At the same time the QMA were considering the development of an Historic Environment Record in order to be able to effectively manage archaeological sites within Qatar and enable the Department of Antiquities to maintain effective digital records of sites as required by Article 4 of Qatar's 'Law No. 2 of 1980 on Antiquities'.

A method for detecting geographical cinema circuits using Markov Chains

by Deb Verhoeven

Co-authored with Colin Arrowsmith and Alwyn Davidson. Conference Paper.

Recent advances in geographical technologies provide mechanisms for remapping cinema and providing new ways of... more Recent advances in geographical technologies provide mechanisms for remapping cinema and providing new ways of examining past histories. A new research project that investigates the application of spatial information science to cinema and film studies is currently underway. Cinema venues exist in geographic space, and draw their audiences from geographic locations. The project seeks to draw together some of the social and cultural changes that have occurred in Australia
since the introduction of television in 1956.

This paper presents a smaller earlier case study that has investigated the Greek cinema circuit in Australia that operated during the period from 1949 to 1960; a period of significant Greek immigration into Australian cities and one of change
brought on by changes in the film industry. The case study investigates the geographical movement of Greek film from one venue to the next. Results from this study enable statistically significant movement patterns in the Greek cinema
circuit to be identified. These patterns can then be examined by film researchers as a mechanism for extracting information relating to latent relationships between film producers and venue operators, patterns that have been to date largely noted
as hearsay.

The case study demonstrates the spatial and temporal aspects relating to microhistorical studies in general, and to that of the diasporic Greek cinema circuit, in particular. Additionally, this research clearly shows the need for, and application of, multi-disciplinary research.

Spatial Analysis of the Effect of Absenteeism on Education Quality in Maynas, Peru

by Nate J Engler

Masters Thesis, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

This thesis examines the effect of absenteeism on education quality for primary-aged public school students in the... more This thesis examines the effect of absenteeism on education quality for primary-aged public school students in the Department of Loreto, Province of Maynas, situated in the Amazonian region of northeastern Peru. It also examines the underlying reasons for absenteeism, with a focus on the contribution of childhood morbidity and socio-economic and environmental context to absenteeism, using both genderand grade-based analyses of student level absenteeism data collected from a sample of schools in the study area. A five component model with multiple individual indicators measuring each component of education systems defines the concept of education quality as it relates to the analysis in the thesis. The model has been demonstrated in previous research to be effective in explaining variations in education quality in Peru and elsewhere. However, the model has not been applied to this important yet underresearched area of education assessment, namely student absenteeism (at the student and school level) and its effect on education quality. In addition, spatial variations in absenteeism, based on the geographic distribution of the schools over the study area, are evaluated. This analysis allows spatial regularities or spatial randomness to be established for both absenteeism and education quality in the study area. Identifying spatial clustering of public primary schools where a high rate of student absenteeism contributes significantly to explaining overall low levels of education quality can provide education policy planners and decision-makers with insights into causal processes that need to be addressed through planned interventions in the education system.

The internet, spatial data globalization, and data use: The case of Tibet

by Nate J Engler

Co-authored with G. Brent Hall

One of the fastest growing forms of downloadable Internet-based data involves digital map layers that contain spatial... more One of the fastest growing forms of downloadable Internet-based data involves digital map layers that contain spatial features suitable for analysis with a geographic information system (GIS). The availability of networked spatial data has fostered tremendous growth in the importance and use of location-based services, and it is now commonplace to find a wide variety of map-based applications and data sets on the Internet for unrestricted download.Despite the rapid growth in spatial data resources, there has been scant attention paid to their currentness, lineage, locational accuracy,completeness, and overall usefulness. This article discusses the quality of Internet spatial data by taking an extreme case to evaluate both the availability and the usefulness of spatial data posted
on publicly accessible Web sites. The case study examined is Tibet, which is selected purposively because it lies at or beyond the fringes of the network society. The issue examined concerns the rehabilitation potential of locatable Buddhist monasteries. In undertaking this assessment, the efficacy of the current Internet as a source of useful spatial data is brought into question.

Graph-Based Knowledge Representation for GIS Data

by David Sol

David Sol davidr.sol@gmail.com
Manuel Pech manuel.pech.palacio@gmail.com

This paper presents a proposal to create a graph representation for GIS, using both spatial and non-spatial data and... more This paper presents a proposal to create a graph representation for GIS, using both spatial and non-spatial data and also including spatial relations between spatial objects. Because graphs are a powerful and flexible knowledge representation we will be able to combine spatial and non-spatial data at the same time and this is one of the strengths of the proposal. We hope to apply this knowledge representation to the data mining process with GIS data including three types of spatial relations: topological, orientation and distance.

Mapping Domesday Book using GIS

by Andrew Lowerre

English Heritage Research News 8 (2008), 3–7