International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission)
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Data Harmonisation Put into Practice by the HUMBOLDT Project
Get PDFData harmonisation is a key prerequisite for an efficient and meaningful combination of heterogeneous information in cross-border applications and spatial data infrastructures. This is also the main objective of the INSPIRE Directive which has entered its implementation phase. Data Specifications for INSPIRE Annex I data themes have been published containing harmonised, pan-European data models and a number of other requirements. Data providers across Europe face the challenge of transforming their legacy data to comply with these Data Specifications. This paper presents results of the European project HUMBOLDT. Data harmonisation requirements identified in nine scenarios covering a wide range of application domains and using heterogeneous data from a number of European countries are illustrated. Processes required to achieve data harmonisation are described from an application point of view. The open-source software framework for data harmonisation and services integration developed in the project is introduced and its use in two application scenarios is demonstrated
Spatial Data Infrastructure for Malaysia Land Administration
No full textLand administration started with a manual land tax collection and subsequently moved towards computerised system to improve the land information delivery services. However, three factors in non-technical integration issues (institutional, legalisation and social) have turned out to be the main problems for land administration stakeholders especially at national level for multi-government countries. The implementation of Spatial Data Infrastructures can reduce non-technical integration issues among land administration stakeholders to produce better decisions for a spatially enabled government. The result from this research could act as a guideline for the making of policy, strategy and management for land information delivery services for multi-government country (federal, state and local). This research will be useful for land administrators, land strategy management decision makers and multi-land researchers in land ownership, land use and land value fields
Harmonising Dutch National Geodata Conform To INSPIRE Using Combined Transformation
Get PDFThis paper addresses schema and coordinate transformations together with INSPIRE-compliant data delivery of Dutch national geodata using Combined Transformation (CT). This transformation approach, originating from the ESDIN Best Practices project (Lehto et al., 2009), combines both offline and on-the-fly transformation. Dutch national data sets for addresses and cadastral parcels were successfully transformed into INSPIRE data models. A Web Feature Service (WFS) and a Web Mapping Service (WMS) were developed as data delivery services. This research was performed using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) within the Netherlands Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency
Spatial Data Management of Temporal Map Series for Cultural and Environmental Heritage
Get PDFThis research focuses on the exploitation of real-time navigation of territory over time. This allows one to extract and compare multi-scale maps in order to verify spatial data management potentials of temporal map series. This paper discusses contributions to the knowledge, conservation, valorisation, awareness rising, and divulgence of cultural and environmental heritage at both regional and urban levels. The main aim is to promote the progressive involvement of historic maps within the planning processes, from the analysis to the governmental plan of addressing the territory, through sustainability projects and interventions. In addition, the systematic collection of temporal map series comparisons should contribute to a better knowledge of complex environmental sites of inland water basins and of the landscape in general, as well as of historic sites. In the former case, they could support the development of hydro-morphologic models and hydro-geologic risk analysis. In the latter, they could be integrated into conservation, restoration, and redevelopment projects. To fulfil these aims and to support a progressive adoption by different actors at a sustainable cost, an open-source geo-portal was developed following the geospatial community standards defined by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and compliant with concepts of user-defined Web services. This is hosted by the Web platform available at www.atlantestoricolombardia.it (‘Atl@nte dei Catasti Storici e delle carte Topografiche della Lombardia’ - Atlas of historical cadastres and topographic maps of Lombardy) that is an ongoing project that aims to build up, collect, and manage historic georeferenced cadastral and current topographic maps of this region. In particular, some sets of maps covering areas along artificial and natural water axes are now accessible through an online geo-portal. These maps date back to the late 18th and 19th centuries. Cultural and environmental heritage needs to be analyzed using a case-by-case methodology. With regard to INSPIRE directive, these categories are supported by the ‘protected sites’ theme. The paper addresses the need for shared and standard approaches that need to be considered by the geospatial data community
Finding the Essence in Geographic Statistics – Promoting Informed Decision Making
Get PDFAbstract
Official statistics have great potential to generate knowledge and serve as basis for decisions taken by many actors in society; however, the potential is grossly under-utilised because many people do not know about statistics, do not care about them and do not understand them.
This paper highlights an innovative tool for exploring geographic statistics, which has been developed by the University of Linköping, Sweden. The paper demonstrates how the tool has been implemented in Denmark as a powerful enabler to different categories of users of statistics, who wish to understand the geographic dimension of societal phenomena and find the facts hidden in the data. The scope of the tool spans from leading edge regional researchers, through local and regional planners and news media, to the general public, e.g. citizens who want to understand what goes on in their community. Consequently, the tool allows for many different ways of presenting itself and the data, and it is applied to many different levels of geographical detail.
It will be demonstrated how eXplorer can be used by an advanced user to explore geographic statistics, uncover hidden structures and relationships in the statistics; how an analyst can present her findings and stories to a broad audience; and how users “from the outside” can insert their own data in the tool, investigate new theories and communicate them to colleagues
Spatial Data Infrastructuring: praxis between dilemmas
Get PDFThe paper argues that SDI development can best be considered as context-dependent praxis more than as technological artefact if SDI is to facilitate deliberation and learning in public governance. Because of the many different and often conflicting perspectives, interests and other values that are involved in SDI development, this inevitably causes paradoxes and dilemmas in its development and operation. Therefore, the paper also proposed transdisciplinary framing of praxis in SDI development. But transdisciplinarity presents its own ethical challenges. The different perspectives on the SDI phenomenon must be given “equal right” to co-exist. Moreover, transdisciplinarity is not particularly supported by contemporary academic praxis. Therefore, aspiring transdisciplinary SDI researchers are confronted with tough, value-rational choices in balancing academic ideals and career advancements. Finally, the paper suggests that praxis-focused SDI research is prudent and practical common sense and could benefit from ethnographic methods
Capacity building for SDI Implementation – A Danish Case Study
No full textSpatial Data Infrastructures have gained increasing awareness not only among researhers but also among executive level managers and politicians. Thus a well functioning spatial data infrastructure is seen as an important element in e-Government and online self-service systems. The adoption of the INSPIRE Directive has put spatial data infrastructure on the agendas of the parliaments around Europe and in many cases combined with national e-Government strategies. Although different approaches will prevail around Europe there is a need to assess the strategies in order to identify efficient solutions on common problems – often entitled best practices. The aim of the current paper has been to analyse the Danish approaches to SDI implementation, identifying innovative solutions as well as bottlenecks. Based on the research the paper ends up with some recommendations for SDI implementation in a collaborative environment
A multilingual/multicultural semantic-based approach to improve Data Sharing in a SDI for Nature Conservation
Get PDFThe paper proposes an approach to transcend multicultural and multilingual barriers in the use and reuse of geographical data at the European level. The approach aims at sharing scientific terms in the field of nature conservation with the goal of assisting different user communities with metadata compilation and information discovery. A multi-thesauri solution is proposed, based on a Common Thesaurus Framework for Nature Conservation, where different well-known Knowledge Organization Systems are assembled and shared. It has been designed according to semantic web and W3C recommendations employing SKOS standard models and Linked Data to publish the thesauri as a whole in machine-understandable format. The outcome is a powerful framework satisfying the requirements of modularity and openness for further thesaurus extension and updating, interlinking among thesauri, and exploitability from other systems. The paper supports the employment of Linked Data to deal with terminologies in complex domains such as nature conservation and it proposes a hands-on recipe to publish thesauri in the framework
The Rwanda Metadata Portal: A Web Catalogue Service
Get PDFThe creation of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) is of growing interest in Rwanda. The importance of NSDI in facilitating access to and use of geospatial data to support decision-making is recognised. Numerous government ministries and institutions in Rwanda produce geospatial datasets of different themes. It is challenging to know what datasets exist and how to access them. Since geospatial data is costly to produce, it is expedient to reuse data in different applications. Realizing that geospatial metadata are needed to properly manage and maximize data use, a metadata portal was developed. The aim is to ease the discovery of existing geospatial datasets on Rwanda. This paper describes the procedure utilised in compiling and creating metadata, presents an overview of the portal and discusses challenges faced in its development. The information will be particularly useful for those wanting to establish or already working on metadata in similar less economically developed context as ours
Ghana’s Right to Information Bill: Opportunity for SDI as a Technical Infrastructure
Get PDFInformation is an important resource in the 21st century knowledge-based society. Access to public sector information is being viewed as an important path to strengthening democracy, good governance, public service and sustainable development. Ghana is about to enact a right to information law (now The Right to Information Bill) to provide a legal framework for making public sector information accessible to the public. However, while the legal framework is necessary, it is not sufficient to ensure real access to public sector information by the public. This paper highlights the need for designing policy and institutional frameworks in general and a technical infrastructure in particular for actuating the provisions of the anticipated law. Therefore, the paper assesses the opportunities and imperatives for building SDI, at least, as part of the technical infrastructure for making public sector information discoverable, retrievable and usable to the public. Steps are then proposed for creating the SDI, including building institutional mandate, creating a metadata catalogue, digitalization of analog data/information and the development of plans to strategically manage and enhance the organic growth of the SDI. The paper is significant in that it makes anticipatory contribution to the discourse on the design of policy and institutional frameworks in general; and technical infrastructure in particular to support the implementation of the Right to Information Law in Ghana