This dissertation looks specifically at the
reintroduction of Corporate (Enterprise) GIS. The paper looks
at second attempts at introducing Corporate GIS and if, how and
why they differ from preceding attempts. The paper focuses on
the reintroduction of GIS as a technology, as opposed to the introduction.
Many organisations and companies have introduced large-scale GIS
– the larger the organisation the more complex introduction
can be.
The primary focus is via the author’s
own experiences gleaned during employment at Leeds City Council
(LCC) 2001-2005. LCC’s initial GIS developments occurred
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the mid-1990s, after a period
of consultation and study, LCC embarked on its first definitive
attempt at a truly corporate GIS. This initial attempt - Phase
1 - took longer than anticipated and finally went ‘live’
with the last of the project deliverables in 2002. In 2002, after
a period of external consultancy LCC embarked on Phase 2 of its
Corporate GIS strategy. Due to the nature of Phase 1 and the difficulties
that beset it, Phase 2 was not a natural follow-on to Phase 1
but was, in essence, a second attempt at Corporate GIS.
Within the context of LCC the author looks at
the issues surrounding re-introducing GIS, via Phase 2 and the
differences from Phase 1 – what is different this time around?
Were any lessons learned? Is the second attempt any closer to
delivering Corporate GIS? Is the delivery of Corporate GIS actually
truly feasible in the context of LCC? The approach of this dissertation
is that it will be a piece of research into changes in social
and management attitudes towards large-scale GIS project implementation,
showing how attitudes to implementation have altered over time.
Data will be collated using social science research methods and
collection techniques.
Academically there is a wealth of literature
that points towards challenges in the introduction and delivery
of large and complex information systems (IS). However there does
appear to be a lack of literature regarding re-introduction of
such systems. This paper will show, through evidence from LCC
and wider studies, that the scenario of re-introduction is an
emerging problem, as authorities and institutions attempt to implement
increasingly complex systems within contemporaneous timeframes.
ESRI’s 2005 User Conference website, in
a definition of Enterprise GIS states:
“There is not a single enterprise GIS
model that is right for everyone. The more complex the organisation,
the greater the consideration that must be given to the optimal
architecture, procedures, and governance processes”.
Maybe the best summary of the potential issues
can be inferred through the Horry County (Oliver) submitted at
the Conference, which stated:
“…for every entity “enterprise”
represents something different…the vision to accomplish
it will take different paths…”
One thing is for sure; maybe Enterprise GIS
would represent something far more consistent and people and organisations
would take the same or similar paths, if published literature
were more reflective of the true complexity of implementation.
Not every attempt at delivering Corporate GIS is a comparative
success or a ‘bed of roses’ as this paper will show,
though one could be forgiven for assuming that when perusing case
studies in academic and industry publications.
Monitoring wildlife and their habitats is key
to developing sound techniques and strategies for the conservation
of biodiversity. But the cost of data collection is high and due
to the limitation of resources and scientists and field biologists
to collect wildlife/environment data at various sites and at regular
intervals.
In recent years, in Kenya and other developing
countries, community game scouts or rangers are being engaged
in the process of both protecting their land and the resources
therein and also monitoring and tracking changes in their environment
(Lewis, 1995). In Kenya, over 70% of our wildlife is in this community
owned rangelands (Norton-Griffiths, 1998) where there are insufficient
government personnel or conservation fraternity to collect regular
data/information and undertake effective conservation programmes.
However due to the vastness of the land, the migratory nature
of most of Africa's main ungulates, and the limited means of the
scouts who undertake patrols and monitoring exercises on foot
or bicycles, it is necessary that the designing of sampling techniques
focuses on what would give 'maximum returns' enabling the scouts
to concentrate on areas of biological importance, covering areas
with critical habitats and greater wildlife representation. By
integrating the use of remote sensing and GIS together with information
on other biodiversity such as wildlife, it is possible to better
and faster, focus the research agenda and create opportunities
to engage local community scouts in the effective monitoring of
their rangelands, in a simplified manner.
The use and integration of remote sensing data
from Landsat ETM+ and wildlife rangeland data together with the
relief of the landscape provides useful information that can form
the basis for designing ecological monitoring programs to be implemented
by community scouts. Combining this with local spatial knowledge
and sketch mapping makes effective monitoring of wildlife and
the land resources on community rangelands possible in an easily
understandable and replicable manner.
The European Noise Directive 2002/49/EC adopted
in June 2002 requires member states to assess and manage environmental
noise, with the aim of providing a basis for tackling noise problems
across the European Union (EU). Competent authorities within those
member states are required to draw up strategic noise maps for
roads, railways and airports at agglomeration level. The Directive
also sets down the reporting criteria in terms of population exposure,
and requires the accuracy of those population returns to be within
prescribed limits.
When modelling or mapping noise, the most significant
contribution in most urban environments is from road traffic.
To be able to model sources of noise with confidence, high-resolution
accurate input data must be available. In the UK, road traffic
data has historically been gathered for transport modelling and
only in recent years has this data had a limited spatial component.
As these data are now being used in noise mapping, their fitness
for purpose needed to be evaluated.
This thesis assesses the spatial fitness for
purpose of one such data product, known as PRISM (Policy Responsive
Integrated Strategy Model). The assessment is made by comparison
of noise models and maps produced using that data, by way of contrast
to OS ITN (Integrated Transport Network) data that is taken to
be the spatial standard. This study uses various GIS and database
techniques to assess the degree of difference between the two
data and to forecast the likely impact of those differences on
the noise maps. To validate any findings, the noise maps produced
from both data were used to determine population exposure.
Comparing population exposures using the two
data has established that if the PRISM data were to be used without
modification, significant errors in population exposure would
not have been reported, and therefore PRISM data as supplied is
not fit for the purpose.
The aim of this research is to evaluate the
use of Geographical Information Systems as a decision support
tool for the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the local authority
minerals plans for County Kildare, Ireland.
The SEA Directive (2002/42/EC) has been adopted
into Irish law, and it is now a requirement to undertake a SEA
of all national, regional and county development plans. SEAs have
been undertaken for policies, plans or programmes in Ireland,
with varying degrees of enthusiasm and success. As with all new
procedures, it will take time for the Directive to be implemented
to its intended degree, and for planning authorities to recognise
the benefits of undertaking an SEA.
No SEA has been undertaken for minerals plans
in the current Kildare County Development Plan (2006-2011). No
baseline environmental asset and mineral resource map has been
developed for use as a tool in the SEA of the minerals plan, despite
it being an objective of the plan to identify mineral resources
and protect them against competing land uses.
The SEA undertaken here for the minerals plans
in County Kildare followed the requirements as set out in the
SEA Directive (2001/42/EC). The SEA comprised the compilation
of relevant baseline data, the assessment of alternatives, the
prediction of the impact of the alternatives on key environmental
assets, the evaluation of the nature of the impacts, the selection
of a preferred alternative, mitigation measures, implementation
and monitoring, the effects of othe plans and an SEA statement.
Four scenarios, or alternatives, were considered
in the SEA and were compared using a Multi-criteria Analysis (MCA)
to assess the impact of each scenario on the key environmental
assets. The results of the MCA indicated that Alternative 4, the
use of existing mineral resources at existing sites combined with
the development of new resources at green field sites as the resources
at existing sites were completely worked out. This is the preferred
scenario as it had the least environmental impact of the alternatives.
The adoption of the preferred scenario resulted in a revision
of the minerals plans to reduce the environmental impact of the
plans and to make them more sustainable. The revised minerals
plan was achieved through a clear, structured and transparent
SEA process, each step of which is open to independent interrogation.
The SEA process is only one tool in the decision
making process, its finding are to assist and steer decisions
relating to policies, plans or programmes, within the SEA process
GIS is only one, of many, tools which can be used in the assessment
process.
There are numerous ways in which GIS may be
used as a decision support tool in an SEA process, and as with
the SEA process. GIS methodologies used will depend on the nature
and extent of the policy, plan or programme being assessed.
The use of GIS in the SEA of the minerals plans
in County Kildare has shown that it is an effective tool for presenting
and explaining baseline data, predicting future baseline conditions
and scenarios, and undertaking the spatial analysis of environmental
assets and sand & gravel deposits to identify areas of key
reserves. Spatial data and its compilation and spatial analysis,
is a key aspect of the SEA of minerals plans; GIS is shown here
to be a clear, efficient and cost effective tool for using such
data in the SEA process.
GIS has been used to undertake a spatial analysis
of the environmental assets and the mineral resources to indicate
possible areas of mineral resources in the county which should
be protected from competing land use in order to ensure the continued
supply of aggregates to meet demand which is an objective of the
minerals plan.
The SEA of the minerals plans for County Kildare
can be undertaken for other local authority, and regional authority,
plans elsewhere in the RoI using the SEA methodology and GIS methodology
outlined here as a template.
Comprehensive Disaster Management in the Caribbean
has largely focused on emergency response with little emphasis
on natural hazard prevention and mitigation. The Caribbean is
however increasingly beset by natural hazards and as such effective
Disaster Management must undergo a paradigm shift towards addressing
vulnerability. The disaster management practice in the Caribbean
suggests that ‘disaster managers’ are less exposed
to GIS technology and data, which has seriously limited their
intervention. Considering these limitations and the potentialities
of GIS it is proposed that the Comprehensive Disaster
Management policy in the Caribbean will significantly benefit
from the integration
of GIS.
The research looks at the status of disaster
management in the region and outlines the comprehensive disaster
management approach. It looks at the role of GIS as a central
tool in disaster management and provides information on the GIS
readiness of disaster offices across the region. A regional disaster
management node of a spatial data infrastructure is proposed as
mechanism to better manage the geospatial data related to disaster
management in the region. The institutional, legal and technical
considerations of such an initiative are carefully examined. A
matrix of proposed disaster management applications is presented.
The research proceeds to present guidelines for the implementation
of this portal. It concludes by summarizing the key issues and
making recommendations.
Locusts compete with humans for plant resources
all over the world. Therefore locusts in Africa, Asia, Australia,
and North America are the subject of a long history of intensive
research and control programs. Locusts as natural hazards and
most human-generated hazards do not recognize political boundaries,
yet policy must be generated in order to mitigate effectively
against locust disaster, manage rescue and response operations,
or organize and deliver relief, and this policy is usually administered
within politically defined boundaries. Geographic information
and the systems within which it is collected and managed have
particular utility in modeling and analysis, which transcend political
boundaries while providing the necessary structure for assisting
the implementation of policy within administrative areas and mapping
potential desert locust breeding areas using remote sensing techniques,
so that appropriate ground control measures can be undertaken
at the right time before swarming begins, and at the right locations
to maximize effectiveness and minimize environmental effects on
other areas, by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methods
including mapping the distribution of vegetation and soil types
which are characteristic for desert locust biotopes, and correlate
this information with field reports to produce a base map and
including the development of a mobile communications system linked
to satellites in order to relay the most recent satellite earth
observation and meteorological data to field staff which meteorological
data are used for determining the biotopes for the immediate season.
A GIS-based proposed decision support system
will be used to co-ordinate the collection, processing and display
of a range of spatial data to forecast locust population development
and to assist operations. The forecasts are used to help locate
population aggregations early in a breeding sequence to enable
effective preventive control. The data collection components of
the proposed decision support system include wireless direct transfer
of locust survey data from the field, and daily internet collections
of weather data. Locust distribution and age information will
be collected by locust commission officers on regular vehicle
surveys using GPS-connected palmtop computers and sent directly
to a GIS server via high frequency (HF) radio modems. Locust reports
from landholders and state extension staff will be also incorporated
into the system. The current survey data will be used to estimate
broad distributions and, together with location-specific weather
data, to seed locust development models to identify the timing
of life stages where management is possible. Information on the
distribution of rainfall, temperature and wind-fields will be
collected automatically from the internet and integrated with
habitat information and locust distributions. Online weather data
products from the bureaus of meteorology will be also accessed
regularly to assist in operational decision making.
The study mapped spatially associated risk factors
(unsafe water sources) distribution of Guinea worm, in an endemic
county of approximately 30,000 people, and analyzed for evidence
of clustering of cases over a 6-year period. An association between
distance to water source and active disease was demonstrated,
although this was reduced after some samples showed no relation
in prevalence and water source. Significant clustering of guinea
worm within households was evident, adding support to the hypothesized
importance of centralized water source infections. Getis K-function
statistic was used for analysis of spatial distribution of guinea
worm and evidence of clustering of guinea cases detected at higher
distances. Understanding the distribution of the disease has implications
for understanding the dynamics of transmission and therefore appropriate
control activities. The demonstrated spatial clustering suggests
guinea worm prevalence has local infection dynamics that allow
for more focused control. The association between guinea worm
disease, and geographical information system (GIS) measured distance
to water may be relevant for planning control measures.
The impact of diseases on developing countries
can have a devastating effect upon economies as the effects of
disease, depending upon the nature of the disease, sweep swiftly
through communities eliminating the most vulnerable and productive
working individuals. It is imperative that technologies be employed
that will assist in the early detection and mitigation of diseases
that ultimately impact negatively on the community. GIS is one
such technology, and possesses spatial analysis components embedded
within the software that can assist in this fight.
The dissertations, which discusses the use of
GIS in Public Health as a technology for managing disease in small
island states, focuses on the democratic island state of Barbados
and examines the disease Dengue, which is endemic to the Caribbean
region. The research proceeds to examine the approach by the Public
Health System of Barbados to manage and possibly mitigate the
existence of the dengue disease. Small island states such as Barbados
are indeed slow to implement technologies such as GIS within it’s
Public Health System, yet the benefits to areas of vector control
are without doubt unquestionable. The potential of GIS as a spatial
analyzer of the disease Dengue is examined and demonstrates unequivocally
its use within the Public Health System of Barbados.
The spatial modeling capacity offered by GIS
therefore permits analysis of the data associated with the three(3)
catchment areas Maurice Byer Polyclinic, Winston Scott Polyclinic
and Warrens Polyclinic with the intention of determining whether
there is an
association with location and the occurrence of the disease.
The dissertation concludes with the provision
of a solution for the deployment of this technology in the island,
and examines a sociotechnical approach to the implementation of
the technology through the utilization of diagrams such a RICH
Picture and Conceptual Model. These and similar concepts are thought
to assist in derivation of a solution that utilizes the benefits
of the organization, whilst seeking to improve the areas which
seem not to contribute to the organization achieving its goal.
The ‘UK online strategy’ (2000)
has seen much pressure on Local Authorities from Central Government.
Much emphasis has been place in the use of electronic technology
in order to improve service deliver and efficiency for every citizen.
The increase in digital technology usage and online service delivery
has seen Geographical Information Systems used extensively as
a tool for disseminating varied types of data, performing a major
function in service delivery, which has resulted in the creation
of vase amounts of GIS data and information. The problem for a
Local Authority , such as Herefordshire Council, is the process
of data management and knowing; whether the data is the correct
master copy, its location and who has created it etc. This process
is generally supported by the use of metadata and a search facility
to ensure maximum business efficiency is maintained. The aim of
the research was to establish if the introduction, implementation
and adoption could increase business efficiency and reduce costs
for a local authority, with special focus on Herefordshire Council.
The methodology adopted in this research included
a case study and surveys. It was clear from surveys, interviews
and tests carried out, that serious concern for data management
issues must be made for the UK online strategy to be successful.
Detailed analysis of the Herefordshire Council environment has
highlighted a wide array of problems facing the requirement for
successful efficiency in management and GIS data usage. Some of
these were cost in locating, loss of value when personnel left
authority, duplication of effort and efficiency in situation management.
This paper agrees with other commentators that
for metadata to be successful certain implementation and adoption
techniques need to be considered for the benefits, business efficiency
and cost savings to be seen. For adoption of new technologies
such as the GIS metadata it has to be a cultural philosophy that
technologies are beneficial in an organisation. If the government’s
target for electronic service delivery, is to be accomplished,
local authorities need to start creating and managing the metadata
resource, as well as the creation of a culture to support its
maintenance and usage. The technology is there to deliver electronically
but human endeavour is going to be the prevailing factor in the
metadata success. The research paper concludes with a metadata
model that addresses the fundamental issues of implementing adopting
and using metadata in local authorities from pre-requisites, initial
creation to final go live.
This dissertation attempts to answer the question
why some GIS projects fail and others succeed. The examination
of maturity models and structured methods is an important component
in evaluating project success. A set of three hypotheses was created
to apply focus to the nature or success or failures in the GIS
industry. A survey was created that was used to collect data from
GIS organizations in the United States. This survey collected
data about the respondent’s organizations, the success of
projects, the type of projects undertaken, and the general attributes
of the respondents. Through a set of questions, the survey produced
an approximation of the organizations’ maturity. An analysis
of the project management maturity of the respondents’ organization
was useful in drawing inferences about project success and the
nature of the respondents’ organization. The results of
the survey indicated that there is a relationship between the
project management maturity of an organization and GIS project
success.
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