Dynamic Point Symbols in Earthquake Mapping

Abstract. Research in geographic information science has not yet found clear answers to the questions of what geographic information is about or what a geographic information system (GIS) contains. This lack of consensus makes it especially challenging to teach and learn GIS. Existing pedagogical approaches either focus on the representational level of data (e.g., “raster and vector”) or are too generic (e.g., “geo-referenced information”). This characterization of GIS and its content is difficult for learners to transfer and apply broadly. As instructors, we approach the challenge of teaching GIS from a conceptual basis. We describe our process to develop a set of core concepts of spatial information, which we use to redesign an undergraduate-level introductory GIS course. Our intervention focuses instruction on the kinds of questions that geographic information enables before training students to produce workflows and answers through system commands. The course redesign complements and informs ongoing research on core concepts of spatial information. Our results demonstrate that GIS courses can deliver more than software training, indicating both theoretical gains and didactic challenges.

Geographic Information System (GIS) skills are increasingly marketable across a wide range of industries, subject areas and specialized fields. As a result, GIS courses draw students from a plethora of disciplines beyond geography, including business, social sciences, agriculture, geology, natural resources and computer science. At advanced teaching levels, this disciplinary diversity generates questions about how complex GIS skills are being taught to students who do not necessarily have a background in geography or the spatial sciences. This study compares undergraduate and graduate course curricula to determine what topics, techniques and theory are being addressed and prioritized in GIS courses across pedagogical levels. We surveyed 1,698 courses being taught at 126 research universities in the United States. Our findings point towards a shift in pedagogy that favours technique- or application-centred lessons at advanced levels that require less background knowledge in geography than more theory-centred teaching methods. Our findings also suggest that a large number of graduate courses, even introductory courses ones, fail to address many fundamental GIS concepts and theories. Together, the results suggest a need for standards to ensure that students enrolled in GIS classes are properly trained to enter the workforce with appropriate skills.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integration into the industrial management is a crucial aspect that has helped in boosting the operational performance and sustainability. The tools offered by GIS technology for spatial data analysis, real time data visualization and informed decision making add to greater efficiency of resource allocation and improved supply chain logistics for the industries. The aim of this paper is to identify the main reasons for the use of GIS in the industrial environments, which include the recent technological advances, the regulatory compliance, and the necessity of the operational efficiency. By illustrating how GIS tools help companies fulfill sustainability goals, including better tracking of environmental impacts, reduction of waste, and of energy, the document identifies industries that are immediately utilizing GIS tools. Additionally, the paper talks about the use of GIS in enabling competitive advantages, minimizing costs and work flow optimization. Real time data collection systems, predictive modeling and automation is studied as a feature of bringing about continuous improvement of industrial practice. Examples of applying the GIS approach to optimization of process in manufacturing, transportation and energy sectors are presented in case studies. It also addresses the challenges of GIS implementation, other than high initial costs and data integration, as the future trends and innovations that will influence the evolution from GIS in industrial management. In this paper, we stress the key role of GIS in making industrial management practices change in a way that provides organizational success in the long term due to increased efficiency and sustainability.

Climate change is intensifying the frequency, severity, and duration of extreme weather events such as heatwaves and wildfires, disproportionately affecting vulnerable urban populations, particularly the elderly. This thesis presents a dual risk assessment focused on populations aged 65 and older in Bologna, Italy, and California, the United States. By integrating environmental, infrastructural, and demographic data, it identifies susceptibilities and proposes data-driven mitigation strategies using Machine Learning (ML). Using wildfire (2014–2021) and heatwave (2014–2023) data at the census tract level, the study develops risk maps under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5. It applies Random Forest (RF) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models to identify high-risk urban areas, advocating for transdisciplinary and equitable urban resilience strategies. The methodology builds upon the risk triangle, hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Hazards include temperature extremes and wildfire intensity. Exposure is assessed through population density in hazard-prone areas. Vulnerability accounts for age, gender, socioeconomic status, health, and built infrastructure. Advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and ML methods enhance the assessment’s scalability and accuracy over traditional approaches. This dissertation documents and evaluates the methodology through a structured three-phase approach: creation, analysis, and application of risk maps. The creation phase uses ML to model spatial and temporal risk dynamics. Case studies in Bologna and California demonstrate the integration of diverse datasets, including meteorological, topographical, and demographic variables. The analysis phase optimizes model performance using GridSearchCV and the Hippopotamus Optimization Algorithm (HOA), validated through confusion matrices, statistical metrics, and ROC curves. In the application phase, risk maps inform urban planning and highlight strategies to protect the elderly. This study develops a data-driven framework for climate risk assessment and mitigation. By merging Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), ML, and urban planning, it promotes healthier, more equitable, and climate-resilient cities.

In the 2018 election, the Democratic Party rode a midterm wave to win a majority in the US House of Representatives. Throughout the campaign and its aftermath, a great deal of attention has been paid to the effects of gerrymandering, sorting, and district boundaries on the outcome of House races. We assess the impact of current district boundaries on electoral outcomes, using actual election results from 2018 alongside those generated by a simulation technique that relies upon advanced geographic information systems (GIS) and principles of graph theory. We find that redistricting practices in Republican-drawn states were at least partially effective in stemming the blue wave, allowing them to hold more seats than we would otherwise expect. Finally, we demonstrate that the insulating properties of Republican redistricting efforts also impacted the makeup of state legislatures, which could impact House redistricting in 2020.

Current geographical information systems (GIS) include functions to create cartographic output interactively or automatically. However, none of the systems presently incorporates mechanisms to ensure correct application of graphic functions. Many of today's users of GIS are not trained in the design and production of graphics and may create maps that confuse or mislead map users. Poorly-designed maps may obliterate the patterns in displayed information. This article investigates ways to improve the quality of GIS graphical displays and increase their effectiveness for decision-making. Alternatives are presented for improving map design in GIS, ranging from non-technical efforts to enhancement of software functionality. Suggestions propose augmenting users' abilities to create maps in an automated environment, using an approach termed amplified intelligence: key decisions default explicitly to users, whose knowledge is amplified by a range of high-level tools to carry out map design operations aut...

This study developed an interview-based critical spatial thinking oral test and used the test to investigate the effects of Geographic Information System (GIS) learning on three components of critical spatial thinking: evaluating data reliability, exercising spatial reasoning, and assessing problem-solving validity. Thirty-two students at a large state university completed pre- and post-tests administered during the 2010 fall semester. This study found positive relationships between GIS learning and critical spatial thinking. We argue that the improvement can be attributed to students' experiences in a GIS course.

The expansion of the aquaculture sector offers important economic opportunities but also presents significant challenges, particularly in disease management and prevention. Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have become essential tools for supporting aquatic animal health activities. However, despite their benefits, GISs are still underutilized, particularly in developing countries. To promote the adoption of GISs among aquaculture professionals, a specialized GIS course was developed to improve the prowess of users, equipping them with geospatial analysis skills aimed at epidemiological surveillance and disease response in aquaculture. This study describes a GIS capacity-building initiative developed under the Aquae Strength project. The training approach focuses on the context-specific use of geospatial data and practical applications, and provides a learning environment that fosters autonomy through hands-on, problem-based learning. The program utilizes the open-source QGIS software version 3.28 and incorporates customized materials and exercises based on real-world aquaculture scenarios. The authors hypothesized that the course, due to its cost-effectiveness and use of open-source software, would be particularly beneficial in low- and middle-income settings. The methodological framework described is explicitly designed for easy replication, allowing aquaculture professionals worldwide to download all the course materials and implement similar GIS capacity-building initiatives. The project was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health and supported by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). It runs from February 2022 to February 2025, with a one-year extension.

Geographic Information System (GIS) on web mapping form is one of new technology in developing web applications for spatial data processing. This system, is capable of  spatial data and attribute data analyzing, thus it makes user easier in using this information system. Nowadays web mapping technology not only used for spatial problems solving, but also for data analyzing. The use of GIS are in the fields of medical, politic, social, electricity, engineering etc. This research was a development of web based GIS for dissemination funding assistance for school operational ( Bantuan Operasional Sekolah = BOS) which this system was made by map server and chameleon for web mapping application. This GIS in dissemination of BOS funds program produces spatial analyzing as dissemination of BOS funding map.

In many geographic objects such as a travel planning, the use of web information is significantly increasing. For an efficient support of such work, it is very important to combine web information with map semantics. Current web systems usually do not support map semantics. Conversely, conventional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) do not utilize the web resources. The purpose of the research is as follows: (1) to get semantics from the web contents to realize advanced GIS functions on geographic web searches, and (2) to develop a user interface which can utilize web contents and map semantics in an effective integrating way. For such a purpose, we construct two map semantics about geographic characteristics and relationships available on the web. Utilizing semantics, we have developed a prototype system, KyotoSEARCH; its main function is to support users’ information navigations among the web, the map and web-based geographic knowledge, in an integrated way.

This paper characterizes the requirements of geographic information systems (GIS) middleware and its components for dynamic registering and discovering of spatial services specifically for collaborative modeling in environmental planning. The paper explores the role of Web services with respect to implementation standard and protocols and identifies implementation features for exposing distributed GIS business logic and components via Web services. In particular, the paper illustrates applications of the interoperability specifications of Open GIS Consortium’s (OGC) Web mapping service and (WMS), Web processing standards (WPS) with respect to implementation feature. The paper demonstrates a prototype implementation of collaborative environmental decision support systems (GEO-ELCA- Exploratory Land Use Change Assessment) where Web service-enabled middleware adds core functionality to a Web mapping service. The application demonstrates how individual workspace-based namespaces can be used to perform Web mapping functionality.

Chapter 13 - Geographical Information and Map Services

The development of geographic information systems (GIS) is now being accompanied by an increasing popularity of Internet GIS mapping services. This study concerns two important issues with Internet GIS interoperability and Open source resources. Centering on the interplay of these two issues, we provide a systematic overview of techniques that have been used to deliver Internet GIS mapping and the relevance of the two issues with regard to these techniques. We then present a standard-and-open-source-based framework for Internet GIS mapping services to achieve data interoperability and high visual quality. The framework employs the Web Feature Service (WFS) to handle vector data and raster data. The Geography Markup Language (GML) standard is used for interoperable data storage and management. The Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) standard is used to visualize GML data in web browsers. Two preliminary prototypes have been developed to demonstrate the capabilities of the framework. We conclude that using standard-based solutions is an important and viable direction of interoperable Internet GIS services. Advances in standardization and technology have significant implications for Internet GIS mapping. There are many powerful open sources tools which, when coupled with open standards, may be used to develop high-quality online GIS services. Importantly, these solutions require no investment in software, yet achieve excellent interoperability and visualization quality; they are excellent alternative approaches to Internet mapping.

This chapter shows how citizen-science initiatives have been known to exist for a long time, but only recently they were further enhanced thanks to technological and societal developments, such as the availability of mobile devices, the widespread use of the internet and the low cost of location devices. These developments shaped the geographic information system (GIS) world as it is known today: a group of technologies that allows retrieving, storing, analyzing and sharing spatial information, by people who are not necessarily GIS professionals. This chapter starts with a general background about GIS, adding then more detail in topics of particular relevance in the context of citizen science. The rest of the chapter is focused on reviewing and classifying the use of GIS in citizen-science initiatives; and some use cases are described in order to provide practical examples of the use of these technologies for solving specific spatial problems. The chapter closes with a brief discussion of the future of GIS in citizen science, in the light of current technological trends.

The importance of geographic information system (GIS) in daily life is well known as it is really helpful and eases the user. GIS is basically a database system with software that can analyse and display data using digitized maps and tables for planning and decision-making. Unfortunately, there are people in rural area that far from unreachable to apply this GIS tool in life. Thus, this reviewed study aimed to provide further understanding of the application of GIS in emergency preparedness for rural areas. It also will be able to recognize a management information system for rural planning. This systematic literature review concentrates on previous research starting from 2015 to 2020 to evaluate the application of GIS in mapping, transportation planning and network service. From 24 papers that have been analysed under eligibility test, 37.5% of them reviewed on the application of GIS, another 37.5% on emergency preparedness and 25% for rural area. The result shows there is a common type of knowledge and the way it can respond to emergency preparedness. Nevertheless, there are fewer cases related to rural areas and it shows the need for more case studies and experimental research to support this promising field. In conclusion, to meet present day and future information needs for emergency preparedness, more attention needs to be given to evaluate the effectiveness of GIS in rural areas.