December, 2002 (Vol. 30, No. 2)

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Furness R., (2002) Imagination and Innovation in Australian Cartography: Examining the Past to Chart Our Future, Keynote address - Mapping Sciences 2002 Conference, May 2002

Refereed Papers

Warnest M., Feeney M-E. F., Rajabifard A., Williamson I. P., (2002) Fundamental Partnerships Driving Spatial Data Infrastructure Development Within Australia, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

Feeney M-E. F., Williamson I. P., Bishop I. D., (2002) The Role of Institutional Mechanisms in Spatial Data Infrastructure Development that Supports Decision-making, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

K Hayles K., Grenfell R., (2002) Data Integration: An Application in Rural Property Valuation, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

Arnold L. M., Wright G. L., (2002) Managing and Maintaining Cartographic Data: Contemporary Approaches and New Directions, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

Lawford G. J., Masters E. G., (2002) Fractals and the Cartographic Line, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

D Shaw D., Cartwright W., Arrowsmith C., (2002) Telematics: Identifying the New Geographies of Digital Communication, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

P Chhetri P., Arrowsmith C., (2002) Developing a Spatial Model of Probable Hiking Experiences Through Natural Landscapes Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

Cartwright W., Heath G., (2002) Geography as Seen from the Window: Explorations About Viewpoint-Specific Images of Geography Defined by Tools of Visualization, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

Miller S., Pupedis G., (2002) Spatial Interface Design for the Web - A Question of Usability, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

Jiang W., Fraser D., (2002) A Parallel Satellite Image Processing Approach Using a Distributed Memory MIMD System, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

R E Deakin R. E., S C Bird S. C., Grenfell R. I., (2002) The Centroid? Where Would You Like it to Be?, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

N Brown N., Kealy A., Williamson I., (2002) Stochastic Modeling of GPS Phase Observations for Improved Quality Estimation, Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 2.

In this, its 50th Anniversary Year, it is fitting that the Mapping Sciences Institute Australia holds its Anniversary conference in Melbourne, since it is here where it was first incorporated in 1952, on 30th September.

Abstract
Recent models of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are overly simplistic and fail to address the dynamic nature, complexity, inter- and intra-jurisdictional nature, and the important role of partnerships. There is a need by governments and administrators to better understand the complex nature of SDIs to facilitate implementation of this form of infrastructure in an information society. This paper aims to build upon current SDI research at local, state and regional levels to better understand the complex and multi-dimensional nature at a national level, while building on the principles of Hierarchical Spatial Reasoning (HSR) theory. To date, little work has been undertaken on mapping these partnerships particularly at the national level within a country that is a federation of states.

This paper will introduce the notion that better understanding of the partnerships that support SDI will enable administrators of spatial information to implement this type of infrastructure into the future. The paper will also highlight new research being conducted by the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration at the University of Melbourne on the Australian SDI (ASDI) and the aims to develop a methodology to map the complex nature of National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

Abstract
Improved economic, social and environmental decision–making are principal objectives for investing in the development of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) at all political and administrative levels. Indeed, Resolution 7 of the recent 5th Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) conference in Cartagena, Colombia (GSDI, 2001) argued that the purpose of the GSDI is to improve the availability, accessibility, and applicability of spatial information for decision-making. While accepting the development of institutional mechanisms to support decision-making by promoting the availability and accessibility of spatial information as part of SDI institutional frameworks, many institutional mechanisms fall short of addressing the application of spatial data to decison-making.

From an institutional perspective, the motivation for SDI implementation is the impracticality of a single organisation producing and maintaining the wide variety of data and models needed to inform many decisions, resulting in a need for sharing of data and a range of analytical and display tools. This is being seen particularly in the natural resource, environment and government sectors in Australia. These sectors are utilising institutional mechanisms to support spatial decision-making processes in a number of different ways including the development of community resource centres, departmental development of decision support tools, as well as the development of atlases, spatial data directories and on-line land information services. In Australia these institutional mechanisms are playing a crucial role in providing the building blocks for the institutional framework of SDIs and address different levels of the decision-making process. This paper looks at how availability and accessibility of spatial data are being achieved by reviewing examples from each of the institutional mechanisms mentioned. The variety of decision-making levels supported by these different initiatives is reviewed in terms of decision process theory. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the approaches to developing institutional support for decision-making as part of SDI development, as well as a consideration of directions for SDI development in the future to support spatial decision-making processes.

In rural areas, land size, soil type, crop production, irrigation and distance to transport services are among some of the key factors that influence property value. In addition, water and wind erosion, dryland salinity, fire, flood, drought and pests, both plants and animals, can pose serious threats to agricultural production and to the future capabilities of the land.

In developing a tool to forecast rural property values, numerous data sets are required. This paper explores some of the issues dealing with the integration of numerous data sets, including scale, projection, database design and GIS data format differences, and aims to provide a framework for their use in data integration.

Abstract
Cost effective techniques for updating cartographic databases for map publication and revision are of major importance to the spatial information industry. Traditionally, digital map publishing systems maintain multiple databases in order to produce a variety of map themes at various scales. This is an expensive solution. Ideally, derived maps should be automatically updated in parallel to the primary data source. This paper will review contemporary approaches to spatial data management and identify major issues in the implementation of automated map revision. It will also introduce research into real-time updating of thematic maps.

Abstract
The concepts of fractal and fractal dimension are defined and their history and development described. The common methods of measuring the fractal dimension of cartographic lines are described, as are their pros and cons. Past research into the application of fractal theory to the cartographic line is reviewed.

This paper investigates characteristics of terrain surfaces in order to develop a spatial model of hiking experiences around the Pinnacle walking track in the Grampians National Park. In situ measurements of feelings and experiences were determined via a questionnaire administered to a group of adolescent aged students hiking on a track. The paper shows the development of a set of predictors derived from surface features and surface cover that can be used to predict potential hiking experience. Factor analysis has been used to identify a smaller set of dimensions that explain most of the variance among input variables. Finally, a predictive spatial model of hiking landscapes has been developed from input maps over the entire geographic space. The developed spatial model of probable hiking experiences is suggested as an alternative strategy to ease mounting pressure around existing walking tracks.

Abstract Multimedia Cartography has changed artifacts for geographical exploration - from frozenscapes (visualizations of geography that cannot be altered by the user) to Malleable Visualizations (a computer-generated multimedia visualization with which users can interact and mold into one that best suits their particular needs). However, it is argued, this has caused problems, as Multimedia Cartography is more complex.

Does the way of seeing influence the way of knowing? Does the application of interactive multimedia products really allow access to better educational packages? What is the most appropriate pedagogy for using New Media technologies for geography education? How do humans learn geographic information, and how does this learning vary as a function of the medium through which it occurs (direct experience, maps, descriptions, virtual systems, etc.)?

This paper reports on the initial findings from the GeoExploratorium research programme that investigated the construction and evaluation of a different way of offering geographical teaching/learning elements with multimedia cartography. The GeoExploratorium provides a new way of seeing geographical information by supplying different viewpoints, hopefully, ensuring that the voids of geographical understanding are filled with information gathered from other perspectives and used to assemble a more complete picture of reality.

This paper presents research in developing a parallel processing approach applied to satellite image processing on the distributed-memory MIMD parallel system. The Victorian Partnership of Advanced Computing (VPAC) funds this research project, as one of their expertise program grants.

The objectives of the research are to investigate and determine the optimal data parallelism on the distributed-memory MIMD computer, develop the specifications required to map the image data onto the parallel processors and design the algorithms of parallel spatial input/output and spatial analysis to make best use of the chosen parallelism.

The paper also presents an empirical test on the determination of the area susceptible to soil salinity by using satellite images. Several approaches that can be used for remote sensing image analysis are introduced and implemented in this empirical example. The result of the performance evaluation that occurred on the MIMD computer in VPAC demonstrates the potential advanced computing has for the development of a set of software tools that can quickly perform precision analysis on large volumes of spatial data.

However, there may be applications where the determination of a centroid has, at the very least, an impact on civic pride and quite possibly financial repercussions. We refer here to an administrative or natural region where a nominated centroid has a certain curiosity value with the potential to become a tourist attraction. Such centroids provide economic benefit to those in a sub-region, usually in close proximity to the centroid.

Various interpretations of a centroid exist and this paper explores these and the methods of calculation. Variation in position resulting from different interpretations is examined in the context of the centroid of the Australian State of Victoria, and GIS software are evaluated to determine the efficacy of their centroid functions.

The increasing use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a primary data acquisition source for spatial databases highlights the significance of this problem. At present the measures of quality for GPS derived coordinates given by commercial software packages tend to be unrealistic and are more often than not optimistic. This is because not all of the systematic and random errors present in the observations are fully modelled through the standard functional or stochastic models used. This paper presents some of the current problems in identifying the quality of GPS data as derived from commercial processing software. Common GPS processing strategies are reviewed in the context of error modelling and data quality. Finally, current research activities into strategies for maximizing GPS data quality are presented.