Karst environments are interconnected landscapes vulnerable to degradation. Many instances of anthropogenic karst disturbance are unintentional, and occur because of the public's lack of understanding or exposure to karst knowledge. When attempts are made to educate the general public about these landscapes, the concepts taught are often too abstract to be fully understood. Thus, karst educational pursuits must use only the most efficient and effective learning materials. A technique useful for assessing educational effectiveness of learning materials is eye-tracking, which allows scientists to quantitatively measure an individual's points of interest and eye movements when viewing a 2D or 3D visualization. Visualization developers use eye-tracking data to create graphics that hold the observer's attention and, thereby, enhance learning about a particular concept. This study aimed to assess and improve the educational effectiveness of 2D karst visualizations by combining eye-tracking techniques with Geographic Information Systems, knowledge assessments, and semi-structured interviews. The first phase of this study consisted of groups of 10 participants viewing 2D karst visualizations with one category of manipulated visual stimuli. The second phase consisted of groups of 10-15 participants viewing 2D karst visualizations that were created based on the results from the first phase. The results of this study highlighted both effective stimuli in karst visualizations and stimuli that hinder the educational effectiveness of visualizations.

The location where crime events occur is an important factor in the analysis of crime. It is not only important where a crime incident takes place but also the characteristics of those places and the environment in which incident occurs. Thus, examination of spatial data such as street networks, parcel information, school locations, commercial and residential zoning, is imperative for effective crime analysis, crime prevention and police activities. Using variables, relating to five incident types as burglary, auto, pick pocket, usurp and murder, which are recorded by the police in 2003 and including the information of where and when crime incident occurs, this thesis attempts to analyze the high-incident areas and the relationship between these incidents and land uses for two important police precincts of &Ccedil / ankaya district of Ankara / Centre of &Ccedil / ankaya Police Station Zone and Bah&ccedil / elievler Police Station Zone. The aim of the study is to improve a methodology for the determination of the effects of land use variables on the distribution of crime incidents. The study applies some methods related to the spatial data analysis which can be also integrated with Geographic Information Systems. In the study, in order to identify the current pattern of the incidents, kernel estimation method is found as the best method while Nearest Neighbor Hierarchical Clustering method is preferred to analyze what land uses are prone to incidents. In order to determine the properties of the relationships between land use and incidents correlation calculations are performed. At the end, the potential crime incident areas are determined by referring these relationships with GIS functions.

Today, population census results are not only fundamental for population counting but also for providing various information to many organizations and people who make research and take decisions about human-related issues. However, statistics produced on the basis of administrative divisions in Turkey are inadequate to meet the needs of most In this study, a new census geography is aimed for Turkey using Geographic Information Systems and Multi Criteria Decision Making methodologies. This new census geography is for statistical purposes only, independent from legal boundaries and generated by the concept of small area statistics. New rules and methodologies are created by taking the United States and the United Kingdom systems as models to reach to the main aim, and then they are applied on a case study area, &Ccedil / ankaya District in Ankara. Through this application process, firstly all the collected graphical and nongraphical raw data are geo-referenced and combined in a common geodatabase. Secondly, this geodatabase is used to understand the differentiation of quality of life indicators across the case study area. This pattern is then used to draw the boundaries of small statistical units of the new census geography in terms of the previously defined population sizes. In conclusion, a nationwide standard census geography hierarchy, which ranges between national level at the top and block level at the bottom, is proposed for use in 2010 Population Census and afterwards.

Geographical Information System (GIS) is a very powerful technique which is used in solving different problems in various fields dealing with spatial information. It can also be used for analyzing wars and campaign. Today&amp / #8217 / s modern armies use GIS effectively for different purposes such as determining strategic points and planning attack and defense. GIS can also be used for past wars, and historical GIS includes these kinds of applications. In this study, GIS have been used for analyzing Gallipoli Campaign in the First World War. This campaign started in February on 1915 and Allied troops left the Gallipoli Peninsula on 9th January 1916. Gallipoli Campaign have very important role in Turkish and World history. This study includes two different parts about Gallipoli Campaign. In the first part, selected battles of the campaign are analyzed with different GIS functions. Selected battles are Naval, Ariburnu, Conkbayiri, and 2nd Kirte Battles, and they are selected based on the availability of graphic and attribute data. In the second part, relationship between martyrs and locations are studied. Distributions of the number of soldiers for different criteria, such as province, district, soldier rank, death location and age are shown on maps and pie charts.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) development in crime analyses encourages sustainable platforms within various types of users and decision makers. Since patterns of crime incidents are pinpointed and analyzed in crime mapping, accurate data acquisition must be considered as a key concept to construct a successful GIS application. Ankara City Police Department utilizes a semi-automated geocoding interface in which crime incidents including offenders and victims are pinpointed. However, this system has some accuracy errors during geocoding, because in this process point based data are located in the center of street line segments, and this may cause position errors up to 200 meters. Therefore, additional data editing must be done to reach a reasonable accuracy. In this context, real time data editing provides opportunity to gain time instead of expanding the GIS database within received hardcopy files from each police station. As the crime incidents occur daily, online editing must be used to maintain such an accurate and efficient spatial database. In this study, for effective and accurate geocoding, a Web based data acquisition method is proposed. This online entry system enables real-time editing for GIS repository. In this way this study aims to provide a fast and reliable data acquisition system by constructing a multi participant platform enabling online data entry from each police station.

As cidades são consideradas as mais elevadas formas de organização social; são redes onde acontecem as conexões sociais – dentro de outras redes: sociais, espaciais e de infraestrutura –, que possibilitam que pessoas, coisas e informações interajam através do espaço urbano. Entretanto, também é no ambiente urbano que se deflagram as maiores ameaças à urbanidade e à salubridade dos remanescentes de ambiente natural. Sendo o sistema urbano considerado um sistema de sistemas integrados, um dano em uma fração de uma rede urbana, e em um único local, pode gerar consequências em uma extensa área geográfica e envolvendo diversas dimensões do sistema urbano, afetando diretamente a economia local e regional. Em áreas urbanas caracterizadas pela ocupação irregular, já com algum grau de consolidação, devido a fatores relacionados à ineficiência de infraestrutura urbana e de serviços e às condições socioeconômicas e culturais, os sistemas de drenagem urbana tornam-se correias de transporte de resíduos sólidos aos cursos d’água. A presença de resíduos na rede de drenagem, além dos muitos impactos ao meio ambiente natural e à saúde humana, compromete a eficiência desses sistemas, estando diretamente relacionadas a entupimentos, inundações, ondas de resíduos sólidos e perdas econômicas. Além disso, aumentam dos custos de limpeza na drenagem, bem como o subsídio financeiro, i.e., o custo não investido ou não internalizado, que o ambiente transfere para sociedade. Estudos e ações, em escala de bacia hidrográfica urbana, para identificação do ciclo de geração, transporte e disposição final dos resíduos sólidos são essenciais para se evitar ou minimizar as destinações indevidas de resíduos e, consequentemente, o comprometimento dos recursos hídricos. Esta pesquisa propõe e define o “Ciclo Lixológico” a partir da integração de variáveis relativas ao ambiente físico, às características socioeconômicas da população e às condições da infraestrutura urbana existente. Toma-se a bacia hidrográfica da barragem Mãe d’Água, localizada na divisa de Porto Alegre e Viamão (RS) como estudo de caso. São utilizados dados espacializados relativos a características do relevo, dos corpos d’água e do sistema de drenagem, da infraestrutura de acesso e circulação; bem como dados de uso e ocupação do solo; dados demográficos e socioeconômicos, e informações de cobertura e regularidade do serviço de coleta de resíduos. Com base nestas informações, é proposta a modelagem da geração e do transporte de resíduos sólidos no contexto da bacia hidrográfica. A verificação do modelo utiliza observações de campo e dados in situ de resíduos sólidos capturados por uma armadilha instalada no exutório de uma das drenagens principais da bacia. Adicionalmente à quantificação da carga no exutório, o modelo permite a espacialização de resultados relativos à dinâmica de transporte de resíduos nas vias de escoamento naturais e antrópicas, bem como à identificação de locais de acumulação, ainda que temporária, de resíduos sólidos. Este modelo mostra-se operacional e passível de reprodução em outras bacias hidrográficas urbanas, de modo a contribuir com as futuras gestões de recursos hídricos e de resíduos sólidos, orientando o planejamento e a implementação de intervenções a curto e longo prazo. / Cities are the highest level of social organization, they are the networks where social connections are made. Within the city there are social, spatial, and infrastructural sub networks, which enable the interaction between people and things in the urban space. In the same space lie the biggest threatens to the urbanity and salubrity of the natural environment reminiscent. The urban system is a composition of integrated sub systems, therefore any damage to one fraction of this system may have a knock-on effect on a large geographic area and across multiple dimensions of the urban system; which can negatively affect the local and regional economy. Particularly in informal settlements, the inefficiency of the urban services and infrastructure together with socioeconomic and cultural conditions turn the urban drainage systems into routes of solid waste to rivers and water bodies. The existence of solid waste in urban drainage systems compromises the efficiency of the system and it is linked to clogging, floods, litter waves and economic losses. In addition, it also poses risk to human health, environment and increases the maintenance and social cost of the drainage system. For this reason, it is essential to develop studies and action plans, at watershed scale, to identify and describe the cycle of genesis, transportation and final disposition of solid waste. These studies can help minimizing the inappropriate discard of solid waste and potential damage to the freshwater resources. This research proposes and defines the “Wastelogical Cycle” through the integration of variables related to physical environment, socioeconomic characteristics, and quality of the urban infrastructure. The study is applied to Mãe d’Água dam watershed at Viamão city, Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. This study incorporates spatial data on the local geomorphology, hydrology, urban drainage system, access and circulation infrastructure, land cover, land use, demography, socioeconomic characteristics and information on the coverage and frequency of the solid waste collection service. Based on these data we modeled the genesis and transportation of solid waste within the watershed; the quality of the model was assessed via field observations and in situ data on solid waste collected by a trap at the estuary of one of the main drainage in the watershed. In addition to the quantification of the solid waste charge in the river mouth, the model allows spatial visualization of the dynamics of solid waste transportation at natural and anthropic water flow networks and the identification of hotpots for solid waste accumulation. The model is operational and reproducible for other urban watersheds, it has potential to contribute to the management of solid waste and hydrological resources in the future and may be used as a tool to direct and plan interventions in the short and long term.

As cidades são consideradas as mais elevadas formas de organização social; são redes onde acontecem as conexões sociais – dentro de outras redes: sociais, espaciais e de infraestrutura –, que possibilitam que pessoas, coisas e informações interajam através do espaço urbano. Entretanto, também é no ambiente urbano que se deflagram as maiores ameaças à urbanidade e à salubridade dos remanescentes de ambiente natural. Sendo o sistema urbano considerado um sistema de sistemas integrados, um dano em uma fração de uma rede urbana, e em um único local, pode gerar consequências em uma extensa área geográfica e envolvendo diversas dimensões do sistema urbano, afetando diretamente a economia local e regional. Em áreas urbanas caracterizadas pela ocupação irregular, já com algum grau de consolidação, devido a fatores relacionados à ineficiência de infraestrutura urbana e de serviços e às condições socioeconômicas e culturais, os sistemas de drenagem urbana tornam-se correias de transporte de resíduos sólidos aos cursos d’água. A presença de resíduos na rede de drenagem, além dos muitos impactos ao meio ambiente natural e à saúde humana, compromete a eficiência desses sistemas, estando diretamente relacionadas a entupimentos, inundações, ondas de resíduos sólidos e perdas econômicas. Além disso, aumentam dos custos de limpeza na drenagem, bem como o subsídio financeiro, i.e., o custo não investido ou não internalizado, que o ambiente transfere para sociedade. Estudos e ações, em escala de bacia hidrográfica urbana, para identificação do ciclo de geração, transporte e disposição final dos resíduos sólidos são essenciais para se evitar ou minimizar as destinações indevidas de resíduos e, consequentemente, o comprometimento dos recursos hídricos. Esta pesquisa propõe e define o “Ciclo Lixológico” a partir da integração de variáveis relativas ao ambiente físico, às características socioeconômicas da população e às condições da infraestrutura urbana existente. Toma-se a bacia hidrográfica da barragem Mãe d’Água, localizada na divisa de Porto Alegre e Viamão (RS) como estudo de caso. São utilizados dados espacializados relativos a características do relevo, dos corpos d’água e do sistema de drenagem, da infraestrutura de acesso e circulação; bem como dados de uso e ocupação do solo; dados demográficos e socioeconômicos, e informações de cobertura e regularidade do serviço de coleta de resíduos. Com base nestas informações, é proposta a modelagem da geração e do transporte de resíduos sólidos no contexto da bacia hidrográfica. A verificação do modelo utiliza observações de campo e dados in situ de resíduos sólidos capturados por uma armadilha instalada no exutório de uma das drenagens principais da bacia. Adicionalmente à quantificação da carga no exutório, o modelo permite a espacialização de resultados relativos à dinâmica de transporte de resíduos nas vias de escoamento naturais e antrópicas, bem como à identificação de locais de acumulação, ainda que temporária, de resíduos sólidos. Este modelo mostra-se operacional e passível de reprodução em outras bacias hidrográficas urbanas, de modo a contribuir com as futuras gestões de recursos hídricos e de resíduos sólidos, orientando o planejamento e a implementação de intervenções a curto e longo prazo. / Cities are the highest level of social organization, they are the networks where social connections are made. Within the city there are social, spatial, and infrastructural sub networks, which enable the interaction between people and things in the urban space. In the same space lie the biggest threatens to the urbanity and salubrity of the natural environment reminiscent. The urban system is a composition of integrated sub systems, therefore any damage to one fraction of this system may have a knock-on effect on a large geographic area and across multiple dimensions of the urban system; which can negatively affect the local and regional economy. Particularly in informal settlements, the inefficiency of the urban services and infrastructure together with socioeconomic and cultural conditions turn the urban drainage systems into routes of solid waste to rivers and water bodies. The existence of solid waste in urban drainage systems compromises the efficiency of the system and it is linked to clogging, floods, litter waves and economic losses. In addition, it also poses risk to human health, environment and increases the maintenance and social cost of the drainage system. For this reason, it is essential to develop studies and action plans, at watershed scale, to identify and describe the cycle of genesis, transportation and final disposition of solid waste. These studies can help minimizing the inappropriate discard of solid waste and potential damage to the freshwater resources. This research proposes and defines the “Wastelogical Cycle” through the integration of variables related to physical environment, socioeconomic characteristics, and quality of the urban infrastructure. The study is applied to Mãe d’Água dam watershed at Viamão city, Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. This study incorporates spatial data on the local geomorphology, hydrology, urban drainage system, access and circulation infrastructure, land cover, land use, demography, socioeconomic characteristics and information on the coverage and frequency of the solid waste collection service. Based on these data we modeled the genesis and transportation of solid waste within the watershed; the quality of the model was assessed via field observations and in situ data on solid waste collected by a trap at the estuary of one of the main drainage in the watershed. In addition to the quantification of the solid waste charge in the river mouth, the model allows spatial visualization of the dynamics of solid waste transportation at natural and anthropic water flow networks and the identification of hotpots for solid waste accumulation. The model is operational and reproducible for other urban watersheds, it has potential to contribute to the management of solid waste and hydrological resources in the future and may be used as a tool to direct and plan interventions in the short and long term.

A presente dissertação constitui-se num estudo de caso que versa acerca da utilização da tecnologia GIS (Geographic Information System) no processo de inspeção agrícola. A pesquisa teve o caráter exploratório com metodologia qualitativa, tendo como técnicas de pesquisa a revisão bibliográfica, a fim de identificar os conceitos atinentes ao tema, análise documental, entrevistas semi-estruturadas e observação de campo. O significativo e constante crescimento da citricultura paulista no cenário mundial do agronegócio reforça a necessidade de se criar mecanismos para controle e desenvolvimento da atividade. Dessa forma, o referido estudo apresenta a compreensão e análise da utilização de uma tecnologia baseada em sistema de informação geográfica (software livre), desenvolvido por um centro nacional de pesquisa agropecuária, aplicada ao processo de inspeção citrícola de um instituto de pesquisa em citros, localizado na cidade de Araraquara, no Estado de São Paulo. / This work is based on a study of case about the use of the GIS (Geographic Information System) at the process of agricultural inspection. The research was an exploration using the qualitative methodology based on the bibliography review in order to identify the concepts of the theme, documental analyses, semi structured interviews and environmental research. A constant fairly increasing of the paulista citriculture worldwide reinforces the necessity of the creation of a mechanism to control and develop the activity. This way, the mentioned study presents comprehension and analyses of the technology utilization based on a geographic information system (free software), developed by a national center of agropecure research, applied to the process of citric inspection in an institute of research in citric placed in Araraquara in São Paulo state, Brazil.

A nuclear waste stream is the complete flow of waste material from origin to treatment facility to final disposal. The objective of this study was to design and develop a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) module using Google Application Programming Interface (API) for better visualization of nuclear waste streams that will identify and display various nuclear waste stream parameters. A proper display of parameters would enable managers at Department of Energy waste sites to visualize information for proper planning of waste transport. The study also developed an algorithm using quadratic Bézier curve to make the map more understandable and usable. Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 were used for the implementation of the project. The study has shown that the combination of several technologies can successfully provide dynamic mapping functionality. Future work should explore various Google Maps API functionalities to further enhance the visualization of nuclear waste streams.

Geography education is undergoing change in K-12 education due in part to the introduction of geospatial technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS). Although active engagement in GIS mapping would seem to enhance students’ spatial thinking, little is known about the mapping strategies that students employ or about changes in their geographic knowledge that would result. This study, set in a high school Advanced Placement human geography class, sought to contribute to these areas of inquiry. Participants performed a web-based GIS task focused on global population and migration. Attention in the study was on (a) the strategies students employed when investigating geographic phenomena using GIS, (b) changes in their cognitive maps, as assessed through sketch maps, resulting from the activity, (c) the relationship between GIS maps and sketch maps, and (d) the ways in which a subset of students serving as case studies explained the nature of their mapping. The study employed screen-captures, video-recordings, observations, pre- and post-study sketch maps, and interviews. Analyses of the GIS process revealed that, in creating their maps, the students used a number of strategies, which included searching, layering, removing layers of data, adjusting transparency, editing, and noting. Although searching and layering were employed by all students, there was variability across students in use of the other strategies. With respect to changes in their spatial thinking, analyses of the sketch maps showed increases in elaboration and accuracy in terms of migration patterns. When GIS maps were compared to sketch maps, analyses showed relations for many students. The six students who served as case studies revealed major connections between personal interests and the reasoning employed in mapping. They also described their entry points into the process. The study shows how real-time data collection, including screen captures, as well as more static measures, specifically sketch maps, can provide insights into the spatial thinking of students while using GIS. It provides some support to educational approaches to geography in which students become creators of maps, not simply users of maps, and suggests that, through their own mapping process, students expand their cognitive maps and enhance their spatial thinking.