Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [256]-267). Also available on the Internet.

Diss. Techn. Univ. Darmstadt, 2009. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).

Diss. Techn. Univ. Darmstadt, 2009. / Business and Economics (German Language) (Springer-11775) (GWV).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-136). Also available in electronic version.

Diss. Univ. München, 2006.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Florida, 2005. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 111 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

New information and communications technologies, such as mobile phones and social media, have presented the humanitarian community with a dilemma: how should humanitarian organisations integrate information from crisis-affected communities into their decision-making processes whilst guarding against inaccurate information from untrustworthy sources? Advocates of crisis mapping claim that, under certain circumstances, crowdsourcing can increase the accuracy of crisis information. However, whilst previous research has studied the geography of crisis information, the motivations of people who create crisis map mashups, and the motivations of people who crowdsource crisis information, the geography of, and the uncertainty associated with, crowdsourced crisis information has been ignored. As such, the current research is motivated by the desire to explore the geographic uncertainty associated with, and to contribute a better understanding of, crowdsourced crisis information. The current research contributes to the fields of GISc (Geographic Information Science) and crisis informatics; crisis mapping; and geovisualisation specifically and information visualisation more generally. These contributions can be summarised as an approach to, and an understanding of, the geographic uncertainty associated with crowdsourced crisis information; three geovisualisation software prototypes that can be used to identify meaningful patterns in crisis information; and the design, analysis, and evaluation model, which situates the activities associated with designing a software artefact-and using it to undertake analysis-within an evaluative framework. The approach to the geographic uncertainty associated with crowdsourced crisis information synthesised techniques from GISc, geovisualisation, and natural language processing. By following this approach, it was found that location descriptions from the Haiti crisis map did not 'fit' an existing conceptual model, and, consequently, that there is a need for new or enhanced georeferencing methods that attempt to estimate the uncertainty associated with free-text location descriptions from sources of crowdsourced crisis information.

The main purpose of this project is to investigate the state of the art of the Algerian National Archives (ANA) so as to design an automated system that responds to the needs of this institution. The concept of archives is defined. The effects of computerisation on archives are investigated. Some automated archives systems, around the world, are examined. The various obstacles impeding the development of a technology capable of processing Arabic script are reviewed. Some solutions are also discussed. The case of Algeria in the context of the Arab world is taken as en example. A number of problems hampering the transfer of technology are identified. The study is concentrated on the state of the art of the ANA. It is carried out using a variety of data collection techniques; including questionnaires, interviews, observation and the author's own experience of the ANA. Severel problem areas are identified; including: the lack of resource sharing between the various institutions and the access speed to documents, to name just a few. The objectives of the system to be designed and implemented ere identified. A prototype user-friendly system, using the Query language, dBASE III PLUS and Clipper, is developed to simulate some of the various tasks carried out within records management institutions. An explanation of how can the system be operated is provided. An evaluation of the prototype system is carried out. A number of recommendations to improve the system are presented. Amongst these, is the necessity to provide a much faster system. The prototype system is thus redeveloped using, this time, Turbo Pascal. Apart from speed, no alterations or additions are introduced to the one developed using dBASE. Because the project has not been taken to the last stages of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), a number of recommendations are made regarding the steps that the ANA should observe to ensure a smooth system implementation and maintenance.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Land, water and natural resources are under increasing pressure due to rising demands for food and energy from the rapidly growing global population. Across a catchment there can be multiple stakeholders with conflicting opinions over how space and resources should be used and managed. Consequently, it is important to consider the suitability of a catchment for a particular purpose to optimise use of the area and minimise potential conflicts and impacts on the wider environment. Aquaculture is a significant contributor to world food supply and as fisheries are unlikely to increase it is expected that the industry will continue to grow and expand in the future to help meet food security requirements. As a result, it is essential that the sector aims for sustainable development within the most suitable locations. However, it can be difficult to assess the suitability of multiple large catchments and some issues may not be immediately apparent. This project aimed to show how spatial models could be used as decision support tools to evaluate the suitability of large catchments for sustainable aquaculture. Four large areas of importance to aquaculture were selected; covering 10,148km2, 26,225km2, 48,319km2 and 66,283km2 in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Vietnam respectively. Asia is by far the most dominant aquaculture region in the world and each of the four study areas contribute to local, regional and global food supplies. The study area in Bangladesh was located in Khulna region in the south west of the country and the main species of focus were prawn and shrimp. The Chinese study area was located in the south eastern province of Guangdong and the main species covered were tilapia and shrimp. Similarly, in Thailand, the main species evaluated were tilapia and shrimp whilst the study area extended across the Central region. Finally, the largest study area was the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the main species of focus in this area were pangasius catfish and shrimp. One of the challenges in modelling large catchments is model applicability and data availability. Often, the required data are not available (or accessible) and it would be difficult, time consuming and expensive to collect new information. Furthermore, when assessing multiple areas is it vital that a representative and unbiased approach is used where no one catchment is favoured over the other due to higher quality data. Therefore, this study used data that are available for almost any area in the world; allowing future application of the models and enabling effective and unbiased decision support. Four modelling stages were employed in this study to evaluate the suitability of large catchments for sustainable aquaculture development. The first stage was the classification of seasonal land use models from satellite imagery. This provides information on what the land is used for and how aquaculture could impact or be impacted by the wider environment. The second step was the development of seasonal models of site suitability using optimal values within a GIS-based multi-stage framework. These models identify which locations are best for culture and can also be used to estimate the availability of areas for food production. The next stage investigated the use of Maxent as a novel approach in site suitability modelling to evaluate the conditions experienced by existing farms. The information from Maxent can be used to identify trends, opportunities and concerns related to sustainable management and farm locations. Finally, qualitative models of non-point source pollution (NPSP) were developed which assess the risk of NPSP within a catchment. NPSP is an issue which can impact both aquaculture and the wider environment. Thus, it is important to understand the areas within a catchment where NPSP risk is higher enabling the establishment of monitoring and/or mitigation procedures. The models support the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) and enable objective planning and management strategies to enhance productivity across large catchments without negatively impacting the environment. In order to meet growing food requirements, large areas will need to be used for agriculture and aquaculture; therefore, analysis at a wider catchment level, which complements assessment at a local scale, is required as it allows a holistic view of the situation. The work presented here illustrates the potential use of spatial models across large catchments and considers the suitability of the areas for aquaculture development.