Thesis (M.A. (Interactive Digital Media))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2016. / The focus of this research paper is on the relationship between wayfinding and interactive, immersive environments. Wayfinding systems inherently exist to assist people on a journey to a desired destination. Interactive immersive environments have introduced a new paradigm, in which users are becoming active participants within both physical and virtual environments. The merging of wayfinding with immersive environments could thus present potential to propel wayfinding to a new level. The effectiveness and applications of wayfinding systems within three immersive environments is therefore determined by looking at the design of informational wayfinding, the ease of navigability within immersive environments and the adaptation and use of wayfinding techniques within four case studies. The three immersive environments chosen to be examined within this paper are: physically immersive environments, digital physically immersive environments and virtual immersive environments. These environments are represented by four case studies which include Menlyn Park Shopping Centre's newly updated wayfinding system, Find Your Way Essex, a virtual wayfinding mobile application, StreetMuseum: Museum of London a purely digital mobile application and Honeywell - Virtual Museum Tour, a virtual wayfinding experience that relies fully on the GoogleCardboard device. / GR2017

In forestry, natural forests are forest areas with high biodiversity, in need of preservation. The current mapping of natural forests is a tedious task that requires manual labor that could possibly be automated. In this paper we explore the main features used by a random forest algorithm to classify natural forest and managed forest in northern Sweden. The goal was to create a model with a substantial strength of agreement, meaning a Kappa value of 0.61 or higher, placing the model in the same range as models produced in previous research. We used raster data gathered from airborne LiDAR, combined with labeled sample areas, both supplied by the Swedish Forest Agency. Two experiments were performed with different features. Experiment 1 used features extracted using methods inspired from previous research while Experiment 2 further added upon those features. From the total number of used sample areas (n=2882), 70% was used to train the models and 30% was used for evaluation. The result was a Kappa value of 0.26 for Experiment 1 and 0.32 for Experiment 2. Features shown to be prominent are features derived from canopy height, where the supplied data also had the highest resolution. Percentiles, kurtosis and canopy crown areas derived from the canopy height were shown to be the most important for classification. The results fell short of our goal, possibly indicating a range of flaws in the data used. The size of the sample areas and resolution of raster data are likely important factors when extracting features, playing a large role in the produced model’s performance.

Stream restoration efforts often aim at restoring the physical complexity in streams, as an increased habitat heterogeneity is believed to increase biodiversity. It is important to quantify the physical complexity of streams before and after restoration, to know what actions are needed, and to monitor the results of the restoration. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and geographic information systems (GIS) for data acquisition is rapidly increasing, and the use of UAVs and GIS could facilitate the monitoring process. The aim of this study was to determine how the spatial complexity in streams can be determined by using UAVs and GIS. The physical features and the spatial complexity were quantified in five reaches in the Lögde River, pre- and post-restoration, by analyzing UAV photos in a GIS program. Three of six reach descriptive metrics, and three of seven complexity metrics, were shown significantly different after restoration. To validate the GIS analyzing method, a qualitative comparison of data from the GIS analysis to field survey data was conducted. The GIS method was shown effective for distinguishing morphological features on a larger spatial scale, and to show the spatial distribution of instream features, such as wood pieces and boulders. The accuracy when digitizing the bankfull edge of the stream was low on small scales, and the method likely underestimates the number of wood pieces and boulders in the streams. Preferable camera settings and weather conditions to avoid blurry UAV photos, and thereby enhance the accuracy of the GIS analysis, are discussed.

Nowadays the widespread availability of wireless networks has created an interest in using them for other purposes, such as localization of mobile devices in indoor environments because of the lack of GPS signal reception indoors. Indoor localization has received great interest recently for the many context-aware applications it could make possible. We designed and implemented an indoor localization platform for Wi-Fi nodes (such as smartphones and laptops) that identifies the building name, floor number, and room number where the user is located based on a Wi-Fi access point signal fingerprint pattern matching. We designed and evaluated a new machine learning algorithm, KRedpin, and developed a new web-services architecture for indoor localization based on J2EE technology with the Apache Tomcat web server for managing Wi-Fi signal data from the FAU WLAN. The prototype localization client application runs on Android cellphones and operates in the East Engineering building at FAU. More sophisticated classifiers have also been used to improve the localization accuracy using the Weka data mining tool. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Resumo: A expansão das atividades agrosilvopastoris, de forma desordenada e sem a consideração das limitações do uso das terras rurais, gera a degradação dos recursos naturais, como o solo, a água e a vegetação, trazendo consequências, impactantes ao meio ambiente e a alteração da paisagem rural. O presente estudo teve como objetivo fazer o diagnóstico físico-econômico-ambiental, de uma bacia hidrográfica, levantando dados da intervenção e ocupação antrópica da área, visando sua sustentabilidade ambiental. A bacia hidrográfica do Ribeirão Faxinal, objeto desse estudo, se localiza na porção oeste do município de Botucatu-SP, circunscrita entre as coordenadas geográficas: 22o 51' 35'' e 22o 57' 02'' de latitude S e 48o 39' 42'' e 48o 38' 01'' de longitude W. de Greenwich, apresentando uma área total de 5.128 ha. Para melhor desenvolvimento do estudo, a bacia foi subdividida em 9 subunidades, sendo oito de segunda ordem e um de terceira ordem de ramificação. O diagnóstico físico conservacionista, das subunidades foi realizado com as técnicas de geoprocessamento, criando assim, um conjunto de planos de informações (mapas), que foram integralizados, através das informações executadas pelo Sistema de Informações Geográficas Idrisi, de modo a reunir dados sobre o uso e ocupação do solo. Foram gerados os mapas de cobertura vegetal, hidrografia, classes de declividade, e outros. O diagnóstico sócio econômico e ambiental foi realizado através de observações in loco e de entrevistas (questionário) com os agricultores das subunidades. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram, que das nove subunidades estudadas da bacia do Faxinal, a subunidade VI foi a que se apresentou como a mais degradada, elevado índice de deterioração ambiental, enquanto que a subunidade IX teve índices menores e por consequencia, menos degradada, em relação às demais subunidades / Abstract: Expansion of agricultural practice, cattle raising and forestry, in a disorderly way and without considering the limitations of the use of rural land, generates the degradation of natural resources such as soil, water and vegetation. That fact brings consequences, impacting the environment and altering the rural landscape. This study aimed to diagnose physical and economic environment of a watershed, gathering data from intervention and human occupation of the area, in order to achieve its environmental sustainability. The hydrographic watershed of Faxinal creek, object of this study, is located in western Botucatu, state of São Paulo, between the geographical coordinates: 22º 51' 35" and 22º 57' 02" - Latitude S ; 48º 39' 42" and 48º 38' 01" - Longitude W, from Greenwich, with a total area of 5128 ha. For better development of the study, the basin was subdivided into 9 subunits, being eight from second and one from third-order branch. The diagnosis of the physical conservationist deterioration of the subunits was carried out with geospatial technologies, thus creating a set of information plans (maps). These ones were integrated through the information carried by Geographical Information System - IDRISI, in order to gather data on the use and occupation of the soil. The maps of vegetation, hydrography and slope were generated, among others. The environmental-socio-economic diagnosis was accomplished through on-site observations and interviews (questionnaire), with farmers in subunits. The results showed that from those nine subunits, studied at the hydrographic watershed of Faxinal creek, subunit VI was presented as the most degraded, with a high degree of environmental deterioration. On the other hand, subunit IX had lower rates and, consequently, less degraded if compared to other subunits / Orientador: Lincoln Gehring Cardoso / Coorientador: Sergio Campos / Banca: Zacarias Xavier de Barros / Banca: Vilmar Antonio Rodrigues / Banca: Fernanda Leite Ribeiro / Banca: Sérgio Pascoal de Campos / Doutor

Orientador: Roberto Wagner Lourenço / Resumo: Os avanços científicos e tecnológicos desempenhados nas últimas três décadas atuam como facilitadores em tarefas vinculadas ao desenvolvimento e manejo de recursos naturais, tanto hídrico como florestal, em benefício do ser humano. Dentre estes, a evolução temporal do uso do solo e cobertura vegetal tem sido analisada trazendo uma série de questionamentos ao inferir que práticas predatórias têm contribuído para o agravamento das questões ambientais em todas as escalas de análise. O uso das técnicas de Sensoriamento Remoto e a utilização de Sistemas de Informação Geográfica (SIG) têm auxiliado trabalhos com a intenção de fornecer subsídios que permitam a mitigação dos problemas correlatos, a fim de contribuir de maneira efetiva na contenção das consequências negativas que já se apresentam. Assim sendo, essa pesquisa teve por objetivo estudar a evolução temporal no uso do solo e cobertura vegetal da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Una localizada no município de Ibiúna, Estado de São Paulo, nos períodos de 2004, 2008 e 2012, observando-se a expansão das categorias áreas urbanas e agricultura, principalmente pela quantificação e composição da matriz de transição de uso do solo, além de mapeamentos considerados compatíveis com a imagem referência. (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The scientific and technological advances in the last three decades act as facilitators when developing tasks related to the management of natural resources, that is, water and forest for the benefit of man. The time evolution of land use and vegetation cover has been analyzed bringing series of questions and confirming that predatory practices have contributed to the deterioration of the environment in all scales of analysis. The use of Remote Sensing techniques and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have helped working with the intention of providing subsidies that allow the mitigation of related problems in order to contribute effectively to stop the negative consequences that are already present. Thus, this research aimed to study time evolution of land use and vegetation cover in the watershed of Una River in the municipality of Ibiúna, State of São Paulo, in the 2004, 2008 e 2012 periods, observing the expansion of urban areas and agriculture categories, especially for quantification and composition of land use transition matrix, and mappings considered compatible with the reference image. (Complete abstract click electronic acess below) / Mestre

Orientador: Sérgio Campos / Banca: Lincoln Gehring Cardoso / Banca: Mikael Timóteo Rodrigues / Resumo: A erosão hídrica consiste no fator principal de degradação do solo em áreas rurais. O processo de perda de solo é influenciado por fatores como a precipitação, pelas características naturais do solo em se degradar, das características topográficas e a ação do homem por meio do uso e ocupação do solo e de práticas de caráter conservacionista, que podem acelerar ou reduzir o processo. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo realizar uma estimativa das perdas de solo por erosão, por meio da Equação Universal de Perda de Solo Revisada (RUSLE), para avaliar o grau de degradação existente na bacia hidrográfica do Córrego Anhumas, localizada entre os municípios de Anhembi, Bofete e Botucatu, Estado de São Paulo. A área de estudo situa-se geograficamente entre as coordenadas 48° 19' 37' a 48° 16' 13' de longitude W Gr. e 22° 59' 59' a 22° 54' 30' de latitude S, apresentando uma área de 2.649,66 hectares. Os mapas de Erosividade da chuva, Erodibilidade do solo, fator topográfico, uso e ocupação do solo e práticas conservacionistas foram elaborados em ambiente de Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG) a partir de dados do programa netErosividade SP, mapa de solos do Estado de São Paulo, do Modelo Digital de Elevação do Terreno (MDE) - Projeto TOPODATA - e de imagens do satélite LANDSAT-8, respectivamente. Foram determinados o Potencial Natural de Erosão (PNE), a perda média anual de solo, as subclasses de capacidade de uso do solo e a adequação agronômica das terra... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Water erosion is the main factor of soil degradation in rural areas. The process of soil loss is influenced by factors such as rainfall, natural characteristics of the soil in degrading itself, topographic features and the action of man through the use and occupation of the soil and conservationist practices, which can accelerate or reduce the process. The present study aimed to estimate soil losses by erosion, through the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), to evaluate the degradation degree of the watershed of Anhumas stream, located among the municipalities of Anhembi, Bofete and Botucatu, State of São Paulo. The study area is located geographically between the coordinates 48° 19' 37' to 48° 16' 13' of W Gr. longitude and 22° 59' 59' to 22° 54' 30' of S latitude, with an area of 2,649.66 hectares. The maps of rainfall Erosivity, soil Erodibility, topographic factor, use and occupation of soil, and soil conservation practices were elaborated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) from datas of the software netErosividade SP, soil map of the State of São Paulo, Digital Model of Elevation (DEM), - TOPODATA Project - and images of the LANDSAT-8 satellite, respectively. Was determined the Natural Potential for Erosion (NPE), the average annual soil loss, the subclasses of soil use capacity and the agronomic adequacy of lands of the Anhumas stream. The largest portion of the NPE is at the acceptable limit of possible losses, the areas with more critical potential, practically restricted to the more sloping portion and with higher Erosivity rate. Soil losses through the RUSLE model evidenced that the erosion process results of the interaction of abiotic (intrinsic of enviroment) and biotic factors (antropic action), but it was more influenced by Factor C (use and occupation of soil), mainly due to the influence of native vegetation and Permanent Preservation Areas (PPA). ... / Mestre

Orientador: Roberto Wagner Lourenço / Resumo: A necessidade urgente da população humana especialmente nas ultimas quatro décadas, em buscar recursos para prover crescimento quantitativo e qualitativo, intensificou os processos de degradação ambiental. Para que ocorra desenvolvimento sustentável, deve haver o planejamento e gestão adequada do uso e ocupação do solo integrado com as condições físicas naturais de cada área. Entre os processos de degradação merece especial atenção a erosão do solo e a produção de sedimentos, pois limitam o próprio desenvolvimento da humanidade. Porem uma das grandes carências aos gestores e planejadores, está na deficiência de produtos cartográficos que identifiquem áreas prioritárias para contenção destes processos, bem como para restringir que áreas atualmente pouco vulneráveis venham a se tornar altamente vulneráveis por novos usos e ocupação. Os estudos de fragilidade ambiental, por sua característica sistêmica de integração dos ambientes naturais e das intervenções antrópicas têm sido indicados como uma boa referência para subsidiar o planejamento e gestão ambiental. Neste trabalho, foi integrado mapeamento de distância do escoamento superficial à metodologia da fragilidade empírica proposta por Ross (1994). O produto cartográfico final, por contemplar os efeitos ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The urgent need of the human population, especially in the last four decades, in seeking resources to provide its quantitative and qualitative growth, has intensified the processes of environmental degradation. Among these, erosion processes and sediment transport deserve special attention because they limit the very development of humanity. For sustainable development to occur there must be appropriate planning and management of land use and occupation integrated with the natural physical conditions of each area. However, one of the major shortcomings for managers and planners is the deficiency of cartographic products that identify priority areas for containment of degradation processes, as well as to restrict what currently vulnerable areas are becoming highly vulnerable by new uses and occupation. The studies of environmental fragility, due to its systemic characteristics of integration of natural environments and anthropic interventions have been indicated as a good reference to subsidize environmental planning and management. In this work, surface flow distance mapping was integrated with the methodology of empirical fragility proposed by Ross (1994). The final cartographic product, considering the effects of surface runoff, presents greater hydrosedimentological consistency. The final result allows to easily identify the priority areas that need greater attention for actions of control and containment of erosive processes and sediment production. It also provides due ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra / Coorientador: Renato Farias do Valle Junior / Banca: Vera Lucia Abdala / Banca: Gener tadeu Pereira / Banca: Valdemir Antonio Rodrigues / Banca: Marcílio Vieira Martins Filho / Resumo: Os recursos hídricos têm apresentado sua qualidade e disponibilidade muito afetada pelas atividades antrópicas devido às mudanças nos padrões de uso e cobertura dos solos nas bacias hidrográficas. A compreensão dos efeitos do uso do solo, associados às condições topográficas, geologia e tipo de solos, sobre a qualidade da água, é de grande importância para melhorar a predição da contaminação dos recursos hídricos em bacias hidrográficas não monitoradas e para fornecer diretrizes para o planejamento do uso do solo. Considerando o exposto, o principal objetivo do presente estudo foi estudar o efeito das características naturais da bacia (geologia, tipo de solos e relevo) e do uso do solo sobre a qualidade das águas superficiais da bacia hidrográfica do rio Uberaba. Para tanto, foram elaborados mapas com as características referentes à geologia, tipo de solos e relevo da bacia. Foram utilizados dados de monitoramento por satélite para extração das informações de uso do solo atual. Com o uso do Sistema de Informações Geográficas, as informações foram espacializadas e analisadas, permitindo a elaboração do mapa de conflito ambiental e o mapa de vulnerabilidade, assim como o Índice de Transformação Antrópica, para compreender os efeitos provocados pelas ações antrópicas no recurso hídrico em duas áreas da bacia. Para estudar a dinâmica dos recursos hídricos, foi realizada uma análise espaço temporal e sazonal de uma série histórica (2000 a 2017) de dados de monitoramento da qualida... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Water resources quality and availability have been badly impacted by man-made activities due to changes in river basins usage patterns and soil cover. It is imperative to understand soil use effects on water quality, associated with topographic conditions, geology, and types of soil since it improves the prediction of unmonitored river basins' water resources contamination and provides directives to plan soil use. Accordingly, the main object of this research was to study the impacts of basin's natural features (geology, types of soil and relief) and soil use on the quality of the Uberaba River river basin's surface water. For this purpose, maps with information about the river basin geology, types of soil and relief were drawn. The updated information on land use was obtained from satellite monitoring data. The use of Geographic Information System allowed to spatialize and analyze the data, resulting in the design of environmental conflicts and vulnerability maps, as well as the Anthropic Transformation Index in order to understand man-made impacts on water resources in two areas of the river basin. A spatial-temporal and seasonal analysis on monitoring water quality data from the year 2000 to 2017 was employed in order to study water resources dynamics. Results show that, with regard to soil use, pasture and agricultural areas prevail. Environmental conflicts, as well as areas more vulnerable to land and water degradation, are mainly restricted to the basin, due to relief and geology conditioning factors. The analysis on water quality data suggests that the concentration of total phosphorus, turbidity, and thermotolerant coliforms are, in the sampling campaigns, higher than the limit value established by the National Council for the Environment (Conselho Nacional de Meio Ambiente - CONAMA) legislation. The temp... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

No presente trabalho foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico sobre os critérios, fatores e ponderações envolvidos em processos de localização de aterros de resíduos sólidos. Com base nesse levantamento, foram identificados os principais elementos de avaliação envolvidos no contexto decisório em questão e estabelecida a importância relativa através de cada descritor em questão através de ponderação dos mesmos. Estes dados foram aplicados em um estudo de caso (em torno de Ribeirão Preto - SP) visando a seleção preliminar de áreas adequadas à disposição de resíduos sólidos utilizando-se o sistema de informações geográficas (SIG). Este estudo teve como objetivo principal discutir os dados obtidos. Para a seleção de áreas com viabilidade ambiental foram utilizados três diferentes métodos - lógica boleana, ponderação dos fatores e fuzzy - que resultaram na exclusão de 96,2% e 13,8%, respectivamente, da área estudada. / Sanitary landfilling is the conventional method of disposing of municipal solid waste. Thus, the focus of the work was to develop the data and tool necessary to aid decision makers and special interest groups begin to understand the alternatives and tradeoffs in the landfill siting process. A Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to determine suitable areas for solid waste landfill sites in Ribeirão Preto (SP). The siting criteria for selecting a potencial site include geological and hydrogeological conditions, surface water distances, buffer zone of roads, topography, soil, land use and proximity to centres of population. The weights or \"importance\" these criteria have a huge bearing on the decision making process. In spatial siting analysis with multiple factors, balancing the relative importance of varied factors can be difficult. Thus, a set of weights for the factors was presented and discussed.