published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Geography / Master / Master of Geographic Information System

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Geography / Master / Master of Geographic Information System

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Geography / Master / Master of Geographic Information System

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Geography / Master / Master of Geographic Information System

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Geography / Master / Master of Geographic Information System

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Geography and Geology / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Most of dengue transmission occurs in tropical and subtropical zones. As a result, studies on the dynamics of dengue transmission are principally focused in these areas. Less is known about the dynamics of dengue transmission and the interplay of social and climatic determinants in arid regions located at the fringe of transmission zones. This dissertation uses surveillance data from the state of Sonora, an arid region in northern Mexico, to examine three specific aims: 1) to assess relationships among social and climatic factors utilizing locality-level dengue incidence data across the state of Sonora, 2) to determine the correlation between the spatial pattern of dengue cases during an outbreak in Hermosillo, a large urban area, and neighborhood-level socio-economic and water supply factors using a novel case-control study design, and 3) to determine how dengue cases disseminated across two arid cities, Hermosillo and Navojoa, and to determine if changing socio-demographic patterns were similar between cities. Results from the first ecological study indicated that the distribution of dengue across the state was associated most strongly with the climatic gradient and, secondarily, by population size and lack of education. Underreporting in rural areas with lower access to transportation infrastructure was also detected. We demonstrated that a spatially-based case-control study design was useful in identifying associations between dengue transmission and neighborhood-level characteristics related to population density, lack of access to healthcare and water supply restrictions. Finally, the spatio-temporal study identified common patterns between the two cities/outbreaks. Dengue transmission arose and was maintained for 2-3 months in specific foci areas characterized by low access to healthcare and then the disease moved to contiguous areas. Recommendations for surveillance and control programs based on these results include: 1) in small localities at risk of transmission a combination of active and passive surveillance should be carried out for a period of time to determine if transmission is occurring, 2) monitoring water storage practices during water restrictions and ensuring appropriate messaging about covering storage containers should be made, and 3) spatial monitoring of dengue cases and agency reaction to initial disease occurrence could reduce spread to adjacent areas.

Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας, αποτελεί η κατανόηση και η μελέτη των Γεωγραφικών Πληροφοριακών Συστημάτων (ΓΠΣ), και εν συνεχεία η ανάπτυξη μιας διαδικτυακής εφαρμογής, χρησιμοποιώντας συγκεκριμένα χαρακτηριστικά των ΓΠΣ. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, έχοντας μια σαφή εικόνα των χαρακτηριστικών των ΓΠΣ, προχωρούμε στον σχεδιασμό και την υλοποίηση μιας εφαρμογής, που ως στόχο έχει την τμηματοποίηση και τον διαχωρισμό του χάρτη μιας δοθείσας περιοχής αστικού περιβάλλοντος, σε άλλες μικρότερες περιοχές. Ο διαχωρισμός αυτός δεν ακολουθεί μια αυθαίρετη λογική κατάτμησης, αλλά βασίζεται στον διαχωρισμό σε πολεοδομικά τετράγωνα, δημιουργώντας έτσι μικρότερες περιοχές ενδιαφέροντος. Στο παρελθόν έχουν υλοποιηθεί αρκετές τεχνικές αναπαράστασης της χωρικής πληροφορίας πάνω στον χάρτη, όπως οι Heat Maps, οι Dot Density Maps, οι Proportional Symbol Maps, κ.ά. Ωστόσο, αν και σε πολλές περιπτώσεις είναι αρκετά αποδοτικές αυτές οι τεχνικές, συνήθως είναι δυσνόητες και ασαφείς ως προς την κατανόησή τους από μη-ειδικούς χρήστες. Στην εργασία αυτή, σε κάθε νέα περιοχή ενδιαφέροντος (πολεοδομικά τετράγωνα), προσδίδεται ένας χρωματισμός, ανάλογα με τα δεδομένα που εξάγουμε από τα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης, μια τεχνική όπου είναι εύληπτη και κατανοητή από τον άνθρωπο, και μπορεί μέσω αυτής να εξάγει εύκολα συμπεράσματα. / The purpose of this work is to understand and study Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and subsequently to develop a web application, using specific characteristics of GIS. More specifically, having a clear picture of the characteristics of GIS, we proceed to the design and implementation of an application, which aims to segment and separate a given urban map area to other smaller one areas. This division does not follow an arbitrary logical partition, but is based on the separation in urban squares, thus creating smaller areas of interest. In the past, several techniques have been implemented for representing of spatial information on the map, such as HeatMaps, Dot Density Maps, Proportional Symbol Maps, etc. However, although in many cases these are quite effective, these techniques are usually obscure and unclear in their understanding of non-skilled users. In this work, in each new region of interest (urban squares), imparted a coloring, depending on the data extracted from social networking, a technique which is accessible and understandable by users and easy conclusions can be exported through.