Address data within geographic information systems (GIS) is used as reference data to link personal and administrative information, thus making it possible to locate and deliver goods and services to eligible persons. Preferably, every country must develop and maintain a single national address database (NAD) to eliminate data redundancy and provide a common point of reference across the board. In South Africa, the challenge is that there are separate address databases, which are developed and maintained by various public and private organizations – with little or no cooperation on data sharing. Currently, the establishment of a Committee for Spatial Information (CSI) which is tasked with the implementation of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI) and the publication of the South African Address Standard (SANS 1883) offer organizations an opportunity to collaborate towards the creation of a single address dataset. This research posits that the implementation of a successful data sharing initiative depends on the understanding of motivators and barriers of organizations participating in it. The research applied the case study method – with a semi-structured questionnaire – to assess the issues that motivate or obstruct GIS data sharing among three address organizations in South Africa. The results identified significant motivators that underlie the data sharing activities, e.g. reduced cost of data collection, improved data quality; and equally identified significant barriers that make organizations reluctant to enter into a data sharing initiative, e.g. data copyright and ownership, high staff-turnover, and lack of financial and technical resources. Although the case studies focused on address data in South Africa, the research findings can equally apply to other spatial datasets and are relevant for the successful implementation of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI). / Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Computer Science / Unrestricted

Le taux de prévalence des troubles anxieux est très élevé chez les adolescents avec un Trouble Envahissant du Développement Sans Déficience Intellectuelle (TED-SDI). Hypothèse : Les troubles anxieux sont liés à la reconnaissance des expressions faciales émotionnelles dans les TED-SDI. Objectifs : 1) Etudier les liens entre la présence de troubles anxieux et la reconnaissance des expressions faciales émotionnelles auprès d’adolescents avec TED-SDI, en comparant leurs performances de reconnaissance des expressions faciales émotionnelles selon qu’ils aient ou non des troubles anxieux. 2) Vérifier si ces liens sont spécifiques aux TED-SDI, en comparant les performances à un groupe contrôle anxieux sans TED. 3) Caractériser les troubles anxieux dans les TED-SDI. Méthode : Il s'agit d'une étude transversale, descriptive et comparative d'une population de 46 adolescents avec TED-SDI âgés de 11 à 18 ans dont 20 ont des troubles anxieux. Ces derniers ont été comparés à 20 sujets contrôle du même âge ayant des troubles anxieux sans TED. Résultats : Dans la population avec TED, des liens sont mis en évidence entre la présence de troubles anxieux et l'altération de la reconnaissance des expressions de Colère et Tristesse. Il existe une corrélation spécifique aux TED-SDI entre l'augmentation du niveau d’anxiété sociale et l'amélioration de la reconnaissance de la Peur. Conclusion : Cette étude confirme l’existence de liens entre les troubles anxieux et la reconnaissance des expressions faciales émotionnelles dans les TED-SDI. Des pistes de réflexion sur l’évaluation et le développement de nouvelles prises en charge des troubles anxieux dans cette population sont proposées. / Previous studies reported a high prevalence of anxiety in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) without intellectual disability. Hypothesis: There is an association between anxiety disorders and facial emotional expressionrecognition in this population. Objectives: 1) to explore the relationship between anxiety disorders and facial emotional expression recognition in adolescents with ASD without intellectual disability and in a control group of adolescents without ASD. 2) to examine the specificity of this relation to ASD in comparing their performance in facial emotion recognition to that of a control group with anxiety disorder without ASD. 3) to characterize anxiety disorders in ASD without intellectual disability.Methods: Our study is cross-sectional, descriptive and comparative. Forty-six adolescents with ASD without intellectual disability aged between 11 and 18 years participated in the study. Among them, 20 had an anxiety disorder and were compared with 20 controls of the same age, with anxiety disorder without ASD. Results: In adolescents with ASD, anxiety disorders were related to impairments in recognition of the emotions like Anger and Sadness. Moreover, we found a significant correlation between the level ofsocial anxiety and improvement in Fear recognition that was specific to ASD.Conclusion and future directions: This study supports the hypothesis that anxiety disorders are relatedto facial emotion recognition in adolescents with ASD without intellectual disability. Clinicalimplications concerning the assessment of anxiety comorbidities in this population and the lack ofadapted treatments are discussed.

Os dados espaciais têm sido utilizados para o monitoramento ambiental de consequências de acidentes com produtos químicos no transporte de produtos perigosos. A Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais (IDE), que foi criada para a disponibilização e uso de dados espaciais, esbarra na ausência de políticas para dar suporte a essa realização. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é explorar o uso da teoria de Análise de Rede Social (ARS) para diagnosticar a articulação entre as organizações do setor, e discutir as políticas e acordos institucionais vigentes e criar um esquema conceitual de uma IDE para gerenciamento de acidentes relacionados ao Transporte Rodoviário de Produtos Perigosos (TRPP). Neste contexto, esta pesquisa identificou as instituições que tratam do tema TRPP, para que informações sobre o interesse no uso e compartilhamento de dados espaciais através de uma IDE pudessem ser coletadas através de entrevistas, e desta forma, consolidadas. As entrevistas foram aplicadas de forma presencial em 39 instituições. A aplicação da teoria Análise de Rede Social (ARS) pôde diagnosticar o fluxo dos dados entre as instituições através da representação gráfica das redes de disponibilização e utilização de dados espaciais entre as organizações participantes. A partir de então, foram analisados e discutidos os acordos vigentes para compartilhamento de dados espaciais. Os resultados compilados permitiram propor um esquema conceitual de uma IDE para apoio a desastres envolvendo o TRPP, para, então, prover a elaboração de metodologia para o suporte ao diagnóstico da articulação entre os diversos atores de uma IDE. A finalidade é a possível a formulação de políticas para disponibilização de dados espaciais para tomada de decisões preventivas e de enfrentamento de desastres. Os resultados indicaram que as 39 instituições compartilham dados espaciais entre si, ainda que nem sempre por acordos formais preestabelecidos. Constatou-se ainda que há um grande anseio por parte das instituições que fazem o gerenciamento de acidentes envolvendo o TRPP para que haja mecanismos legais para compartilhamento de dados estruturantes para planejamento territorial - para que o uso desses dados possa auxiliar na preparação, prevenção, gerenciamento e socorro imediato aos incidentes que envolvem o TRPP. / Spatial data have been used for environmental monitoring of chemical accidents on the road transportation of dangerous goods. The Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) has been created to availability and use of spatial data, however, it emphasizes that there are no policies to support this realization. The main aim of this work is to create a conceptual scheme of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for management of transport of Dangerous Goods by road, focusing on the political context. It was identified the institutions that deal with the subject of road transportation of hazardous materials, Moreover the interviews could be consolidated. The interviews were administered by face, in 39 institutions. Interview data were ran in software UCINET, 2000 to obtain metrics related to centrality measures. The application of the theory of Social Network Analysis (ARS) could recognize the flow of data between institutions through the enrolled institutions. Furthermore, it was analyzed the network availability and use aspects of spatial data sharing between the organizations. Besides, the compiled results allowed to propose a conceptual scheme of a SDI to support technological disasters with road transportation of hazardous materials throw the SNA theory applied to investigation of spatial data sharing between different stakeholders to make prevention and risk management of the sector. Therefore, the analysis of the theory of Social Network Analysis (ARS) found that 39 (thirty-nine) institutions share spatial data between themselves, but not always in formal agreements previously established. It was further observed that there is a great desire on the part of the institutions that make the management of the accidents of this kind of transportation mode, so there are legal frameworks for data sharing for land cover uses, as a result the use of such data can be shared between different stakeholders to assist the preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery from incidents related to road dangerous goods transportation.

As zonas costeiras são áreas complexas que contemplam ambientes terrestres e marinhos que, além de possuírem enorme riqueza ambiental, também são áreas atrativas aos seres humanos por oferecer alimentos, lazer, negócios, transporte, entre outros. Algumas dificuldades de gerenciamento ocorrem pela complexidade, conflito de interesses e pelo fato de não haver padronização no levantamento de dados e disponibilização para a comunidade científica, órgãos públicos, etc. O uso de geotecnologias pode auxiliar na organização, padronização e compartilhamento destas informações em Atlas Web além de apoiar no planejamento e tomada de decisão pois agregam, em um único ambiente, diversos dados provenientes de fontes distintas. A construção de um modelo de dados espacial voltado à área ambiental, para ser utilizada em Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais (IDE) é exemplificada a partir da modelagem de um bioindicador, Macrobentos, de qualidade de sedimentos. Este trabalho apresenta as etapas necessárias para a construção de modelo de dados espacial de Macrobentos e emprega a Região Metropolitana da Baixada Santista como referência, além de ilustrar e discutir as principais dificuldades para organizar os dados não padronizados. Conclui-se que a estruturação do conhecimento quando se trabalha com dados ambientais em um modelo é essencial para sua posterior integração em IDE. Constatou-se no processo de modelagem que questões metodológicas relativas ao processo de coleta podem dificultar ou até mesmo inviabilizar a integração de dados provenientes de diferentes estudos. A construção de um modelo de dados espacial e sua posterior publicação via Geoportal, como o apresentado neste estudo, poderá ser utilizado como referência para novas pesquisas com objetivos semelhantes. / Coastal zones are complex areas that include marine and terrestrial environments. Besides its huge environmental importance, they also attract humans because they provide food, recreation, business, transportation, among others. Some difficulties to manage these areas are related with their complexity, diversity of interests and the absence of standardization to collect and share data to scientific community, public agencies, among others. The use of geo-technologies can be used in the organization, standardization and sharing of this information through Atlas Web and assists planning and decision making issues because it aggregates different files from distinct sources. The construction of a spatial database integrating the environmental business, to be used on Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is illustrated by a bioindicator, Macrobenthos, that indicates the quality of the sediments. This research shows the required steps to build Macrobenthos spatial database based on Santos Metropolitan Region as a reference. Besides, it tries to illustrate the problems related to organize non standardized data. It can be concluded, when working with environmental data, that the structuring of knowledge in a conceptual model is essential for their subsequent integration into the SDI. During the modeling process it can be noticed that methodological issues related to the collection process may obstruct or make impracticable the data integration from different studies of the same area. The development of a database model and its subsequent publication in a Geoportal can be used as a reference for further research with similar goals.

Fundamentale Voraussetzung für alle professionellen Kartendienste ist die Möglichkeit zur Kontrolle der grafischen Präsentation. Aus diesem Grund besteht ein starker Bedarf an der visuellen Darstellung von Geodaten. Diese transformiert rohe Informationen in wichtige und entscheidungstragende Werkzeuge. Der Feature Portrayal Service (FPS) hat die Aufgabe, diese Anforderungen umzusetzen und damit wesentlich zur kartographischen Interoperabilität in Geodateninfrastrukturen beizutragen. Der Dienst entstammt dem internationalen Standard SLD 1.1.0 (Styled Layer Descriptor). Es handelt sich um einen Darstellungsdienst, der die interoperable Nutzung von Vektor-Daten, also von so genannten Features, ermöglicht. Dieser spezielle Web Map Service hat die Aufgabe, Geodaten von beliebigen Web Feature Services sowie rohe GML-Daten in einer gewünschten grafischen Ausprägung zu präsentieren. Dabei ist der jeweilige Nutzer in der Lage, eigene Darstellungen zu definieren und auf einen beliebigen Datenbestand anzuwenden. Datenquellen, Darstellungsvorschriften und der Feature Portrayal Service selbst sind insofern unabhängig voneinander, dass diese drei Komponenten auf verschiedenen und voneinander unabhängigen Servern liegen können. Diese Art der Implementierung bezeichnet man als Component WMS.

This Master thesis is written in the field of collaborative planning aiming to challenge the collaborative approach on it applicability, especially in the context of the Global South. As a case study it looks on the urban poor community participatory practice, the so called 're-blocking' in Cape Town – an example of insitu informal settlement upgrading. It questions not only to what extent re-blocking displays a successful approach of collaborative planing but also whether it can lead to more inclusive cities in South Africa. The field data was gained through qualitative semi-structured interviews, observations and an analysis of national housing policy documents. The findings evaluate re-blocking as a successful example of collaborative planning in the sense that local communities are truly involved in the process and have a lot of decision making power. Also, re- blocking can be replicable to other cities in South Africa. Yet it faces several risks in community mobilisation and communication and can only be operated on a small scale. Therefore, the thesis concludes that re-blocking itself may not lead to inclusive cities, however as an example of community participation it may change the mindset of the South African society and (local) government towards informal community inclusion.

As zonas costeiras são áreas complexas que contemplam ambientes terrestres e marinhos que, além de possuírem enorme riqueza ambiental, também são áreas atrativas aos seres humanos por oferecer alimentos, lazer, negócios, transporte, entre outros. Algumas dificuldades de gerenciamento ocorrem pela complexidade, conflito de interesses e pelo fato de não haver padronização no levantamento de dados e disponibilização para a comunidade científica, órgãos públicos, etc. O uso de geotecnologias pode auxiliar na organização, padronização e compartilhamento destas informações em Atlas Web além de apoiar no planejamento e tomada de decisão pois agregam, em um único ambiente, diversos dados provenientes de fontes distintas. A construção de um modelo de dados espacial voltado à área ambiental, para ser utilizada em Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais (IDE) é exemplificada a partir da modelagem de um bioindicador, Macrobentos, de qualidade de sedimentos. Este trabalho apresenta as etapas necessárias para a construção de modelo de dados espacial de Macrobentos e emprega a Região Metropolitana da Baixada Santista como referência, além de ilustrar e discutir as principais dificuldades para organizar os dados não padronizados. Conclui-se que a estruturação do conhecimento quando se trabalha com dados ambientais em um modelo é essencial para sua posterior integração em IDE. Constatou-se no processo de modelagem que questões metodológicas relativas ao processo de coleta podem dificultar ou até mesmo inviabilizar a integração de dados provenientes de diferentes estudos. A construção de um modelo de dados espacial e sua posterior publicação via Geoportal, como o apresentado neste estudo, poderá ser utilizado como referência para novas pesquisas com objetivos semelhantes. / Coastal zones are complex areas that include marine and terrestrial environments. Besides its huge environmental importance, they also attract humans because they provide food, recreation, business, transportation, among others. Some difficulties to manage these areas are related with their complexity, diversity of interests and the absence of standardization to collect and share data to scientific community, public agencies, among others. The use of geo-technologies can be used in the organization, standardization and sharing of this information through Atlas Web and assists planning and decision making issues because it aggregates different files from distinct sources. The construction of a spatial database integrating the environmental business, to be used on Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is illustrated by a bioindicator, Macrobenthos, that indicates the quality of the sediments. This research shows the required steps to build Macrobenthos spatial database based on Santos Metropolitan Region as a reference. Besides, it tries to illustrate the problems related to organize non standardized data. It can be concluded, when working with environmental data, that the structuring of knowledge in a conceptual model is essential for their subsequent integration into the SDI. During the modeling process it can be noticed that methodological issues related to the collection process may obstruct or make impracticable the data integration from different studies of the same area. The development of a database model and its subsequent publication in a Geoportal can be used as a reference for further research with similar goals.

Os dados espaciais têm sido utilizados para o monitoramento ambiental de consequências de acidentes com produtos químicos no transporte de produtos perigosos. A Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais (IDE), que foi criada para a disponibilização e uso de dados espaciais, esbarra na ausência de políticas para dar suporte a essa realização. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é explorar o uso da teoria de Análise de Rede Social (ARS) para diagnosticar a articulação entre as organizações do setor, e discutir as políticas e acordos institucionais vigentes e criar um esquema conceitual de uma IDE para gerenciamento de acidentes relacionados ao Transporte Rodoviário de Produtos Perigosos (TRPP). Neste contexto, esta pesquisa identificou as instituições que tratam do tema TRPP, para que informações sobre o interesse no uso e compartilhamento de dados espaciais através de uma IDE pudessem ser coletadas através de entrevistas, e desta forma, consolidadas. As entrevistas foram aplicadas de forma presencial em 39 instituições. A aplicação da teoria Análise de Rede Social (ARS) pôde diagnosticar o fluxo dos dados entre as instituições através da representação gráfica das redes de disponibilização e utilização de dados espaciais entre as organizações participantes. A partir de então, foram analisados e discutidos os acordos vigentes para compartilhamento de dados espaciais. Os resultados compilados permitiram propor um esquema conceitual de uma IDE para apoio a desastres envolvendo o TRPP, para, então, prover a elaboração de metodologia para o suporte ao diagnóstico da articulação entre os diversos atores de uma IDE. A finalidade é a possível a formulação de políticas para disponibilização de dados espaciais para tomada de decisões preventivas e de enfrentamento de desastres. Os resultados indicaram que as 39 instituições compartilham dados espaciais entre si, ainda que nem sempre por acordos formais preestabelecidos. Constatou-se ainda que há um grande anseio por parte das instituições que fazem o gerenciamento de acidentes envolvendo o TRPP para que haja mecanismos legais para compartilhamento de dados estruturantes para planejamento territorial - para que o uso desses dados possa auxiliar na preparação, prevenção, gerenciamento e socorro imediato aos incidentes que envolvem o TRPP. / Spatial data have been used for environmental monitoring of chemical accidents on the road transportation of dangerous goods. The Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) has been created to availability and use of spatial data, however, it emphasizes that there are no policies to support this realization. The main aim of this work is to create a conceptual scheme of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for management of transport of Dangerous Goods by road, focusing on the political context. It was identified the institutions that deal with the subject of road transportation of hazardous materials, Moreover the interviews could be consolidated. The interviews were administered by face, in 39 institutions. Interview data were ran in software UCINET, 2000 to obtain metrics related to centrality measures. The application of the theory of Social Network Analysis (ARS) could recognize the flow of data between institutions through the enrolled institutions. Furthermore, it was analyzed the network availability and use aspects of spatial data sharing between the organizations. Besides, the compiled results allowed to propose a conceptual scheme of a SDI to support technological disasters with road transportation of hazardous materials throw the SNA theory applied to investigation of spatial data sharing between different stakeholders to make prevention and risk management of the sector. Therefore, the analysis of the theory of Social Network Analysis (ARS) found that 39 (thirty-nine) institutions share spatial data between themselves, but not always in formal agreements previously established. It was further observed that there is a great desire on the part of the institutions that make the management of the accidents of this kind of transportation mode, so there are legal frameworks for data sharing for land cover uses, as a result the use of such data can be shared between different stakeholders to assist the preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery from incidents related to road dangerous goods transportation.

A Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is required to make the spatial data be fully used and well shared by the society. In China, SDI’s has also been established progressively. A thorough understanding of the potentials and shortcomings about SDI in China has a positive significance to clearly identify the future direction and actions.In order to find out the potentials and shortcomings of SDI in China, the current situation of SDI and SDI in China have been assessed through literature review and interview. Then a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis has been developed. Based on the current experiences of SDI development in China, the thesis concludes that China have a good potential to develop its SDI function. It also points out that there still are some weaknesses needed to be surmounted, such as: lacking advanced technology, data duplication, and lack of skilled workforce. There is a big room and capability to improve the development of Chinese SDI well in the future.

The concept of grid computing has permeated all areas of distributed computing, changing the way in which distributed systems are designed, developed and implemented. At the same time ‘geobrowsers’, such as Google Earth, NASA World Wind and Virtual Earth, along with in-vehicle navigation, handheld GPS devices and maps on mobile phones, have made interactive maps and geographic information an everyday experience. Behind these maps lies a wealth of spatial data that is collated from a vast number of different sources. A spatial data infrastructure (SDI) aims to make spatial data from multiple sources available to as wide an audience as possible. Current research indicates that, due to a number of reasons, data sharing in these SDIs is still not common. This dissertation presents an analysis of the data grid approach for SDIs. Starting off, two imaginary scenarios spell out for the first time how data grids can be applied to enable the sharing of address data in an SDI. The work in this dissertation spans two disciplines: Computer Science (CS) and Geographic Information Science (GISc). A study of related work reveals that the data grid approach in SDIs is both a novel application for data grids (CS), as well as a novel technology in SDI environments (GISc), and this dissertation advances mutual understanding between the two disciplines. The novel evaluation framework for national address databases in an SDI is used to evaluate existing information federation models against the data grid approach. This evaluation, as well as an analysis of address data in an SDI, confirms that there are similarities between the data grid approach and the requirement for consolidated address data in an SDI. The evaluation further shows that where a large number of organizations are involved, such as for a national address database, and where there is a lack of a single organization tasked with the management of a national address database, the data grid is an attractive alternative to other models. The Compartimos (Spanish for ‘we share’) reference model was developed to identify the components with their capabilities and relationships that are required to grid-enable address data sharing in an SDI. The definition of an address in the broader sense (i.e. not only for postal delivery), the notion of an address as a reference and the definition of an addressing system and its comparison to a spatial reference system contribute towards the understanding of what an address is. A novel address data model shows that it is possible to design a data model for sharing and exchange of address data, despite diverse addressing systems and without impacting on, or interfering with, local laws for address allocation. The analysis in this dissertation confirms the need for standardization of domain specific geographic information, such as address data, and their associated services in order to integrate data from distributed heterogeneous sources. In conclusion, results are presented and recommendations for future work, drawn from the experience on the work in this dissertation, are made. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Computer Science / unrestricted