Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore library research that uses geographic information systems (GIS) as a tool to evaluate library services and resources to ascertain current trends and establish future directions for this growing research area.

The study searched full text for geographic information systems in two databases: Library and Information Science Source (LISS) and Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), replicating the method used in a prior literature review. The titles and abstracts of the search results were analyzed to gather only the research that used GIS as a tool to measure and analyze library services.

This study found growth in the last decade for library research using GIS. There remain two ways the tool is primarily used: to analyze service areas and to manage facilities and collections.

The findings are relevant for library and information science researchers and practitioners because they summarize a specific area of research that has grown and changed and that still has potential to be used more widely. Using GIS in practice and research could benefit all library users and nonusers because spatial analysis facilitates more precise and informed delivery of services and resources.

The paper provides future directions for use of GIS in library research and attempts to define subdivisions within this research area to clarify the area for researchers and practitioners.

A wide number of technologies are currently in store to harness the challenges posed by pandemic situations. As such diseases transmit by way of person-to-person contact or by any other means, the World Health Organization had recommended location tracking and tracing of people either infected or contacted with the patients as one of the standard operating procedures and has also outlined protocols for incident management. Government agencies use different inputs such as smartphone signals and details from the respondent to prepare the travel log of patients. Each and every event of their trace such as stay points, revisit locations and meeting points is important. More trained staffs and tools are required under the traditional system of contact tracing. At the time of the spiralling patient count, the time-bound tracing of primary and secondary contacts may not be possible, and there are chances of human errors as well. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to propose an algorithm called SemTraClus-Tracer, an efficient approach for computing the movement of individuals and analysing the possibility of pandemic spread and vulnerability of the locations.

Pandemic situations push the world into existential crises. In this context, this paper proposes an algorithm called SemTraClus-Tracer, an efficient approach for computing the movement of individuals and analysing the possibility of pandemic spread and vulnerability of the locations. By exploring the daily mobility and activities of the general public, the system identifies multiple levels of contacts with respect to an infected person and extracts semantic information by considering vital factors that can induce virus spread. It grades different geographic locations according to a measure called weightage of participation so that vulnerable locations can be easily identified. This paper gives directions on the advantages of using spatio-temporal aggregate queries for extracting general characteristics of social mobility. The system also facilitates room for the generation of various information by combing through the medical reports of the patients.

It is identified that context of movement is important; hence, the existing SemTraClus algorithm is modified by accounting for four important factors such as stay point, contact presence, stay time of primary contacts and waypoint severity. The priority level can be reconfigured according to the interest of authority. This approach reduces the overwhelming task of contact tracing. Different functionalities provided by the system are also explained. As the real data set is not available, experiments are conducted with similar data and results are shown for different types of journeys in different geographical locations. The proposed method efficiently handles computational movement and activity analysis by incorporating various relevant semantics of trajectories. The incorporation of cluster-based aggregate queries in the model do away with the computational headache of processing the entire mobility data.

As the trajectory of patients is not available, the authors have used the standard data sets for experimentation, which serve the purpose.

This paper proposes a framework infrastructure that allows the emergency response team to grab multiple information based on the tracked mobility details of a patient and facilitates room for various activities for the mitigation of pandemics such as the prediction of hotspots, identification of stay locations and suggestion of possible locations of primary and secondary contacts, creation of clusters of hotspots and identification of nearby medical assistance. The system provides an efficient way of activity analysis by computing the mobility of people and identifying features of geographical locations where people travelled. While formulating the framework, the authors have reviewed many different implementation plans and protocols and arrived at the conclusion that the core strategy followed is more or less the same. For the sake of a reference model, the Indian scenario is adopted for defining the concepts.

The purpose of this study is to describe the role of geographical information system (GIS) in public libraries. The study shed light on various functions of GIS in the public library scenario. It further elaborates on the scope of GIS, its functions and the multiple challenges faced by library staff in implementation in public library.

A qualitative study was conducted by exploring articles published in top databases like Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, SpringerLink, Google Scholar, etc. The study reveals that GIS has been part of multiple businesses for the past few years, and its role is expanding at an alarming rate in public libraries for the past 10 years.

The study reveals that GIS deals with the geospatial characteristics of the data set, and the public library’s prime role is to visualize large quantities of disparate data in one data set.

The study will further wider the scope of the GIS in public library scenario. Experts in GIS and library field will get an extensive information and optimum benefits by reading this paper.

The paper aims to present a literary itinerary inspired in Julio Dinis’ novel An English Family (Uma Família Inglesa) through a comparative analysis of the places identified in the novel and the touristic attraction proposed by Visit Porto website. This novel is representative of the cultural identity and society of Porto city in the 19th century. Developing an itinerary based on this novel can facilitate the reading and understanding of the historical and cultural development of Porto.

This case study is based on the reading of the Julio Dinis’ novel An English Family (Uma Família Inglesa), whose storyline takes place in Porto city, Portugal in the 19th century. It used QGIS v. 3.12 software, a geographical information system to identify the places, to produce the maps and to create the itinerary.

The comparison between the places identified in the novel and the tourist attraction in Visit Porto website revealed that only 6 points in the novel are referenced on Visit Porto website. These points correspond to the ones in the historical city centre of Porto. However, the creation of an itinerary that brings together all the points mentioned by Julio Dinis in his novel, will allow the development of a new touristic itinerary, alternative to existing itineraries in the city and that can be seen as a distinguish offer that allows a different view of the urban space of Porto.

There are some limitations to this study that can be highlighted. First, it was difficult to find the correct location of some points identified in the novel, due to difficulty of finding historical maps with quality of the data. At the same time, as tourist information is dispersed by several sources, and most of those data is not georeferenced, it was time consuming the integration of all the information in the same geodatabase. The choice of the shortest path can also be considered as a limitation, rather than the route followed by the author in the novel, but geographic information systems operates on spatial and temporal scale, which can present a limitation in tourism analysis. In the case of this project, we have chosen the shortest path, assuming that tourist would prefer that.

This research allowed to address two areas of knowledge that are emerging in the study of urban centres as tourist areas: the use of GIS and literary tourism. Despite the fact that there are already articles on this subject, the originality focuses on the approach made around one of the greatest writers of Portugal in the 19th century, allowing to present a tourist itinerary about one of his literary works, and the comparison made between the places identified in the novel and the tourist points identified on the Visit Porto website.

Each stage in disaster management faces different challenges concerning information gathering, sharing, interpretation and dissemination. However, a comprehensive understanding of different information and communication technology (ICT) systems utilised for humanitarian disaster management is limited. Therefore, the paper follows a systems thinking approach to examine ten major man-made and/or natural disasters to comprehend the influence of ICT systems on humanitarian relief operations.

A longitudinal, multi-case study captures the use of ICT tools, stakeholders involvement, disaster stages and zones of operations for relief operations over the past two decades. A systems thinking approach is utilised to draw several inferences and develop frameworks.

Multiple ICT tools such as geographic information systems, online webpages/search engines, social media, unmanned aerial vehicles/robots and artificial intelligence are used for rapid disaster response and mitigation. Speed and coordination of relief operations have significantly increased in recent years due to the increased use of ICT systems.

Secondary data on the past ten disasters is utilised to draw inferences. The developed ICT-driven model must be validated during upcoming humanitarian relief operations.

A holistic understanding of a complex inter-relationship between influential variables (stakeholders, disaster stages, zones of operation, ICT systems) is beneficial for effectively managing humanitarian disasters.

Broadly classifying the ICT systems into surveillance, decision support and broadcasting systems, a novel ICT-enabled model for humanitarian relief operations is developed.

Currently, the Tang tomb mural cultural relic resources are presented in a multi-source and heterogeneous manner, with a lack of effective organization and sharing between resources. Therefore, this study aims to propose a multidimensional knowledge discovery solution for Tang tomb mural cultural relic resources.

Taking the Tang tomb murals collected by the Shaanxi History Museum as an example, based on clarifying the relevant concepts of Tang tomb mural resources and considering both dynamic and static dimensions, a top-down approach was adopted to first construct an ontology model of Tang tomb mural type cultural relics resources. Then, the actual case data was imported into the Neo4J graph database according to the defined pattern hierarchy to complete the static organization of knowledge, and presented in a multimodal form in knowledge reasoning and retrieval. In addition, geographic information system (GIS) technology is used to dynamically display the spatiotemporal distribution of Tang tomb mural resources, and the distribution trend is analysed from a digital humanistic perspective.

The multi-dimensional knowledge discovery of Tang tomb mural cultural relics resources can help establish the correlation and spatiotemporal relationship between resources, providing support for semantic retrieval and navigation, knowledge discovery and visualization and so on.

This study takes the murals in the collection of the Shaanxi History Museum as an example, revealing potential knowledge associations in a static and intelligent way, achieving knowledge discovery and management of Tang tomb murals, and dynamically presents the spatial distribution of Tang tomb murals through GIS technology, meeting the knowledge presentation needs of different users and opening up new ideas for the study of Tang tomb murals.

Notwithstanding the Geographical Information System (GIS) being a fast-emerging green area of a digital revolution, the available studies focus on different subject areas of application in the construction industry, with no study that clarifies its knowledge strands. Hence, this systematic review analyses GIS core area of application, its system integration patterns, challenges and future directions in the construction industry.

A systematic review approach was employed, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. A total of 60 articles published between 2011 and 2022 were identified, thoroughly reviewed and analysed using thematic analysis.

The analysis revealed spatial planning and design, construction-task tracking, defect detection and safety monitoring as its four main application-based areas. The findings showed that the adoption of GIS technology is rapidly expanding and being utilised more in building projects to visual-track construction activities. The review discovered an integrated pattern involving data flow from a device and window-form application to GIS, the pathways to data exchange between platforms to platforms, where ArcGIS is the most used software. Furthermore, the study highlighted the lack of interoperability between heterogeneous systems as the crux impediment to adopting GIS in the built environment.

The research provides a deep insight into possible areas where GIS is adopted in the construction industry, identifying areas of extensive and limited application coverage over a decade. Besides, it demystifies possible pathways for future integration opportunities of GIS with other emerging technologies within the construction industry.

Using a real-time road network combined with historical traffic data for Al-Salt city, the paper aims to propose a new federated genetic algorithm (GA)-based optimization technique to solve the dynamic vehicle routing problem. Using a GA solver, the estimated routing time for 300 chromosomes (routes) was the shortest and most efficient over 30 generations.

In transportation systems, the objective of route planning techniques has been revised from focusing on road directors to road users. As a result, the new transportation systems use advanced technologies to support drivers and provide them with the road information they need and the services they require to reduce traffic congestion and improve routing problems. In recent decades, numerous studies have been conducted on how to find an efficient and suitable route for vehicles, known as the vehicle routing problem (VRP). To identify the best route, VRP uses real-time information-acquired geographical information systems (GIS) tools.

This study aims to develop a route planning tool using ArcGIS network analyst to enhance both cost and service quality measures, taking into account several factors to determine the best route based on the users’ preferences.

Furthermore, developing a route planning tool using ArcGIS network analyst to enhance both cost and service quality measures, taking into account several factors to determine the best route based on the users’ preferences. An adaptive genetic algorithm (GA) is used to determine the optimal time route, taking into account factors that affect vehicle arrival times and cause delays. In addition, ArcGIS' Network Analyst tool is used to determine the best route based on the user's preferences using a real-time map.

The construction industry’s daily processes demand heavy data usage and communication between project participants to meet client requirements. Thus, the application of information technology in project implementation has been increasing in the construction sector (CS) lately. However, the same cannot be seen in public sectors responsible for implementing government projects in South Africa. This study aimed to investigate the causes and effects of the underutilisation of information communication technology (ICT) in the building section of a public sector in a municipality in South Africa.

A qualitative approach was adopted for the study, using a public sector in one of the municipalities as a case study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted among the building unit workers, using unstructured interview questions. The data collected were analysed using the ATLAS.ti software.

The findings indicate a lack of understanding of existing and newly available ICT software and hardware technology among staff within the building technology due to lack of digitalisation in construction projects implementation, inadequate system upgrades, lack of adequate ICT resources, lack of financial resources for internet and software application subscriptions and lack of ICT training leading. The issues mentioned above have led to the outsourcing of projects professionals, slow pace of electronic emails, untrained professionals, usage of different and unlicensed software, resulting in the underutilisation of ICT within the whole building section. This change also adversely affects all officials, especially the junior officials who have graduated using the most recent ICT technology during their studies.

The building department of only one public sector was used for the study; therefore, the findings may not be generalisable. The case study public sector’s name is withheld for confidentiality purposes.

Adequate change management and continuous development, combined with the allocation of proper resources, would be necessary for all staff members. Enormous investments had to be made in the ICT equipment by providing a sufficient budget in the building section of the public sectors. The building section within public sectors should provide change management to all aged skills staff by attending seminars to learn new ICT technology applied within its work environment.

The study established the causes of the underutilisation of ICT in the CS, especially in the public work departments and municipalities, and how this contributes to service delivery.

To be able to continuously provide affordable services to consumers, managers of critical infrastructure (CI) maintenance supply networks have to balance investments in resilience with costs. At the same time, CI providers need to consider factors that influence resilience such as the geographical spread or the location of the network. This study aims to contextualize supply chain resilience knowledge by exploring how maintenance resource configurations impact resilience and costs in CI supply networks.

An in-depth longitudinal single case study of a representative CI provider that has centralized its maintenance supply network is used. Data were collected before and after the change to evaluate the effect of the changes on the maintenance supply network.

This study shows that in this specific CI maintenance context, structural resource choices such as the quantity or location of spare parts and tools, the creation and exploitation of tacit knowledge and staff motivation impact both resilience and costs due to geographical spread, network location and other network properties.

This study extends general supply chain resilience knowledge to a new setting (i.e. CI) and shows how existing insights apply in this context. More specifically, it is shown that even in engineered supply networks there is a need to consider the effect of human agency on resilience as the creation and exploitation of tacit knowledge are of immense importance in managing the network. In addition, the relationship between normal accidents theory and high reliability theory (HRT) is revisited as findings indicate that HRT is also important after a disruption has taken place.