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Effective land use management in lesser developed countries is problematic due to a variety of factors including inexperience and turnover of decision makers, lack of communication among experts in functional areas, and scattered or missing data needed by managers to make informed decisions. This paper describes a “first step” approach toward the solution of these problems that was implemented in the Dominican Republic. The paper introduces a framework used to organize and facilitate the sharing of data needed for land use decision across multiple disciplines. The framework provided the basis for the development of a prototype agricultural geographic decision support system for use in the Dominican Republic. This system is unique in that it combines concepts from semantic data modeling and database design, geographic information systems, and knowledge‐based systems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of geographic information systems as a decision support system in analyzing geospatial data in the databases of an academic library.

In this study, after separation, the data on control, classification and coding of the geospatial information existing in an academic library's databases were entered into a geographic information system. Then, using the ArcGIS software and its program (ArcMap), the data were shown, described and analyzed based on existing needs and various indicators.

After performing various stages of this research, the geographic information system indicates a range of features as follows: display and localization of the research done on different maps; providing a variety of descriptive information on the features available on the system maps; data analysis and evaluation, based on existing needs and various indicators such as research location, university conducting research, date of research, educational course, etc.; evaluation and comparison of universities and research centers with one another in terms of spatial distribution of their scientific geospatial information; performing various calculations to determine and analyze the spatial relationships of data, for example determining distance of research location from the university; and the possibility of reporting a variety of attribute and spatial information of the system.

By using the analysis functions of the system and other logical and various applications, the database can be prepared to answer the questions raised by the users and the results will be very valuable in the process of decision making and planning in academic libraries and research centers.

This article aims to provide an annotated bibliography of some of the geographic information system (GIS) resources, specifically data sets, available to libraries and researchers. Drawing on the collective authors' experience working with the GIS resources, this article aims to help librarians interested in developing and building their GIS collection.

A literature review was performed using library databases, as well as consulting various library subject guides on the topic. Idaho State University is home to the GIS Training and Research Center and the university offers Master's degrees in Geographic Information Science and Historical Resources Management; the authors consulted graduate GIS students on resources used in the program.

There is a large body of literature on GIS. This annotated guide, while not comprehensive, is a solid start to a GIS resources collection.

No other annotated bibliography currently exists for those interested in building a library collection of GIS data sets.

This paper introduces hydroinformatics, a discipline that has strong ancestry in the computational sciences and artificial intelligence, as a way forward for water network management and maintenance in particular. Within hydroinformatics, geographic information systems and data mining (artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms specifically) are the new technologies with probably the widest applicability to the water industry. This paper introduces basic concepts of hydroinformatics and data mining, explains the process by which they may be applied and describes basic technologies with their advantages and disadvantages.

This chapter introduces the Person-in-Environment (PIE) framework, a research design and a nationwide empirical study, developed by the author, to measure the relative impacts of socio-structural and personal factors on individual-level information behaviours (IB) and outcomes. The IB field needs to tackle two questions: (1) In a particular situation, how much of an individual's IB is influenced by personal characteristics? and (2) How much of this behaviour is shaped by one's environment, such as socio-structural barriers? PIE is a beginning effort to address this agency–structure debate, which is a topic that confronts many social scientists. This chapter first outlines IB research relevant to agency–structure integration. It then presents six principles of the PIE framework. Personal characteristics (e.g. cognitive and affective factors) and socio-structural factors (e.g. information resources distribution) are conceptualised as interrelated. Thus, these need to be tested simultaneously. Previously, it was difficult to link individual- and societal-level datasets because their units of observation often vary. To overcome these methodological challenges, this author purposed a research design that employs secondary analysis, geographic information systems techniques and structural equation modelling. An empirical study of the library usage by 13,000 American 12th graders is presented to demonstrate PIE's applicability. Discussions on the future directions of PIE studies conclude the chapter. The PIE framework can contribute to conceptual and methodological development in IB research. It also offers scholars and policymakers a way to empirically assess the contributions of information services on an individual's life, while taking personal differences into account.

The paper's purpose is to review the growth of computer supported valuation models and the increased access via information technology to property data in the world of property taxation. The paper aims to stimulate debate on what the short/medium term future may hold. Is there room for both traditional valuation surveying skills and computer mass appraisal models in the enlightened property taxation world, where transparency and access to property data is expected?

The paper compares and contrasts developments and trends in the use of automated valuation models (AVMs) across the world to assess property for local taxation purposes. It focuses in detail on three automated property taxation valuation systems of which the author has working knowledge and experience: Valuation Office Agency – Council Tax (Dwellings) and Non Domestic Rating (Commercial); Northern Ireland Valuation and Lands Agency – Domestic (Dwellings); Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department (Dwellings and Commercial) property. The paper also considers the progress made in access to property data and data storage/retrieval.

Automated valuation programmes assist in the production of a valuation but its quality and accuracy are data and valuer led. One size does not fit all and there is no automated replacement for the subjective professional judgement of the valuer.

This paper considers the challenges, opportunities and possible problems when using computer driven valuation models for property taxation purposes.

This paper seeks to provide a timely consideration of how regional governments in Asia and other national governments around the world collect, manage, and share critical geo‐technical information in what is becoming an increasingly global community.

The paper addresses the socio‐technical perspective of government information systems and management, and draws on the collection and analysis of several public reports, media articles, and expert opinions published in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami of 26 December 2004.

On the basis of the published material, the paper observes how critical early warning information was handled by government authorities in the hours before the tsunami wave strike, discusses the availability of technological solutions that can provide earthquake and tsunami warning information, and poses that government bureaucracies and human relations form the weakest link in the information chain.

The paper concludes with a potential research agenda for government warning information systems and management.

The type of early warning information system that might be created to avoid another loss of life, suggested improvements to inter‐government information sharing and communications, and the emerging requirement for earthquake and tsunami information dissemination and education in lesser developed countries are also discussed.

The research enabled the examination of weaknesses in critical information sharing between governments and members of the international community, and highlights the issue of strong human relationships as a key to preventing the loss of life and better managing disasters.

The Environmental Data Registry (EDR) is a cornerstone of the US Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to manage and integrate environmental information for the purposes of safeguarding human health and protecting the environment. This paper seeks to present findings on the use of the EDR/SoR metadata registry system based on data from web logs transactions. It aims to broaden our understanding of how metadata registries are used, particularly as indicated by their own users.

The paper presents an analysis of web log transactions of a six‐year period (1998‐2004). The focus of this paper is in three areas: use presented on a daily, monthly and yearly basis; trends in use (increasing/decreasing) over a period of more than six years; and users of the metadata registry system as shown through the domain and directory reports.

The paper presents the daily, monthly and yearly use of the EDR/SoR. It shows trends in its use for a period of over six years and identifies some of the metadata registry's users and the information they seek (as shown in the directory reports).

Transactional web logs, in general, record the internet protocol address of the computer that accessed the web site/service. That is not necessarily linked to any one specific user. Therefore, results are presented as actual access numbers rather than human beings.

This paper is among the first of its kind to examine web log transactions in assessing metadata registry usage. This research is intended to enhance the understanding of the user and application of the EDR/SoR and therefore provide a baseline for metadata registry systems' evaluation in general.

Using archival data from the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri and current data from Fatal Encounters (FE), this study descriptively compared concentrated incidents of fatal police shootings of civilians in St. Louis, Missouri at two points in time – 1970 to 1980 and 2000 to 2010. This study also explored connections to race and income by mapping the composition of Black residents and levels of concentrated economic disadvantage using 1980 and 2010 United States Census data. Geographic Information Systems (GISs) results revealed noticeable similarities in the sites of fatal police shootings of civilians across the two time periods. Specifically, most of the incidents occurred in the northern and southeastern sectors of St. Louis City in neighborhoods with a higher number of Black residents and impacted by economic disadvantage. All of the individuals shot and killed by the police were male, and a majority were 22 years old or younger, and armed during the incident. Results from police perceptions studies from the 1970s and early to mid oughts are also discussed to posit that a persistence of police violence historically and presently may help offer key insights into how legal estrangement may ensue.