Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications

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    Teaching and research programs in land and geographic information systems at the University of Melbourne, Australia
    Williamson, Ian P. ; Hunter, Gary J. ( 1990)
    As in many other parts of the world, Australia is experiencing a severe shortage of Land and Geographic Information System (LIS/GIS) specialists who possess appropriate tertiary education backgrounds. This shortage of qualified personnel is causing difficulties for public agencies trying to establish LIS/GIS which, having fought for approval of staff increases, are often in the embarrassing position of not being able to fill positions when finally allowed to do so. This shortage applies just as equally to the private and academic sectors.In an effort to address this imbalance, The University of Melbourne has designed new LIS/GIS courses and subjects, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with the aim of catering for young professionals about to enter the LIS/GIS community, and current administrators, academics and practitioners who find they now need a stronger background in the science, technology and management issues surrounding LIS/GIS.The paper outlines a multi-disciplinary strategy at The University of Melbourne for teaching and research in LIS/GIS. The paper, however, concentrates on the programs within the Department of Surveying and Land Information (A Centre of Excellence in Land Information Studies designated by the Institute of Land Information based in Washington, DC), and a new Graduate Diploma in Geographic Information Systems being introduced jointly by the above department and the School of Environmental Planning within the University.
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    The need for improved forms of conceptual models in Geographical Information System development
    Williamson, Ian P. ; Hunter, Gary J. ( 1991)
    While numerous books have been published in the past two decades on the subject of information system development methodologies, it is now recognized that these techniques need modification to suit the peculiar nature of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). However, regardless of how system development life-cycles might be varied to suit GIS, the use of models remains a common feature of the development of any information system. It is argued that high-level conceptual models, as used in the initial system evaluation phase, are perhaps the most important type of model in terms of providing an overall picture of what the system is designed to achieve -- yet they remain the least understood. The aim of this paper is to provide a greater understanding of their role and purpose and to highlight their importance in effective GIS development and implementation. Suggestions are also made for improving the form and content of conceptual models so that their meaning becomes clearer
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    Implementing LIS/GIS from a customary land tenure perspective: the Fiji experience
    Rakai, Mele E. T. ; Williamson, Ian P. ( 1995)
    This paper briefly reviews Fiji's national land information system (LIS) strategy and the major land and geographic information systems (LIS/GIS) initiatives that have been under way in the major government organisations in Fiji up to April 1994. It also describes and attempts to examine the impact that these initiatives have had on the people who continue to live under Fiji's customary land tenure systems.
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    The dynamic nature of spatial data infrastructures: a method of descriptive classification
    Chan, Tai On ; Feeney, Mary-Ellen ; RAJABIFARD, ABBAS ; Williamson, Ian P. ( 2001)
    Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is understood and described differently by stakeholders from different disciplines and different administrative/political levels. However, current SD Idefinitions are individually insufficient to describe the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of SDI. Despite the international interest and activities toward SDI development, SDI remains very much an innovation even among practitioners. There are still doubts regarding the nature and identities of SDI, particularly in connection with how it evolves over time to meet user needs. Asa starting point a means to describe SDI’s multi-dimensional capacity as an inter- and intra- jurisdictional spatial information framework is required. The aim of this paper is to better understand and describe the nature of SDI and its components. A method to classify the perceived roles of SDI is identified. The method is extrapolated from a technique to describe different perspectives of Geographical Information System (GIS) diffusion, based on identified parallels between GIS and SDIs. The methodology may facilitate description and understanding of the SDI technological and user environment, by promoting insight into the dynamic roles of SDI.
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    Future directions for Spatial Information Management in Australia-a land administration perspective
    Williamson, I. P. ( 1999)
    Future directions for spatial information management in Australia, from a land administrationperspective, are discussed. Sustainable development, micro-economic reform, globalisation andtechnology are highlighted as the drivers for change. The changing spatial information environment withemphasis on land administration and cadastral issues is examined by drawing on research beingundertaken at the University of Melbourne. Issues concerned with future land administrationinfrastructures such as the changing humankind to land relationship, cadastral reform and native title arehighlighted. Specific cadastral and land administration issues and technologies which impact on spatialinformation strategies are reviewed, including understanding the business-infrastructure relationship inspatial information management, modelling the maintenance of cadastral systems, the changing nature ofspatial data infrastructures, the spatial hierarchy problem, the importance of developing partnerships andthe impact of communications and WWW technologies. The paper concludes by emphasising that anygovernment spatial information strategy is intimately linked to land administration and is influenced byglobal drivers such as sustainable development, micro-economic reform and globalisation, as well astechnology. Understanding the inter-dependence between these global drivers is a key to successfulspatial information management strategies.
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    Land administration, spatial systems and citiesan Australian perspective
    Williamson, I. P. ( 1999)
    The paper argues that any spatial information strategy for urban, local government orcity jurisdiction is intimately linked to and influenced by the state or national landadministration and cadastral systems where it is located. It is these state or nationalsystems which usually provide the spatial infrastructure for urban information systems.Therefore to understand current trends in urban information systems, changes and trendsin state and national land administration systems must also be understood. The paperaddresses this topic by exploring the changing humankind-land relationship and theglobal drivers of sustainable development, micro-economic reform, globalisation andtechnology, with emphasis on Australian state spatial information systems. It draws onresearch being undertaken at the University of Melbourne to highlight some of thetrends and issues
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    Local and State-based Collaboration: The Key to Unlocking the Potential of SDI
    WARNEST, MS ; MCDOUGALL, K ; RAJABIFARD, A ; WILLIAMSON, IP (The Institution of Surveyors Australia, 2003)
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    Making the SDI concept relevant to Asia-Pacific countries: the PCGIAP experience
    HOLLAND, PETER ; WILLIAMSON, IAN ; RAJABIFARD, ABBAS ; Manning, John ( 2005)
    Development of regional spatial data infrastructures (SDI) is one of the distinctive features ofthe last decade. This is mainly due to the need for seamless consistent spatial data beyondnational boundaries to support decision-making at a multi-national level. The development ofthese regional initiatives began with the creation of regional SDI coordination groups such asthe Permanent Committee for GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP), formedin 1995 under the auspices of the United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asiaand the Pacific (UNRCC-AP).The aims of the PCGIAP are to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits ofgeographic information in accordance with Agenda 21 by providing a forum for nations fromthe Asia and Pacific region (the largest region in the world) to:Share experiences and cooperate in the development of a regional SDI;Contribute to the development of the global SDI; and,Participate in any other form of activity such as education, training, and technologytransfer at different jurisdictional levels.Over the past ten years, the PCGIAP has confronted a number of issues associated withbuilding a regional SDI. The group has also assisted member nations in their national SDIinitiatives.This paper describes some of the experiences of the PCGIAP, in particular:The establishment of a new geodetic datum for the region;The benchmarking of cadastral systems;The conceptualization of a framework for marine zone administration in the future; and,The strategic issues confronting the PCGIAP at the start of its 2nd decade of operation.
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    Discuss: a soft computing approach to spatial disaggregation in economic evaluation of public policies
    Paez, Daniel ; Williamson, Ian P. ; BISHOP, IAN ( 2006)
    For more than three decades cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been used in many countries as an important tool for evaluating public policies. More recently, participation of stakeholders in CBA processes has become an important issue for governments. However, CBA by itself does not provide a good environment for stakeholder participation. A major reason for this is the lack of spatial disaggregation in traditional CBA. In order to allow greater public participation, a GIS based approach is proposed. This approach uses a Geocomputational system, which incorporates soft computing theory with expert systems in a geographic information systems (GIS) environment. It is designed to generate representations of environmental, economic and social policy outcomes according to the perceptions of the stakeholders and after the CBA results have been obtained. The methodology proposed for modelling impacts in cases where uncertainty exists uses the soft computing theory of fuzzy logic to generate a raster map based on spatial inputs provided by the stakeholders involved in the decision process. This computer based system, called DISCUSS (Decision Information System for Community Understanding of Spatial Scenarios), is intended for situations where the government chooses to evaluate a policy using CBA and desires to encourage public participation in evaluating the results identified by the economic methodology. DISCUSS and the maps that it produces are being tested in a public participation case study with long-term impacts over a large area of south-eastern Australia.