Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemDesign and development of a web-based 3D cadastral visualisation prototype(Taylor & Francis, 2015)Three-dimensional (3D) developments of land, such as complex high-rises, put enormous pressure on current land administration systems that have ad hoc approaches to 3D property management. These approaches are unable to support effective 3D storage, analysis and visualisation of property information. Effective visualisation is one of the essential components in realisation of a truly 3D cadastre. Currently, several 3D visualisation applications and cadastral prototypes have been developed around the world. However, they do not effectively represent ownership information in 3D because they have not been developed based on 3D cadastral visualisation requirements. After candidate 3D visualisation solutions were compared with user-derived visualisation criteria, a web-based 3D visualisation prototype was designed and developed. The functionality, usability and efficiency of the prototype were evaluated by potential users involved in the registration and management of property. While there was a high level of enthusiasm for the features of the prototype, the results also suggest further directions for development of 3D cadastral visualisation. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.
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ItemDiscuss: a soft computing approach tospatial disaggregation in economicevaluation of public policies(Blackwell, 2006)For more than three decades cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been used in manycountries as an important tool for evaluating public policies. More recently, participationof stakeholders in CBA processes has become an important issue for governments.However, CBA by itself does not provide a good environment for stakeholderparticipation. A major reason for this is the lack of spatial disaggregation intraditional CBA. In order to allow greater public participation, a GIS-based approachis proposed. This approach uses a Geocomputational system, which incorporates softcomputing theory with expert systems in a geographic information systems (GIS)environment. It is designed to generate representations of environmental, economicand social policy outcomes according to the perceptions of the stakeholders and afterthe CBA results have been obtained. The methodology proposed for modellingimpacts in cases where uncertainty exists uses the soft computing theory of fuzzy logicto generate a raster map based on spatial inputs provided by the stakeholders involvedin the decision process. This computer-based system, called DISCUSS (DecisionInformation System for Community Understanding of Spatial Scenarios), is intendedfor situations where the government chooses to evaluate a policy using CBA anddesires to encourage public participation in evaluating the results identified by theeconomic methodology. DISCUSS and the maps that it produces are being testedin a public participation case study with long-term impacts over a large area ofsouth-eastern Australia.
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ItemSupporting personal world-views in an envisioning system(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2005-12)
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ItemThe role of institutional mechanisms in spatial data infrastructure development that supports decision-making(Australian Institute of Cartographers, 2002-01-01)Improved economic, social and environmental decision-making are principal objectives for investing in the development of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) at all political and administrative levels. Indeed, Resolution 7 of the recent 5th Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) conference in Cartagena, Colombia (GSDI, 2001) argued that the purpose of the GSDI is to improve the availability, accessibility, and applicability of spatial information for decision-making. While accepting the development of institutional mechanisms to support decision-making by promoting the availability and accessibility of spatial information as part of SDI institutional frameworks, many institutional mechanisms fall short of addressing the application of spatial data to decision-making. From an institutional perspective, the motivation for SDI implementation is the impracticality of a single organisation producing and maintaining the wide variety of data and models needed to inform many decisions, resulting in a need for sharing of data and a range of analytical and display tools. This is being seen particularly in the natural resource, environment and government sectors in Australia. These sectors are utilising institutional mechanisms to support spatial decision-making processes in a number of different ways including the development of community resource centres, departmental development of decision support tools, as well as the development of atlases, spatial data directories and on-line land information services. In Australia these institutional mechanisms are playing a crucial role in providing the building blocks for the institutional framework of SDIs and address different levels of the decision-making process. This paper looks at how availability and accessibility of spatial data are being achieved by reviewing examples from each of the institutional mechanisms mentioned. The variety of decision-making levels supported by these different initiatives is reviewed in terms of decision process theory. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the approaches to developing institutional support for decision-making as part of SDI development, as well as a consideration of directions for SDI development in the future to support spatial decision-making processes.
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ItemSDI development to support spatial decision-making( 2002)Improved economic, social and environmental decision-making are principal objectives for investing in the development of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) at all political and administrative levels. So much so, resolution 7 of the recent 5th Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) conference in Cartagena, Colombia argued that the purpose of the GSDI is to improve the availability, accessibility, and applicability of spatial information for decision-making (GSDI 2001). Developing institutional support for decision-making that promotes and incorporates the availability and accessibility of spatial information therefore plays an important role in SDI implementation. From an institutional perspective the motivation for SDI implementation is driven by the impracticality of a single organisation producing and maintaining the wide variety of data and models needed to inform many decisions, which results in increased sharing of data, information, analytical, display and modelling tools. This is being seen particularly in the natural resource, environment and local government sectors in Australia (Feeney et al. 2002). These sectors are utilising a variety of institutional mechanisms in their development of spatial decision support capabilities, which are moving progressively towards models that support the development and availability of interoperable digital geographic data and technologies to support spatial decision-making at different levels and participation. The inclusion of technology support as part of developing SDIs has been recognised as essential to meeting the needs of the multi-disciplinary and multi-participant environments that characterise decision-making for sustainable development (Agenda21 1993, GSDI 2001, Rio+10 2002). Unless a diversity of decision support mechanisms are going to be incorporated more into decision processes many relevant and useful spatial datasets and technologies are not going to be used to their potential to support sustainable development. Government has a central role to play in developing infrastructure that supports the discovery, access and applications of spatial information and technologies for such decision support. This paper looks at a variety of institutional mechanisms, for supporting the decision process, being employed in SDI development in the natural resource and environmental sectors in Australia. The decision-making levels supported by these different mechanisms will be reviewed in terms of organisational decision-making and decision process theories, as well as the level of coordination between institutional approaches at the spatial data policy level. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the implications of the approaches to developing institutional support for decision-making, as part of SDI development, as well as a consideration of directions for SDI development in the future to support spatial decision-making.
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ItemSpatial and temporal representation of environmental policy outcomes using geocomputation: a case study in Victoria, Australia( 2003)For more than 30 years, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been used in many countriesas an important tool for evaluating public policies. In most cases CBA uses Kaldor-Hicks theory, which assumes that all the entities in the analysis should be consideredequal when distributing benefits and costs. However, for environmental policyevaluations, and especially for cases where a policy is directly affecting a communityor ecosystem with a high degree of vulnerability, the Kaldor-Hicks theory may not bein concordance with principals of equity and sustainability. In order to incorporatethese two concepts in the Cost-Benefit Analysis, a new approach to presentation ofenvironmental indicators for decision-making is proposed. The use of spatio-temporalenvironmental and social indicators provides the decision-maker with a broaderpicture of positive and negative impacts of the policy by considering entities in theanalysis in a differential form, according to their location in the space-time. A geocomputational(GC) system, which incorporates a space-time model and a geographicinformation system (GIS), was created and designed to generate new representationsof environmental policy outcomes. The system, which could be considered as adecision support system, has been designed to promote discussion in the decisionprocess rather than as a technocratic tool. The indicators and computer-based systemhave been tested in a water resources case study with long-term impacts over a largearea of south-eastern Australia.
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ItemGeo-computational alternative to improve economic evaluation of public policies( 2003)For more than 30 years, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been used in manycountries as an important tool for evaluating public policies. In most casesCBA uses Kaldor-Hicks theory, which assumes that all the entities in theanalysis should be considered equal when distributing benefits and costs.However, for environmental policy evaluations, and especially for cases wherea policy is directly affecting a community or ecosystem with a high degree ofvulnerability, the Kaldor-Hicks theory may not be in concordance withprincipals of equity and sustainability. In order to incorporate these twoconcepts in the Cost-Benefit Analysis, a new approach to presentation ofenvironmental indicators for decision-making is proposed. The use of spatiotemporalenvironmental and social indicators provides the decision-maker with a broader picture of positive and negative impacts of the policy byconsidering entities in the analysis in a differential form, according to theirlocation in the space-time. A geo-computational (GC) system, whichincorporates a space-time model and a geographic information system (GIS),was created and designed to generate new representations of environmentalpolicy outcomes. The system, which could be considered as a decisionsupport system, has been designed to promote discussion in the decisionprocess rather than as a technocratic tool. The indicators and computer-basedsystem have been tested in a water resources case study with long-termimpacts over a large area of south-eastern Australia.
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ItemDISCUSS: a methodology to support public participation in cost-benefit analysis( 2004)Despite many controversies, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) still been used in many countries as a tool in policy decision processes. More recently, publicparticipation in these CBA processes has become an important issue for governments. However, CBA by itself does not provide a good environmentfor public participation. The major reasons for this are the lack of spatial disaggregation in CBA results; the lack of community understanding of the economic methodologies used to generate these results and the uncertainty included in the technical models used during the process. A methodology based on geographic information system (GIS) is presented here to facilitate greater public participation in CBA. The process generates maps that represent the individual stakeholder perceptions and identification of areas where disagreements occur. This electronic governance tool, called DISCUSS(Decision Information System for Community Understanding of SpatialScenarios), is intended for situations where the government desires to encourage public participation in a decision process after the results from the CBA have been achieved. The main objective of the tool is to help thecommunities and the government in identifying the geographic areas that might require more attention during the discussion of the proposed scenariosfor the policy. 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.
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ItemDiscuss: an alternative for taking decisions with anincomplete SDI( 2004)An ideal situation for a country or region will be to have a spatial data infrastructure (SDI)containing the datasets and models necessary to support all the planning and decisionprocesses. Often, especially in developing countries, this is not the case. Can governments takegood and valid decisions in cases where the available SDI is not capable of having all thedatasets or models required for the decision? In order to approach this question we havedeveloped a decision support system called DISCUSS (decision information system forcommunity understanding of spatial scenarios). DISCUSS is a customised application underArcMap and uses a fuzzy logic methodology to incorporate the soft information from the expertsand the community into the decision process. The main objective of DISCUSS is to reduceuncertainty in the spatial distribution of decision impacts and at the same time support publicparticipation. The System and the maps that it produces are being tested in a case study withlong-term consequences for a large area of south-eastern Australia.
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ItemInterfacing visualisation with SDI for collaborative decision making(Spatial Sciences Institute, 2005)