The Environmental Systems Analysis Group (GASA) has been developing teaching and research activity in the field of GIS for 6 years (http://gasa.dcea.fct.unl.pt/gasa/gis/ index.html). The lecturers on GIS have been given to undergraduate students of the Environmental Engineering and Sanitary Engineering courses. For these students, the GIS courses have been tailored according to their needs on environmental and sanitary problems, which sometimes is not accomplished properly due to the rigid and complex commercial GIS software. Most of the time, those students don't want (and don’t need also) to go deeper on issues like transformations of geographic coordinates, database structure and management, topology or spatial data formats. The focus use to be on the concepts of spatial reasoning, spatial data visualization and analysis with emphasis on the application case. Ideally, specific GI functions applied to their own problems should be sufficient to integrate and deal with the spatial dimension of their data. The needs of environmental engineeres for spatial analysis and modelling inspired a line of research that is resulting on a set of interoperable GI components, named inovaGIS (http://gasa.dcea.fct.unl.pt/inovagis/).
More recently, a new branch of the GI research of our group has making that need stronger. The use of geographic information and earth observation satellite data (mainly very high spatial resolution) to news edition and broadcasting is a project beginning this year (http://gasa.dcea.fct.unl.pt/easi/) that includes two components. One refers to the technological component referring to the development of interoperable-technology allowing the GI flows from the data vendors to news editors, through a GI images agency (a concept parallel to the actual news agency). The second component refers to the education of news-related-people (e.g. journalists, editors, NGOs) on how GI science can enrich and highlight their analysis and perspectives. Obviously, this can not be done with the traditional approach of a GIS software package, for two reasons: their background should require much training which could discourage their interest on the subject, and a quickly and easy way to deal with images should be the major issue. This put us again in the way of interoperability as the unique platform to fulfill those requirements.
Under this project, a course on Geographic Information Systems for Journalists and NGOs (these related with environmental issues and human rights) is being prepared in collaboration with the School of Communication from the American University, Washington DC, to be held during Spring 1999. Presently, the technological basis of the course is being developed and updated into interoperable components running under widely used programs, like those from Microsoft Office, and painting and designing programs.
The statement on interoperability and GI education described above, states our interest in the workshop, since it is a key issue in our group, both in terms of research (as described in the position statement) and implementation for lectures. We want to participate for several reasons: (a) to change ideas about the GIS core curriculum for higher education in non-geography courses, as it is mainly our case (environmental and sanitary engineers) and for traditionally GI-outside communities (e.g. journalists and NGOs members); (b) debate the different interoperable approaches relating to their efficiency for education; (c) show and exchange the inovaGIS freeware componets for GI education. In this context, our contribution could be a demonstration of a GI lecture based on inovaGIS interoperable components.
1. Motivations
The extended use of GIS varies from simple map making to visualization and analysis for different disciplines. In each, different users have a specific data needs, formats and most important of all she/he possess a unique problem. As a response to this, the majority of GIS vendors supply a normalized GIS-in-a-box package, containing the data structure, formats, geographic functions that will ultimately impose the vendor flavor in the design and operability of the problem. The user becomes limited in the design of her/his own problem to the functions supported by the vendors. On the other end, the constant effort to achieve more market shares imposes the constant need to the upgrade of the spatial functions and data structures available. This creates an exponential growth in software complexity. In the long term the user ends with dependence to data and software standards and the need to a constant training upgrade.
Environmental modeling, statistical data analysis and GIS are three examples of computational activities that are usually relegated to separate, large and sophisticated computer systems. Usually each one of them has more functionality than is required by the user, whose needs exceed the range of a single one (e.g. both GIS and statistical data analysis). In the first two, the data organisation benefits from a GIS perspective and some very simple issues, like the quality of spatial coverage of the data, can be resolved by a simple geographical display. Likewise, the quality of the time coverage over a geographical region can be combined with a geographical display by enhanced visualisation. For these two examples (spatial and temporal coverage of data), for interfacing models over a large range of possible input parameters, and for many other circumstances, it is beneficial to have a level of integration which is much greater than a simple file transfer mode. These examples illustrate the difficulties arising when teaching GIS to environmental engineering undergraduate courses, where the focus should be more on the GIS related analysis of environmental problems than on the GIS itself. More widely, that constraint appears stronger when the students come from communities for which GIS is a completely new concept, like journalists or NGOs analysts.
It is not possible to design an all-in-one solution that integrates the user-oriented functions and GIS. To achieve interoperability, with the sharing of data and functionality between the systems, one must proceed with the decomposition of the GIS into small components available to other applications. If the user just needs to visualize the data, or query the database, or even a map overlay, it is necessary to make available those procedures and not the overall application. It is necessary to provide the building blocks, that combined with the use of macro-languages (similar to the BASIC) or Internet-based languages (like JAVA or VBSCRIPT) will further increase the power available to the end-user. But, even the classic GIS graphic interface must be reconsidered. Does it regard the map as a tool for communication or as simple store of information? Does the interface adapt itself to the user or the inverse? It should be possible to adapt the GIS interface to different uses, working in different places with the same data.
Transforming the GIS into components will also enable the design of end-user specific interfaces, adapted to its knowledge. If the user works with Internet browsers, or word processors, or spreadsheets, that should be the main application where the GIS will work. From fields like simulation, multimedia, or Internet, the GIS should take advantages of the possibilities already available in established applications. To achieve this, a work of deconstructing the GIS has to be done. In the end, the GIS application should be invisible to the end users, using just the geographic concepts to work the data within their own applications. Because our main concern on GIS education refers to non-geography courses (environmental and sanitary engineers) and GI-outside communities (e.g. journalists and NGOs members), that approach is the ideal working support.
2. The iNovaGIS interoperable approach
The goals to develop a Geographic Information interoperable technology state that it must be implemented as components, enabling the exchange and share of information and functions between applications for the design of user-oriented analysis. A component-based structure to the GIS, called inovaGIS, is proposed and implemented as ActiveX objects. These objects allow the separately use of visualization and query or map algebra procedures within other Windows based applications trough the use of Microsoft macro-languages (VISUALBASIC) or Internet based languages (JAVA and VBSCRIPT).
The inovaGIS is an ActiveX server that creates an interface to geographic data and information. It allows the use of GIS-like variables and functions in programs like ExcelÔ , Visual BasicÔ , DelphiÔ or any other WINDOWSÔ software. All these software products have the capability to run macros or even to compile the source code. The system functions are well separated, but to the end-user the system works as one. This interconnection is achieved by means of the ActiveX technology.
One of the main advantages of inovaGIS components is the transformation of GIS as simple variables in common macro language, where traditional geo-processing services can be added to our software. For example, a set of interoperable functions already implemented include the visualization and queries to a raster map in IDRISI format (Clark University, 1998) from a Microsoft ExcelÔ spreadsheet.
Functions like defining our map attributes, the study area or set of data become simpler due to the potential of many macro languages present in common office applications. There is no need to invent or rebuild new script or macro to work with these geographic information structures. The full potential of software dedicated to environmental modeling, statistical data analysis simulation, or even data visualization can enhanced by the add-on of GIS concepts and functions. At the same time, the GIS application remains invisible to the user. When the variable is defined the user works directly in the data structure and functions.
The components created can be used in different applications from word processors, spreadsheets, to programming tools (like Visual Basic, Delphi or C++). At the same time there is no need to invent or rebuild new script or macro languages to work with. The interoperability of the system allows the design of different user interfaces according to the different needs as well as a more integrated analysis of the results.
Concerning GIS education, the inovaGIS allow the use and exploration of GIS related concepts and analysis without the need of learning GIS software specific systems, being possible the focus on the spatial dimension of the user issue. The inovaGIS includes a library of common GIS functions. However, if specific functions are necessary, its development is only restricted by the macro languages used. Its use in education is encouraged, being the software available as freeware from http://gasa.dcea.fct.unl.pt/inovaGIS/.
Related publication:
Gonçalves, P.P., Neves, N., Silva, J.P., Muchaxo, J. and Câmara, A., 1998. Interoperability of Geographic Information: from the spreadsheet to Virtual Environments in Interoperating Geographic Information Systems, Editors Michael F. Goodchild, Max Egenhofer, Robin Fegeas, and Cliff Kottman, Kluwer. (in press)
Nationality: Portuguese
Date of Birth: 8 August 1962
Place of Birth: Lobito - Angola
Universidade Nova de Lisboa / Faculdade
de Ciências e Tecnologia
Lisbon, Portugal
Environmental Engineer Degree
Universidade de Lisboa / Faculdade
de Ciências
Lisbon, Portugal
Frequency in the probability and statistics
master,
Universidade Nova de Lisboa / Faculdade
de Ciências e Tecnologia
Lisbon, Portugal
Ph.D. in Environmental Systems
Patterns of Heterogeneity derived
from remote sensing images: Implications for the Environmental Assessment
of Desertification in Southern Portugal
Universidade Nova de Lisboa / Faculdade
de Ciências e Tecnologia
Lecturer in the department of environmental
sciences and engeneering,
Lectures in Geographic Information
Systems
Lectures in environmental geostatistics
Lectures in Introductory Environmental
Remote Sensing
(http://virtual.dcea.fct.unl.pt/~opd/)
Universidade Nova de Lisboa / Faculdade
de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Lectures in Data Analysis and Geographic
Information Systems (Geography Master)
Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
Lectures in Introduction to satellite
Images Analysis and Processing (Curso de experto en Ecologia Humana y salud
Medio-Ambiental, EC-Leonard Program).
- Scaling and patterning of Earth processes (the case of desertification)
Seixas, J., "Measuring Heterogeneity from Remote Sensing Images: the case of desertification assessment", submitted to International Journal of Remote sensing.
Seixas, J., N. Neves, P. Gonçalves, "Multi-scale Spatial Analysis of Vegetation Landscapes", submitted to International Journal of GIS.
Seixas, J., F. Ferreira, C. Nunes, and J. P. Silva, "Space-Time Analysis of Air Pollution in Lisbon", in geoENV I- Geostatistics for Environemntal Applications, Eds. A. Soares, J. Hernandez, and R. Froidevaux, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 401-414, 1997
Seixas, J., A. Câmara, P. Gonçalves, "GISci: The excellency of technological education", ESIG97, USIG, Lisboa, Junho 1997.
Seixas, J. "Exploratory Spatial-Time Data Analysis: the case of Desertification", GISDATA Summer Institute, European Science Foundation/National Science Foundation, Berlin, 24 July-2 August 1996.