Nargis

May 7, 2008

Relief Web Myanmar: Tropical Cyclone Nargis - May 2008.  Below is a list of maps to help with the relief. Note the many data sources implying very coordinated information collaborations.  These are incredible information management logistics.  Relief Web has an amazing data base of information on a per country basis, from lists of who is reporting on Burma, complete sector review, and more.  Imagine if we used the same type of energy during times of crisis toward crisis prevention in down times, the information we would have accessible for planning, war prevention, etc. would be amazing.

 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Before and After Nargis Images.  Here is a link directly to the NASA Nargis Image site.

Estimated Total Population Living Within Flood-Affected Areas, Myanmar (as of 05 May 2008)

 

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Olfactory Art Exhibit - odor limits

May 6, 2008

I have a bit of a thing for scent media and art.  This show at the Esther M. Klein Art Gallery in Philadelphia looks fabulous.  I have read the work of one of the curators Jim Drobnick and he has a wonderful way to criticaly analyse scent and society via installation art.  After reading the Diamond Age and a bit about the Experience Economy I am more cautious about my little teeny tiny role in the world of sensory immersive technologies. All ambivalence aside, I would love to see this exhibit.

The Esther M. Klein Art Gallery at the University City Science Center and the Monell Center present Odor Limits, an exhibition that explores the potential of smell in aesthetic experience. The works in this show employ natural, synthetic and imaginary scents to delve into pressing contemporary themes about cultural difference, personal identity, spirituality, and the body.

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Conflict Prevention - DSS

The possibilities of database design and decision support systems for conflict prevention populated with heterogeneous datasets can lead to really interesting applications.  I think this is one of the many ways we can work together to wage peace.  For people interested in working with data sets derived from uncertain sources and the specificities of data lineage, accuracy (positional, temporal andattribute), logical consistency and completeness evaluations this is the document for you.  While this sounds dry, and well it is, the authors of the report are essentially seeking a way to have the data tell the truth and avoiding mistakes as best as possible in an environment of uncertaintly. 

Building a spatial decision support system for conflict prevention in the Caucasus
Harmonization of heterogeneous sources and data quality assessment procedures

by: Stephenne Nathalie and MacDonald Chris

Institutions: The Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen and the Joint Research Centre of the EU.

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Communications Maps - Canada

May 5, 2008

Just found an interesting series of Communications maps in the Atlas of Canada.  This series includes maps of the telegraph, telephone, television, radio and telecommunications which includes satellites in Canada.  The Telecom map was released in 1984!  Wonder how different the infrastructure is now?

I am surprised at what is on this map.  Just check out the legend below.  I keep forgetting that it takes a long time to build an infrastructures and for the idea of an infrastructure to become sorta  mainstream.  When this map came out I was not thinking of communication infrastructures, no one I knew had a personal computer, silicon valley north was in its very early days of development and I knew a bunch of young engineers fresh out of school working in some of those companies. For some this infrastructure must have been mainstream between and among an interesting group of communications pioneers as here is a map that shows early fiber optic cable deployment.

 

 

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Infrastructure is a process not a thing

March 28, 2008

The short rant like article is about Geospatial Data Infrastructures, however the article makes a comparison with telephone infrastructure and information infrastructure. 

HotTopic GeoConnexion 

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30 day reprieve - Radarsat-2

March 23, 2008

The federal government is taking an extra 30 days before it makes a decision on the controversial proposed sale of the Radarsat-2 and the Canadarm technology to a U.S.-based arms maker.

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Qualitative Research Software & Methods

March 11, 2008

Resources on the world of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS), choice and methods.

Choice & Methods: 

Software:

References (By John Wall):

Research Methods and Design Reference List

Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design : Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,.

Elliott, J. (2006), Using narrative in social research : Qualitative and quantitative approaches. London ; Thousand Oaks : SAGE,.

Fink, A. (2005.). Conducting research literature reviews : From the internet to paper. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications,.

Hart, C., (2001). Doing a literature search : A comprehensive guide for the social sciences. London ; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Kirby, S. L., L. Greaves and C. Reid. (2006). Experience research social change : Methods beyond the mainstream. (2nd ed.). Peterborough, ON: Garamond Press.

McCracken, G. D. (1988). The long interview. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

McIntyre, A. (2008). Participatory action research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Miles, M. B. (1994). Qualitative data analysis : An expanded sourcebook. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications.

Newman, I.  and C. R. Benz (1998.). Qualitative-quantitative research methodology : Exploring the interactive continuum. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press,.

O’Leary, Z. (2005.). Researching real-world problems : A guide to methods of inquiry. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calf. : SAGE.

Patton, M. Q. (2002.). Qualitative research and evaluation method (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,.

Perceman, E. and  S.R. Curran. (2006) A handbook for social science field research : Essays & bibliographic sources on research design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ritchie, J. and J. Lewis (2003). Qualitative research practice : A guide for social science students and researchers / edited by jane ritchie and jane lewis.(2003.). . London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications,.

Sayer, R. A. (1992). Method in social science : A realist approach. (2nd ed.) London ; New York : Routledge,.

Silverman, D. (1993). Interpreting qualitative data : Methods for analysing talk, text, and interaction. London ; Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Silverman, D. (2000). Doing qualitative research : A practical handbook. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : SAGE,.

This list of resources is derived from email correspondence with my friend & colleague Glenn Brauen and our class mates John Wall & Carol Hunsberger.  Our pal and colleague Peter Pulsifer also provided some references.  We were trying to select a cross platform tool that would work on a MAC and if possible be open source tool.  We have quite a few hours of user needs analysis video generated by the HotLab user evaluations of audio-visual maps created by Glenn.  Based on the content to be analysed, we believe that we want an annotation tool and not a quantitative content analysis tool, and it looks like we will go with Atlas.ti even though it is MS only and not open source.

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More on the Sale Radarsat-2

March 10, 2008

Block sale of Canadian space firm: Garneau, CBC news, March 10, 2008

Eye in the Sky, Excellent article that explains how Radarsat-2 works, its applications and why it is innovative,  Advanced Imaging Magazine, March 10, 2008

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Hansard on Radarsat-2

39:2 Hansard - 42 (2008/2/1)

   (1100)  

[English]

Ms. Bonnie Brown (Oakville, Lib.):
    Mr. Speaker, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Canada’s leading aerospace company, has just decided to sell its space program to a large American arms manufacturer. 
    The sale includes RADARSAT-2, a state of the art satellite used for monitoring crops and forests, climate change, tracking ships at sea and mapping Arctic sea ice.
    Canadian taxpayers paid $445 million, or about 85% of the total cost of developing this technology. In return we were promised large amounts of imagery and priority access to RADARSAT-2 in emergencies.
    Once it is sold, Ottawa’s ability to control what the satellite is used for and to use it in emergencies will be lost. Worse yet, the U.S. government would be able to use our satellite in ways that might contradict our interests. For example, it could assist its efforts to send a ship into the Northwest Passage without our consent.
    The Harper government has indicated a desire to block foreign investments that threaten Canada’s security interests. RADARSAT–

39:2 Hansard - 51 (2008/2/14)

   (1400)  

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):
    Mr. Speaker, the proposed sale of MacDonald Dettwiler, MDA, to the American armaments giant ATK undermines Canadian sovereignty and must be stopped.      The sale of MDA is an unacceptable transfer of publicly funded technology to a private U.S. military contractor.
   Canadians invested over $400 million in RADARSAT-2 with the promise of priority access to the satellite in cases of emergency, such as oil spills and suspect vessels entering Canada’s north.Control of RADARSAT-2 by ATK is against our national security interests. Ottawa’s access to the images produced by the satellite could be lost. Worse still, RADARSAT-2 could be used to develop space based weapons and missile guidance systems for the U.S. military. 
   The government must defend Canadian sovereignty and immediately halt the sale of RADARSAT-2’s licensing authority to Alliant Techsystems. It is vital for RADARSAT-2 to remain under Canadian control and to be used only for peaceful purposes.

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More on Radarsat-2

DND at risk of losing Canadian spy systems to U.S. - Latest technology will be off limits to us after space firm’s sale, critics warn, Canadian Armed Forces Blogger, March 8, 2008

Lost In Space, Ottawa Citizen, March 9, 2008

nal security concerns dog sale of MDA, Canwest News Service, March 10, 2008

NDP demands that sale of Canadian aerospace company be halted, January 18, 2008

I have been trying to find information from the follwing committee - Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU), but the search function is brutal and yields comments by Parliamentarians but not a full document.

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