Several emerging visualization applications such as ight simulators, distributed interactive simulation (DIS), and virtual reality are using geographic information systems (GISs) for high-delity representation of actual terrains. These applications impose stringent performance and response-time restrictions which can be met via parallelization of the GIS. Currently, we are developing a high per...

Data is the core of Geographical Information System (GIS). Collecting and updating geographically referenced and descriptive data is necessary for GISs. Ignoring the updating process will obviously decrease the usefulness of GIS; therefore, GIS databases must be updated to make better use. There are different methods to collect and update GIS data, for example, by field survey, remote sensing, ...

Several content-based queries in spatial databases and geographic information systems (GISs) can be modelled and processed as constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). Regular CSP algorithms, however, work for main memory retrieval without utilizing indices to prune the search space. This paper shows how systematic and local search techniques can take advantage of the hierarchical decomposition ...

This paper presents a model for quantitative risk analysis with the application of geographic information systems (GISs) using Bayesian theory. It was used for the thematic integration of maps in a natural state (vegetation, geological-geotechnical, natural drainage and gradient). A landslide susceptibility map was produced based on this integration associated with vulnerability data (time and ...

The authors simulate climate change for 1951–2050 using the GISS SI2000 atmospheric model coupled to HYCOM, a quasi-isopycnal ocean model (‘‘ocean E’’), and contrast the results with those obtained using the same atmosphere coupled to a passive Q-flux ocean model (‘‘ocean B’’) and the same atmosphere driven by observed SST (‘‘ocean A’’). All of the models give reasonable agreement with observed...

Methods of examining the sexual assault patient are not standardized and a definition of what constitutes significant genital injury after sexual assault (SA) remains controversial. This pilot study tests the empirical validity (initial differential validity) of a genital injury severity scale (GISS) under development by the authors with the hypothesis that women who report SA have more severe ...

Methods of user-computer interaction have remained largely unchanged since the introduction of graphical user interfaces and their popularization by the Apple Macintosh in the early 1980s. Most of today’s applications rely on primitive modalities, such as typing and pointing for input generation, which works well for a host of common business applications, but falls short for more complex task....

People want to use geographic information systems (GISs) while spending little time for learning how to use the system. This trend increases the need for easy-to-learn and intuitive user interfaces. In order to make GISs easier to use for untrained users, we investigate an interaction method that mimics the natural communication between people and allows users to formulate queries. In human-hum...