CoastGIS’99: geomatics and coastal environment
Other systems
Other systems were reviewed, including the HelFal Community Information System (Green, 1995) and the FMG InfoAtlas (Ricketts, 1992),
as the problems faced and issues raised during their design, construction
and operation bear on system development in the ALC CIFG. The systems
were specifically designed to be user-lriendly, and some pertinent issues
came out of their development, including data protection, copyright
(HelFal), an appropriate definition of user needs, networkmg (FMG
InfoAtlas) and a need for system maintenance once it has been developed
(both systems).
Consultative seminar: Info-Coast - the Local Challenge
Through this consultation exercise, feedback to the coastal community
on the results of the audit, and a forum for discussion on the information requirements for effective progression of coastal management in
Devon and Cornwall, were provided. Final recommendations for a
CZMIS were borne out of the workshop process through the assessment
of three demonstration templates for specific case studies. The consultative seminar utilised techniques based on round table discussions,
outlining the positive and negative attributes of the templates and
identifying any other concerns.
The demonstration templates
Each template depicted a specific method of access to the same information: geographical query, dialogue query and list query. For each of
the templates, a case study had been assigned, the range of case studies
providing geographical balance and issue balance.
The case study for the geographical query template was oil pollution
in the Taw-Torridge Estuary, North Devon (fig. 2). It was the most geographically extensive of the case studies, providing more of a challenge
for the map-based representation. It was programmed in Java, ensuring
portability on the World Wide Web. It uses a map interface with
standard zoom in/out functionality. Metadata is located on the map by
circular markers - each marker within the area of interest (changed
interactively) is displayed in the list on the right-hand side. The user
can click on one of the data sets in the list, then choose one of the seven
metadata buttons (corresponding with the FGDC metadata categories)
on the top row to display the required information on a linked page.
The dialogue query template used pollution discharge on the Fal Estuary,
South Cornwall for its case study (fig. 3). This template simulates the
workings of an expert system (Moore et al., 1998) with a Visual Basic
interface. It engages the user in dialogue through a series of constructed
queries to define search parameters. The system recognizes when facets
of search are missing (e.g. specific location, time) and extrapolates search
based on information submitted. It then retrieves and displays metadata that meets the search.
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Other systems
Other systems were reviewed, including the HelFal Community Information System (Green, 1995) and the FMG InfoAtlas (Ricketts, 1992),
as the problems faced and issues raised during their design, construction
and operation bear on system development in the ALC CIFG. The systems
were specifically designed to be user-lriendly, and some pertinent issues
came out of their development, including data protection, copyright
(HelFal), an appropriate definition of user needs, networkmg (FMG
InfoAtlas) and a need for system maintenance once it has been developed
(both systems).
Consultative seminar: Info-Coast - the Local Challenge
Through this consultation exercise, feedback to the coastal community
on the results of the audit, and a forum for discussion on the information requirements for effective progression of coastal management in
Devon and Cornwall, were provided. Final recommendations for a
CZMIS were borne out of the workshop process through the assessment
of three demonstration templates for specific case studies. The consultative seminar utilised techniques based on round table discussions,
outlining the positive and negative attributes of the templates and
identifying any other concerns.
The demonstration templates
Each template depicted a specific method of access to the same information: geographical query, dialogue query and list query. For each of
the templates, a case study had been assigned, the range of case studies
providing geographical balance and issue balance.
The case study for the geographical query template was oil pollution
in the Taw-Torridge Estuary, North Devon (fig. 2). It was the most geographically extensive of the case studies, providing more of a challenge
for the map-based representation. It was programmed in Java, ensuring
portability on the World Wide Web. It uses a map interface with
standard zoom in/out functionality. Metadata is located on the map by
circular markers - each marker within the area of interest (changed
interactively) is displayed in the list on the right-hand side. The user
can click on one of the data sets in the list, then choose one of the seven
metadata buttons (corresponding with the FGDC metadata categories)
on the top row to display the required information on a linked page.
The dialogue query template used pollution discharge on the Fal Estuary,
South Cornwall for its case study (fig. 3). This template simulates the
workings of an expert system (Moore et al., 1998) with a Visual Basic
interface. It engages the user in dialogue through a series of constructed
queries to define search parameters. The system recognizes when facets
of search are missing (e.g. specific location, time) and extrapolates search
based on information submitted. It then retrieves and displays metadata that meets the search.
98