'multiGIS' Workshop successful in Malaysia!

The Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS completed a week-long international capacity building workshop on 'Multi-Disciplinary Applications of GIScience in Southeast Asia (multiGIS)' at the National University of Malaysia (UKM). The workshop was organised jointly by Z_GIS and the School of Social, Development and Environmental Studies (FSSK), UKM from 17th to 21st November, 2014 followed by a field excursion on 22nd November. It was co-funded by ASEA Uninet, Austria.

Under the direction of Prof. Josef Strobl (Head, Z_GIS), Dr. Shahnawaz (Z_GIS) and Dr. Lam Kuok Choy (PPSPP) conducted the workshop at UKM. Dr. Abdul Hair Awang (Head, PPSPP) inaugurated the workshop and Prof. Mastura Mahmud (Deputy Dean of Research, UKM) awarded the certificates of successful completion to the workshop participants.

Focusing on interdisciplinary faculty development, 29 teachers and postgraduate students from 16 universities in 5 countries (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) participated in the workshop. The participants worked on individual projects covering a range of multi-discplinary applications of GIScience in Southeast Asia using ArcGIS Desktop software and presented the outcomes in the concluding session.

Z_GIS develops OBIA/GIS applications to support Humanitarian Demining efforts

The consortium of the EC-FP7 funded project TIRAMISU works on implementing a toolbox to assist the Mine Action community in addressing the removal of Anti-Personal Mines, Submunitions and UXO (unexploded ordance). Z_GIS is concerned with the development of object-based methods to map indicators of mine presence (IMP; e.g. trenches, walls, craters) and specific land use/land cover classes based on remote sensing data in mine-affected areas in Croatia and Cambodia.

Semi-automated crater detection, Cambodia

A conceptual risk and vulnerability framework, which serves as a guidance tool for the conceptualization, systematization and operationalization of social vulnerability to landmines/UXOs is also being designed by the Z_GIS team. Spatial vulnerability analyses are performed as a contribution to the prioritization of possible intervention areas.

For more information, please contact Daniel Hölbling.

Growing Together? Projecting Income Growth in Europe at the Regional Level

GIScience Colloquium

A modelling framework aimed at obtaining reliable income projections at the regional level in European countries will be presented. The methodological setting allows for an explicit assessment of model uncertainty in terms of the choice of explanatory variables and the specification of spatial spillovers. The group exploits and expands recent developments in Bayesian model averaging in order to construct projected trajectories of income per capita at the regional level and exemplify the workings of the methodology by examining the potential contribution of future educational attainment changes to economic growth and income convergence in the European Union.

Date: Monday, November 24, 2014;  16:00 – 17:00

Place: Techno-Z, GI-lecture room: SC30OG1.107  (Schillerstraße 30, building 14, first floor)

Presenter: Dr. Jesus Crespo Cuaresma (WU Vienna, Department of Economics)

News from the Landscape Lab

At the "Well-being in the Information Society Conference" held from November 13-14, 2014 in Pécs (Hungary) Hermann Klug presented an integrated holistic landscape lab with an example on "Modelling and measuring phosphorus emissions into surface water bodies". This presentation was accompanied with a live demonstration of measurements from a low cost weather station streaming values live to the internet.

Z_GIS wins 2nd Place at 2014 Copernicus Masters „Best Service Challenge“

Z_GIS has won second place at this year’s Copernicus Masters „Best service challenge“ with its service „DS|Placed - Downstream Service: Displaced Population“, see some examples in this >>> map booklet <<<

The service offers up-to-date and custom-tailored information products on population estimates, dwelling density and internal structure of refugee and IDP (internally displace people) camps and temporary settlements. Monitoring is achieved by automated analysis of Earth Observation (EO) data using object-based dwelling extraction, density calculation, camp growth analysis and environmental impact analysis. This provides essential information for relief interventions during humanitarian crisis. Z_GIS is providing the service to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on demand since 2011.

For more information, please contact Stefan Lang and Petra Füreder.