National Centre for Geocomputation - NCG
The National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) was established at the National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM) through the award of a Research Fellowship to Professor A. Stewart Fotheringham by Science Foundation Ireland. The NCG is a resource for those interested in any aspect of the capture, storage, integration, management, retrieval, display, analysis or modelling of spatial data.
What NCG do
Geocomputation is a recent term coined to encompass the new and rapidly expanding research areas tied together by their interests in spatial data. It encompasses spatial data collection, spatial data storage, spatial data visualisation, and spatial data analysis in a variety of substantive application areas.
Many forms of information used by both businesses and government are inherently spatial. Some of the more obvious examples of spatial data include: the location of population; the effects of pollution; transportation impacts; the spread and distribution of disease; the incidence of crime; the efficient operation of services; disaster management; the monitoring of environmental issues such as flooding and the processing of satellite imagery.
It is of little surprise to learn that the capture, display, and analysis of spatial data has become, according to a recent study by the Department of Labor in the United States of America, one of the three most important envolving employment fields, along with biotechnology and nanotechnology.
- Geographical Information Systems ...
Geographic information consists of, in its simplest terms, any data that have a spatial reference, i.e. a location. Of course the spatial referencing technique used at collection will determine the utility of the data, but in theory at least pretty much all data has the potential to be spatial data and so can benefit from the analysis, query and visualisation tools present in a GIS. The advent of GPS has greatly increased the useability of data within a GIS. Given the volume of data this generates, data integration tools are an essential part of a GIS.
- Spatial data, the recording of features or occurences at particular locations, can generally stored in a GIS in either raster or vector format. Vector: In a given area features are recorded one by one, in a sequence of x,y coordinates. Vector data are generally thought of as points, lines and polygons. Raster: The area of interest is divided into a grid of cells or pixels with a value representative of the phenomenon being measured assigned to each. Remotely sensed data is generally in this format.
- A GIS combines advanced database querying with graphic visualisations to give a view of the world, at a chosen time and place. Given that we usually try to visualise data in our minds, GIS provides an invaluable tool for visualising data that would otherwise be difficult for the human brain to comprehend. It is not just a cartographic display tool, a modern take on the paper maps of old, it is an invaluable analytical tool in everyday life.
Understanding when, where, and how crimes take place across a range of crime types can provide valuable insights in both prevention strategies and detection. Real-time monitoring of crimes can help to uncover "hot spots" to identify local patterns of crime activity.
Short-term crime forecasting is one means of indicating where crime activity is likely to be on the increase. This means that officers can be moved from areas of reduced activity to areas with increased activity this helps in prevention management.
How far do criminals travel to undertake their activites? Are there different distances for different types of crimes (for example burglaries and vehicles taken without owner's consent). GIS can assist here in analysing journey-to-crime distances again this sort of information can help in designing and implementing prevention strategies.
Environmental Management
GIS are used to organise, collect, manage and analyse data to characterise the state of the environment. GIS provide the basis for environmental protection, prognoses and modelling as well as helping to optimise the planning process. Furthermore, GIS have become indispensable tools for managing resources and monitoring changes to the environment such as those in vegetation caused by exposure to pollution, or those in watercourses caused by changing farming practices.
Facilities Management
GIS in the health sector support the management and organization of various levels of health provision. They can be used for the optimisation of ambulance services, the provision of hospital beds and the efficiant allocation of resources to meet patient demands for various services.
Vehicle Management
With the help of GIS, emergency vehicle routing can be optimised at different times of the day and for different days of the week. Updating address information and traffic conditions can be undertaken quickly and efficiently.
Logistics
Having your stores in the right place for your customers is a major step towards profitable operation. GIS methods can assist in finding locations which are away from your competitors and which provide maximum profit. Further analysis can include planning constraints to assist in location decisions.
Customer Profiling
Getting the goods from your warehouses to the retail outlets in the shortest time and on the most economical routes is a contributor towards minimising costs. GIS analyses can help to determine the best routes and vehicle loading patterns.
Store Location
Different social groups have different wants and aspirations. You can gain insights into your customer base either directly through survey, or indirectly through analysing loyalty card purchases. Matching this with data from censuses can give you a profile of your customer base who is buying what? It can also help you target appropriate consumers for direct advertising.
Logistics
GIS can be used to locate facilities and routing vehicles. Typical questions might include "where is the optimal location for a distribution centre?", "what is the most efficient route from the distribution facility to a service centre?", or "what is the best order to visit a group of delivery points with one vehicle?".
Traffic Information Systems
The integration of GPS and GIS allows real-time tracking of vehicles to increase the efficiency of public transport provision or to provide a flexible approach to distribution management. GIS also permits the development of a coordinated traffic management system across all forms of transport.
Traffic and Traffic Impact Modelling
The constant rise of traffic results in new problems such as traffic jams and pollution. GIS in conjunction with traffic and pollution emission models help us understand the processes and assess the impact of any changes. The integrative power of GIS also allows us to assess the impacts of transportation developments on issues such as urban land values
NUIM, National Centre for Geocomputation, NCG, GIS, GEO, Geographical Information Systems
