Eigenvector spatial filtering (ESF) is a relatively new technique that considers spatial autocorrelation. It is a practical technique that can be easily implemented using standard statistical software packages and can be easily combined with other statistical methods such as general linear model, mixed effect model and so on, and so, applications of ESF is expanding more and more. However, ESF is restrictive in that it cannot consider continuity of space, and therefore, it cannot be applied to spatially continuous variables consistently. In this study, we extend ESF so as to consider the continuity of space. The extended method is practical as same as conventional ESF. To confirm the effectiveness of our method, our method, linear regression model, and kriging (a geostatistical method) are compared using a case study of land price modeling.

The purpose of this study is to clarify factors which contribute to the appearance of expectation about regional effects brought about by Web-GIS. As a result of analysis of user characteristic of the festival float location system using Web-GIS in traditional event Kumagaya-UCHIWA festival in Saitama, there were no significant associations between use of this system and the attributes of users except sex. From the result of the analysis for the relationship between factors, attribute such as age, action such as the willingness to put out the information on the Internet by Web-GIS, and regional effect such as the improvement of regional security, the expectation about regional effects brought about by Web-GIS receives a larger influence from the willingness to put out the information on the Internet by Web-GIS than frequent use of Web-GIS in the variables set as action, and the willingness to put out the information on the Internet by Web-GIS is influenced by age.

In the field of urban design and landscape design, efficient and probable methods have been researched and developed to generate a digital city which is an urban model made by using three-dimensional computer graphics. This study tried to automatically generate three-dimensional building models with a roof shape and a facade shape in order to improve probability of landscape simulation in surroundings and an efficient urban modeling on computer graphics. The authors used DSM (Digital Surface Model) data, which is acquired by airborne LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and MMS data, which is acquired by MMS (Mobile Mapping System) also known as mobile LIDAR. A building's roof shape was reproduced and interpreted by the DSM data, and a facade shape was reproduced by the MMS data. Finally, the authors proposed a method of performing these automatically.

Public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) are used in regional urban development and in solving regional problems that affect local communities. In this paper, the development of a Web GIS-based regional social networking service (SNS) is described. The regional SNS employs PPGIS and supports user activities, GPS-enabled mobile phones, and a reward point system. The system has four functions: information extraction by user activity area, location-based information posting, GPS location referencing, and reward points. Furthermore, a PPGIS operational model is proposed for continuously using the regional SNS. In this model, roles are assigned to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and universities. The proposed system was evaluated in Takizawa Village, Japan. The system was found to be applicable to PPGIS activities. In addition, some challenges in implementation and education were identified.

Pervious surfaces are expected to contribute to the air temperature dropping against a heat island phenomenon through their evapotranspiration and radiational cooling in an urban area. The air temperature dropping depends on the spatial distributions of the pervious surfaces: the air temperatures grow colder around denser and more continuous pervious surface distributions. In this study, we applied a spatial analysis method to impervious surface distributions for extraction of the spatial continuity of pervious surface distributions on a regional scale. We estimated the impervious surface distribution using remotely sensed data through the spectral mixture analysis in order to analyze the heat island phenomenon. The calculation results were applied to spatial autocorrelation analysis so as to extract the spatial continuity. We verified the results through the examination of land cover around the extracted areas. In addition, the relationship between the extracted results and the meteorological observation data was discussed.

This study aims to determine a spatial trend in epidemics by developing an epidemic model using the numbers of elementary school absentees and by conducting a spatio-temporal analysis of the pandemic influenza A H1N1 that occurred in 2009. We model an epidemic considering situations in multiple areas by applying the SIR model. We also set unknown parameters of infectious risks with regard to each inner and outer area and the traffic flow between areas. The parameters are estimated using the numbers of influenza-infected absentees from elementary schools in Sendai City and the numbers of trips, which were acquired through a person trip survey data. This analysis shows that the relationship of the infection risks with the each inner and outer school zone and that the effect of traffic flow between school zones on the infection risk increases roughly in proportion to traffic flow.

The data model registry is a comprehensive, authoritative reference for information about data modeling, data specification, data definition, and their relation to other datasets. It supports the creation and implementation of data models that are designed to encourage the efficient sharing of observation data. The data model registry serves as a catalogue of data elements in application systems. The registry does not contain observation data, but it may show data availability. It provides descriptive information to make the data model. The registry links with ontologies and it shows definitions of the term. In order to describe the data element, it is necessary to understand technical terms. The ontological information is considered part of the registry system. This is very important because if a user creates a new data model without referring to an existing model, the result is a mishmash of model type. Also, if the registry system archives data models with their relations and definitions, it is very helpful for integrating actual data.

Many studies have investigated the relationships between gravity data and subsurface caldera structure beneath the area. Difficulties may arise, however, for these analyses because of different interpretations of the buried rims of the calderas. For buried calderas, ground deformations and erosional processes including landslides have significantly reduced the appearance of the original caldera rims. Generally, the interpretation of caldera rims is based on gravity data together with geological observations, because the preserved rim has a large negative gravity anomaly that reaches minima over the marginal low-density ridges. In this study, we propose an effective method to enhance the delineation of caldera rims from gravity data using watershed delineation in GIS. The proposed method incorporates a correlation analysis to appropriately assume a rock density to correct the gravity anomalies, and a band pass filter to eliminate noises in the data. Using gravity anomalies corrected with 2.60 g/cm³ of assumed rock density, and with bandpass filter that spanned the size-range of calderas, we have successfully extracted rims of the late Cenozoic calderas from NE Honshu, Japan.

In recent years, the development of free and open source software for geospatial (FOSS4G) has significantly progressed. Web processing service (WPS) enabled different users to share spatial analysis processes running on remote servers. However, the installation and operation of WPS were difficult for non-technical users, because WPS users have to use specific client applications that can parse XML. To realize a simple process sharing system, this paper proposes a Web-GIS that works as a platform of spatial analysis. The proposed system is based on open cafe system (OCS) that consists of FOSS4G and a content management system. With a prototype, it was confirmed that users can easily manage and execute spatial analysis processes with only web-browsers.