Day: June 13, 2012

Building Pattern Recognition in Topographic Data: Examples on Collinear and Curvilinear Alignments

/ Matt Artz

GeoInformaticaGeoInformatica, Published Online 27 October 2011

Xiang Zhang, Tinghua Ai, Jantien Stoter, Menno-Jan Kraak, and Martien Molenaar

“Building patterns are important features that should be preserved in the map generalization process. However, the patterns are not explicitly accessible to automated systems. This paper proposes a framework and several algorithms that automatically recognize building patterns from topographic data, with a focus on collinear and curvilinear alignments. For both patterns two algorithms are developed, which are able to recognize alignment-of-center and alignment-of-side patterns. The presented approach integrates aspects of computational geometry, graph-theoretic concepts and theories of visual perception. Although the individual algorithms for collinear and curvilinear patterns show great potential for each type of the patterns, the recognized patterns are neither complete nor of enough good quality. We therefore advocate the use of a multi-algorithm paradigm, where a mechanism is proposed to combine results from different algorithms to improve the recognition quality. The potential of our method is demonstrated by an application of the framework to several real topographic datasets. The quality of the recognition results are validated in an expert survey.”

The Role of the Geographic Information Systems Infrastructure in Childhood Obesity Prevention: Perspective from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

/ Matt Artz

American Journal of Preventive MedicineAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, May 2012, Vol. 42, No. 5

“Childhood obesity is a serious public health epidemic. Childhood obesity rates have soared in just 4 decades, nearly tripling in children aged 2–5 years and 12–19 years, while quadrupling in children and adolescents aged 6–11 years. Recent estimates from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey report that 17% of children and adolescents aged 2–19 years are overweight.

“Genetics, although a partial explanation for excess weight, is not the cause of the soaring rates of childhood obesity. Changes in human genetic composition have not occurred during the time period over which the epidemic has developed; rather, societal changes that have occurred in the past 4 decades have fueled the epidemic. Children today engage much less with the world outside their homes in terms of physical activity and much more in terms of eating. Sadly, inactivity and unhealthful eating have become the social norm in many communities across the nation, resulting in energy imbalance. Such an imbalance impedes the reversal of the childhood obesity epidemic. For reversal to occur, energy balance must be maintained.”