IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

Research article
erd

Circumstances of Survey Education Conducted in Japanese
Universities
TAKAHIKO KUBODERAChuo College of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

HIROMU OKAZAWA*
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Email: h1okazaw@nodai.ac.jp

YOSHIHARU HOSOKAWA
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan

MASAHIRO TASUMI
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, JapanKATSUHIRO SASADA
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan

EIJI MATSUO
Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan

MACHITO MIHARA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Received 22 December 2014

Accepted 1 April 2015(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Contents of the survey education conducted in civil engineering departments ofuniversities in Tokyo were investigated by using their syllabus, to grasp the current state ofsurvey education in Japan. As a result, in the order of the number of departments that teachthe particular items, “Theory of error”, “Traversing”, “Leveling”, “Plate table surveying”,“Global positioning System (GPS) surveying”, “Photogrammetry”, “GeographicInformation Systems (GIS)” and “Remote sensing”. It was found that land-based surveying
techniques, such as “Traversing”, “Leveling” and “Plate table surveying”, were treated
preferentially over aerial-data based surveying, such as “GPS surveying”,“Photogrammetry” and “Remote sensing”. Furthermore, to grasp the items taught asuniversity course content reflect the techniques actually used in work situations, the contentof 6 textbooks used for lectures at the universities was investigated by comparing with theGeneral Standard of Operation Specifications for Public Surveys (General Standard). TheGeneral Standard is used as the model standard when surveying companies work actually.
As a result, not many textbooks cover such operationally demanded techniques. As otherproblems; given that the latest technique may be a major technique in the future, it isnecessary to teach the latest survey techniques. The latest techniques, which have not been
described as survey items in the General Standard, were also investigated, such as “MobileMapping System (MMS)”, “3-D laser scanners” and “Photogrammetry with satelliteimagery”. So as to improve these problems, the authors developed a new textbook forteaching surveying based on an investigation of courses offered in the survey departmentsof universities. In the developed textbook, the survey techniques described in the GeneralStandard and the latest techniques are included.
Keywords survey education, university, operational technique, textbookⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

INTRODUCTION
The population of the world reached 7 billion in 2012. The populations of Africa and Asia areincreasing particularly rapidly. It is predicted that in 2050 the population of Africa and Asia will be
2.2 and 1.2 times that in 2012 respectively (United Nation, 2012). World irrigated area has been
also increasing year by year (Earth Policy Institute, 2009). To produce enough food for thisincreasing population, it is important to conduct land improvement and irrigated land expansion,including the development of agricultural land and the construction of channels for irrigation anddrainage of such land. In conducting land improvement projects, surveying techniques to know thecoordinates, elevation, gradient, area and topographic features of the agricultural land and the skill
to create maps of the surveyed land are indispensable.
From the 1950s through the 1980s, the major surveying techniques used in agricultural landdevelopment were angle measurement by using a transit and plate table surveying, which is a
simple way of conducting onsite surveying. By 2000, most surveyors were using equipment thatwas up to date for that time. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and the use of total
stations (TS) became mainstream. The use of equipment that was up to date for that time changed
the surveying techniques from analog-based ones to digital-based ones. At the same time, theprecision of observations and the accuracy of results have improved.
In Japan, surveying techniques are taught at engineering and agricultural universities. The
qualification of assistant surveyor is granted upon graduation from many such universities.
However, the surveying techniques taught at such universities are those that were in themainstream from the 1950s to the 1980s. Few universities teach the latest techniques that are usedin actual working situations (Kunii et al., 2006).
In this study, the syllabus contents of some of the Japanese universities were investigated toclarify the relationship between the technical items taught in the lectures of the universities and thetechniques used in actual working situations. The investigation aims at commenting on thesurveying techniques that will be required in future university education.
METHODOLOGY
To know what items of surveying are taught at universities, the course content of universities wasinvestigated based on their syllabi. As there are many universities that teach surveying in Japan, weextracted 13 departments of 11 universities in Tokyo that have engineering departments or courses.
The surveying items taught in the lectures at these 13 departments were investigated. The items
included traversing and leveling. For each technical item, the number of departments that teach theparticular item was counted, and the percentage of departments teaching each technical item (theadoption rate) was calculated.
To grasp the items taught as university course content reflect the techniques actually used inwork situations, the content of six textbooks used for lectures at the universities was investigated(Ohki, 1998; Ishii et al., 1999; Nakamura and Shimizu, 2000; Fukumoto et al., 2003; Asano and Iba,2004; Hasegawa et al., 2004). The investigated items were the techniques described in the GeneralStandard of Operation Specifications for Public Surveys (General Standard), which is used as themodel standard by surveying companies. The textbooks were investigated as to whether they haveitems such as “Connected traverse”, “Detail survey by TS”, “GNSS” and “Digital stereo plotter”.
The latest techniques, which have not been described as survey items in the General Standard,
were also investigated, such as “Mobile Mapping System (MMS)”, “3-D laser scanners” and“Photogrammetry with satellite imagery”.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Content of Survey Courses at Japanese Universities

Table 1 shows the technical items adopted in the surveying education at the 13 departments.
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Departments that taught the “Theory of error” numbered 11, as did those that taught the“Traversing”. These are the largest numbers. The “Leveling” was taught by 10 departments, the“Plate table surveying” was taught by 9 departments, the “Global positioning System (GPS)surveying” by 9 departments, the “Photogrammetry” by 6 departments, the “GeographicInformation Systems (GIS)” by 5 departments and “Remote sensing” by 4 departments. The mostcommonly taught items in the 13 departments were “Theory of error and “Traverse survey”. The
next most commonly taught items were “Leveling”, “Plane table surveying”, “GPS surveying”,“Photogrammetry”, “GIS” and “Remote sensing”.
The reason that “Theory of error” was found to be so commonly taught is thought to be thatthe subject is important in the theory of surveying, which includes the processing of observed dataand statistics.
The basics of surveying include knowledge of coordinates and topographic maps. There are
two groups of techniques for obtaining data for coordinates and topographic maps. There are those
conducted on the land, such as TS and leveling, and those conducted using aerial data obtained bysatellites and airplanes. It was found that the university lectures emphasize the land-based
techniques, such as traverse surveying, leveling and plane table surveying, over the aerial databased techniques, such as GPS surveying, photogrammetry and remote sensing. It is thought thatpriority is placed on the land-based surveying because it is directly related to survey training atuniversities.
Table 1 Technical items adopted in the surveying education at the 13 departments
Technical item
Theory of error
Traversing
Leveling
Plane table surveying
GPS surveying
Photogrammetry
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Remote sensing

Number of departments teaching
the technical items
111110996
54Adoption rate (%)
84.6
84.6
76.9
69.2
69.2
46.2
38.5
30.8

Results of Investigation of the Textbooks Adopted for Surveying Lectures in the Universities
The General Standard has been revised in accordance with advances in survey techniques. For
example, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) was first described in the General Standard
in 2011. GPS, which originated in the US, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS),
which originated in Russia, are integrated in GNSS. The plotting instruments for photogrammetry
in the 2013 General Standard were changed from analog to digital stereo instruments.
Table 2 shows the techniques described in the textbooks adopted for lectures at the universities
and those described in the General Standard. The textbooks are denoted as Textbook A, B, C, D, E,F, in the order of the year of publication of the first edition. The investigated items of “ConnectedTraverse”, “Detail survey by TS”, “GNSS” and “Digital stereo plotter” are described in theGeneral Standard.
All of the investigated items are included in the courses that are offered at the departments
shown in Table 1. However, some of the textbooks do not have the investigated items. This must be
because such items were not described in the General Standard when the first editions of thetextbooks were published. It is must be meaningful that Textbooks C and D have explanations on
digital stereo plotting instruments, which were not include in the standard items at the time ofpublication of the first editions of the textbooks, because it is possible for the latest techniques
introduced in textbooks to become major surveying techniques in later years. The description ofGNSS in Textbook F must be added in a later revision.
Based on the above, it is necessary to continuously revise textbooks to include the latest
techniques and the techniques that meet the needs of the times.
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Table 2 Description of survey techniques in 6 textbooks and the current techniques
described in the General Standard
Textbooks adopted for lectures in the universities
AB
Year of publication of textbooks A to F (First edition) 1998 1999
Description of survey
Connected traverse○○
techniques in the×○Detail survey by TS*
General Standard
GNSS surveying
×××
×
Digital stereo plotter*: Total Station ○: described in textbook ×: undescribed in textbookC2000

D2003

E2004

F2004

○○
×
○

○
○
×
○

○
○
××○○○
○

Results of Investigation of Six Textbooks used for Surveying Lectures at the Universities
Table 3 shows the results of investigation of textbooks that are used for the lectures of theuniversities and the latest techniques that are not described in the General Standard. Textbook B
introduces the latest techniques, such as MMS, even though it is not described in the GeneralStandard. From a viewpoint of educating future engineers, it is necessary to adopt textbooks asintroducing the latest technologies, because such information is useful in motivating students tolearn advanced areas and to start their research.
Table 3 Description of survey techniques in 6 textbooks and the latest techniquesthat are not described in the General Standard
Textbooks adopted for lectures in the universities
Year of publication of textbooks A to F (First edition)

A
1998

B
1999

C
2000

D
2003

E
2004

F
2004

The latest
Mobile Mapping System (MMS)
techniques that are3-D laser scanners
not described inthe General
Photogrammetry with satellite imagery
Standard×

○

×××

○

×××××

○××××××○: described in textbook ×: undescribed in textbook

Fig. 1 Newly compiled surveying textbook published in April 2014
Title: Newer surveying -Fundamentals and applications with newest technology- (in Japanese)

Development of Materials for Teaching Surveying at Schools
The authors developed a new surveying textbook to address the problems and tasks identified in theabove discussion. The survey techniques described in the General Standard and the latest
techniques that address the needs of the times were included in this textbook. The new textbook has
an impressive 253 pages. The newly compiled textbook, which was highly evaluated by the editorsof a publishing company, was published under the title of Newer surveying -Fundamentals andapplications with newest technology-. (Okazawa et al., 2014) (Fig. 1). However, it is clear that thisⒸ ISERD49IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

new textbook will become obsolete, as survey techniques are continuously developing. While being
the evaluation, it is important to continuously revise the textbook to address the changes of thetimes.
CONCLUSION
The study has clarified the following:(1) At engineering universities in Tokyo, 84.6% of departments taught theory of error, 84.6%taught transverse surveying, 76.9% taught leveling, 69.2% taught plane table surveying, 69.2%
taught GPS surveying, 46.2% taught photogrammetry, 38.5% taught GIS and 30.8% taught remotesensing. It was found that land-based surveying techniques, such as traverse surveying, levelingand plane table surveying, were treated preferentially over aerial-data based surveying, such as
GPS surveying, photogrammetry and remote sensing.
(2) Textbooks C and D introduced the technique using a digital stereo plotting instrument eventhough the instrument was not a standard item at the time of first publication of the two textbooks.
Given that the technique later became a major survey technique, it was found that introducing thelatest techniques in textbooks is important.
The authors developed a new textbook for teaching surveying based on an investigation ofcourses offered in the survey departments of universities and the textbooks used at universities. The
survey techniques described in the General Standard and the latest techniques, which address theneeds of the times, have been included in the new textbook. It is thought that continuous revision toaddress the latest techniques and needs of the time is required, because surveying techniques
rapidly develop with the time. It is important to consider the textbook in English, though thepublished textbook was in Japanese. Because the common language of study is English for students
in developing countries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported by the Grant-aid from Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan.
The authors thank for cooperation of Mr. Taizo Kin (Corona Publishing Co., Ltd.) at the textbook
publication.
REFERENCES
Asano, S. and Iba, H. 2004. Latest surveying primer. Jikkyo Shuppan Co., Ltd. (in Japanese).
Earth Policy Institute. 2009. Data centre -Food and Agriculture-, World irrigation area and irrigated area per
thousand people, 1950-2007. Washington, D.C., USA. (available from; http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/datacenter/xls /book_pd4_ch2_8.xls. accessed 1st Dec. 2014).
Fukumoto, T., Koga, Y., Saga, A., Ogino, M., Sano, M., Shikada, M., Wada, Y. and Hayakawa, K. 2003.
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Nakamura, H. and Shimizu, E. 2000. Surveying. Gihodo Shuppan Co., Ltd. (in Japanese).
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Ohki, M. 1998. Surveying. Morikita Publishing Co., Ltd. (in Japanese).
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