title: Using viewsheds, GIS, and a landscape classification to tag landscape photographs

authors: Brabyn, Lars

subjects: landscape

abstract: Landscape scenery is inherently difficult to conceptualize because of its perceptual nature. Yet landscapes are an extremely important resource for tourism and quality of life so there is a need to classify and manage landscapes. This paper shows how viewshed analysis based on the known location and direction of a photo can be used to tag a photo and this provides a method for assessing the New Zealand Landscape Classification. GIS visibility and overlay functions are combined with digital elevation data and a landscape classification to produce the tagged photos. This tool links an oblique view with multiple distance perspectives to a GIS dataset. There are complexities associated with distance perspectives and the appropriate balance of foreground and distant landscape. This paper argues that the benefits of automated tagging of landscape photos are threefold. The process of modelling landscape tags forces researchers to confront the complexity of landscape character classification. This in turn leads to improved methods for representing and classifying landscape character. Secondly, once tagging methods have been developed then people may choose to use these tools rather than to manually tag photos. Thirdly, such a tool provides the opportunity to utilize the increasingly important volunteered geographic information on the Internet for understanding landscape categories. Landscape photographs and associated tags on the Internet provide insight about landscape categories employed by the public. This could lead to the development of what is labelled “tag clouds” and a landscape “folksonomy”.

text: Using viewsheds, GIS, and a landscape classification to tag landscape photographs Landscape scenery is inherently difficult to conceptualize because of its perceptual nature. Yet landscapes are an extremely important resource for tourism and quality of life so there is a need to classify and manage landscapes. This paper shows how viewshed analysis based on the known location and direction of a photo can be used to tag a photo and this provides a method for assessing the New Zealand Landscape Classification. GIS visibility and overlay functions are combined with digital elevation data and a landscape classification to produce the tagged photos. This tool links an oblique view with multiple distance perspectives to a GIS dataset. There are complexities associated with distance perspectives and the appropriate balance of foreground and distant landscape. This paper argues that the benefits of automated tagging of landscape photos are threefold. The process of modelling landscape tags forces researchers to confront the complexity of landscape character classification. This in turn leads to improved methods for representing and classifying landscape character. Secondly, once tagging methods have been developed then people may choose to use these tools rather than to manually tag photos. Thirdly, such a tool provides the opportunity to utilize the increasingly important volunteered geographic information on the Internet for understanding landscape categories. Landscape photographs and associated tags on the Internet provide insight about landscape categories employed by the public. This could lead to the development of what is labelled “tag clouds” and a landscape “folksonomy”.

year: 2011

title: Nitrogen, soils and environment

authors: Schipper, Louis A.

subjects: environmental aspects

abstract: The article discusses the risk of damaging the environment brought by nitrogen fertilisers which are used for increasing agricultural productivity. The oxidation of ammonium allows for the formation of nitrate. Troposphere ozone and aerosols are produced through the increase of reactive nitrogen in the atmosphere.

text: Nitrogen, soils and environment The article discusses the risk of damaging the environment brought by nitrogen fertilisers which are used for increasing agricultural productivity. The oxidation of ammonium allows for the formation of nitrate. Troposphere ozone and aerosols are produced through the increase of reactive nitrogen in the atmosphere.

year: 2010

title: Mana whenua, mana tangata: Raukawa ake, Raukawa iho

authors: Peni, Tamati

subjects: Raukawa

abstract: Mā te whakapapa, ngā tohu whenua, ngā pae whenua, ngā mātākōrero, ngā kōrero tuku iho, ka whakatere te takenga mai o ngā ariā me ngā mātāpono o Raukawa.  Ina te matapakinga, ka tīkaro hoki i ngā āhuatanga o tuawhakarere me ngā āhuatanga o te ao hurihuri kia tūhono i ngā matapakinga he aha rānei te Raukawatanga me te pātai he aha hoki ōna pānga ki te ao whai muri ake i te taunaha i ngā take Tiriti.  Nā te whānui rawa me te kaha tīni haere o te taiwhanga nei, ka whakawhāiti te rangahau ki ngā whakamautanga o Raukawa ki ngā pae whenua tawhito, ā, ka whītikihia te aronga ki nāianei, ki te ao hurihuri.

I seek to explore the ideological grounding of Raukawa through whakapapa, land marks, boundaries, oral history, and tradition.  Through this, a simultaneous extraction of traditional and contemporary themes are used to bridge new and old ways of being and what impact this has on being Raukawa in a post-settlement setting.  Because of the vastness and changing nature of this environment, I narrow my focus to how Raukawa maintained traditional boundaries and draw on its relevance to modern Raukawa development today.

text: Mana whenua, mana tangata: Raukawa ake, Raukawa iho Mā te whakapapa, ngā tohu whenua, ngā pae whenua, ngā mātākōrero, ngā kōrero tuku iho, ka whakatere te takenga mai o ngā ariā me ngā mātāpono o Raukawa.  Ina te matapakinga, ka tīkaro hoki i ngā āhuatanga o tuawhakarere me ngā āhuatanga o te ao hurihuri kia tūhono i ngā matapakinga he aha rānei te Raukawatanga me te pātai he aha hoki ōna pānga ki te ao whai muri ake i te taunaha i ngā take Tiriti.  Nā te whānui rawa me te kaha tīni haere o te taiwhanga nei, ka whakawhāiti te rangahau ki ngā whakamautanga o Raukawa ki ngā pae whenua tawhito, ā, ka whītikihia te aronga ki nāianei, ki te ao hurihuri.

I seek to explore the ideological grounding of Raukawa through whakapapa, land marks, boundaries, oral history, and tradition.  Through this, a simultaneous extraction of traditional and contemporary themes are used to bridge new and old ways of being and what impact this has on being Raukawa in a post-settlement setting.  Because of the vastness and changing nature of this environment, I narrow my focus to how Raukawa maintained traditional boundaries and draw on its relevance to modern Raukawa development today.

year: 2013