Report on Progress

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Report on Progress
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Overview

• First cut gazetteer database built
• Basic working demonstrator built
• simple interface for reference use
• basic machine2machine protocols adopted
• Servicing Go-Geo!
• Adaptation of ADL Feature Type Thesaurus
• (see separate handout)
• Outreach and stakeholder engagement underway

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geoXwalk - High Level Architecture
(human interaction)
(machine2machine interaction)
Web client
Information server
Request via protocol (ADL, OGC, Z39.50)
Request via protocol (ADL, OGC, Z39.50)
The geoXwalk Server (Spatially enabled RDBMs)
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Gazetteer Database

• Built on ADL Content Standard
• Currently seeded with
• OS 150,000 digital Gazetteer
• digital boundary data from UKBORDERS
• data sourced from other OS products - Strategi,
  Meridian, 1250,000 gazetteer
• starting to add 3rd party data including Getty
• Accuracy enhanced and metadata support
• Current coverage
• Geographical - GB
• Thematic - see below

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ADL Gazetteer Content Standard
Geographic Feature ID Geographic
Name Variant Geographic Name (R)
Type of Geographic Feature (R) Other
Classification Terms (R) Geographic
Feature Code (R) Spatial Location (R)
Street Address Related Feature (R)
Description Geographic Feature Data (R)
Link to Related Source of Information (R)
Supplemental Note Metadata Information

• comprehensive description but with small set of
  core elements
• temporal aspects of names, footprints,
  relationships,
• documents source, spatial accuracy/scale of
  footprint
• does permit explicit relationship types!

http//www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/gazetteer
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Feature Typing

• need to incorporate a dictionary of allowed terms
  which defines each feature type
• typing supports queries such as
• What schools exist in Leeds and where are they?
• Show lakes in Cornwall
• hierarchy of feature types preferred
• propose to adopt the ADL Feature Type Thesaurus
• some problems but ADL acknowledges these
• adapted thesaurus for UK

• hydrographic features
• . aquifers
• . bays
• . . fjords
• . channels
• . deltas
• . drainage basins
• . estuaries
• . floodplains
• . streams
• . . rivers
• . . . bends (river)
• . . . rapids
• . . . waterfalls

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geoXwalk gazetteer - current thematic content
(based on adapted ADL Feature Type Thesaurus)
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geoXwalk as digital gazetteer service use cases
Geo-parsing indexing
The geoXwalk Server
Searching
Reference use
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Supporting reference the where is? type of
question
Where is Aberdour?
What is the largest town in Nottinghamshire?
What is at grid ref. NY 305 573 ?
List me all places ending with kirk
What parishes fall within the Lake District
National Park?
On what river is Dundee situated?
Which Roman roads pass through Scotland?
By what alternative names has York been known?
research use to resolve variant names etc.
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Demonstration
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Task Find resource about 'Liverpool
docks Search using a traditional gazetteer
might yield

• 5

co-ordinates allow (near) co-located places to be
co-identified.
Using spatial proximity in an active gazetteer,
the search can be widened Place County/UA Liverp
ool Liverpool Bebbington Wirral Birkenhead Wirral
Bootle Sefton New Brighton Wirral Seacombe Wirral
Seaforth Wirral Waterloo Sefton
that means more better hits . !!!

• 15

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Demonstration
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Supporting cross searching different services
Find resources for this postcode (NB postcode
often used to geo-reference survey data files)
Co-ordinate footprints
Post code L34 0HS?
Place names
Parish names
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Demonstration (Go-Geo!)
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Protocols

• Why adopt a protocol at all?
• agreed set of rules and interfaces (limit
  proliferation)
• ADL Query Protocol
• lightweight, generic, relatively simple to
  implement
• OGC Filter Encoding Specification
• fuller, highly flexible, more complex
• Z39.50
• pervasive in JISC IE, not specifically for
  geo-spatial data, lack of support

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5 types of ADL query

• identifier-query identifier
• Return gazetteer entry identified by identifier
• Supported by geoXwalk
• name-query operator text
• Returns gazetteer entries which match text under
  text-operator operator
• geoXwalk supports the mandatory equals operator
  and the
• optional match-pattern operator
• footprint-query operator (polygon box
  identifier)
• Returns all gazetteer entries having a footprint
  that matches a query region
• according to spatial operator operator
• geoXwalk supports spatial operators within,
  contains and overlaps.
• Spatial extents can be specified by bounding box
  or identifier.

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ADL queries (contd)

• class-query thesaurus term
• Returns all gazetteer entries which belong to the
  class (feature type).
• geoXwalk supports class queries
• (but currently does not return sub-classes by
  default as the ADL does)
• relationship-query relationship identifier
• Returns all gazetteer entries having
  relationship relationship to a
• target gazetteer entry identified by identifier.
• geoXwalk does not support queries of this type
  because we do not hold
• explicit relationships between entities - they
  are derived implicitly from the geometries

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Demonstration m2m
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Outreach and evaluation

• JISCmail list established
• leaflet produced
• project web pages available
• discussions with various stakeholders
• discussions with data providers
• report and outcomes of this meeting will be
  written up