[Geoinquiets Barcelona] Fwd: [SIG] USGS Research Fellowship

[Anna Muñoz]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Artur Gil <arturfreiregil at yahoo.com.br>
Date: 2010/11/1
Subject: [SIG] USGS Research Fellowship
To: SIG at listserv.rediris.es


Understanding User Dimensions of the Geospatial Web

The Geospatial Web (Scharl and Tochterman, 2007), or the merging of location
with content information on the Internet, has resulted from both technical
and social changes. Civilian access to GPS signals, the availability of
application programming interfaces (API) that enable the mashup of
geospatial data from disparate sources onto a map-based platform, the
increasing maturity of open-source geospatial software, and the rapid spread
of geo-enabled mobile devices have made it easier for people to access and
use geospatial data online. At the same time, a culture of collaborative
online mapping by users who are not GIS professionals has emerged.
Non-professional users of geospatial information, rather than being passive
recipients of maps and data from official sources, have become a major
source of creativity and innovation in the Geospatial Web.

For example, OpenStreetMap (OSM) (http://www.openstreetmap.org/), an open
source project, offers an alternative global base map constructed entirely
by volunteers, comparable in accuracy and completeness to official base maps
of national mapping agencies (Haklay, 2010). OSM and its timely citizen
mapping effort were the base map of choice for first responders in the
Haitian earthquake.

The U.S> Geological Survey (USGS) has a vital interest in understanding
these non-professional and non-traditional users. The recent USGS science
strategy laid out six aspirational future science directions for the agency:
ecosystems; climate variability; a water census of the United States;
hazards, risk, and resilience; human health; and energy and minerals (U.S.
Geological Survey, 2007).  User-generated data and new Internet mapping
technologies could supplement data collection in these theme areas as well
as facilitate communities of interest among the general public. Citizen
mapping projects are worthy of study, as both social and technical
phenomena, as little is understood about the motivations of participants,
the accuracy and completeness of the data that are produced, or the best
methods to structure collaborations between professionals and citizen
scientists.

This Research Opportunity focuses on the impact the Geospatial Web will have
on future users of The National Map (www.nationalmap.gov), which provides a
geospatial platform for integrated data exploration, cross-disciplinary
collaboration, and information visualization in a geospatial context and is
an important vehicle for realizing the vision of the USGS science strategy.
In addition to planning for the changing nature of data users and their
technologies, the concept of usability must extend beyond traditional
motions of the interface to consider the context of the whole system of
data, standards, and people that constitute The National Map and its
delivery system—the Internet, and the devices with which it is accessed. The
potential research topics can be quite wide ranging and can be attacked by
both quantitative and qualitative methodologies or by a combination. How
will The National Map of the future support interactive visualizations of
scientific data? How can the interface be improved? What are the emergent
trends in crowdsourcing and social networking, and what are their
implications for geospatial data and the USGS? How should data be delivered
to mobile devices, and how can mobile devices be used for updating
databases? What motivates citizen scientists? How do communities, whether
groups of scientists, decisionmakers, or citizens, collaborate using high
performance computing? The ideal candidate will have experience using
quantitative and qualitative methods to study emerging trends in
human-computer interface (CHI) research and user-centered design as they
relate to the Geospatial Web, an emerging area of research for GIScience at
the USGS according to the National Research Council (2007).  Project topics
can be drawn from the six USGS science themes discussed above. We have a
particular interest in proposals that deal with the hazards, risk, and
resilience theme. Proposals should demonstrate creative thinking and have
strong theoretical and empirical components.

Geographic information science research for The National Map is conducted by
the Center for Excellence in Geographical Information Science (CEGIS) (
http://www.cegis.gov), a distributed team of researchers with affiliates at
Colorado University, The Pennsylvania State University, and the University
of California at Santa Barbara. Candidates will have broad opportunity to
interact with these researchers, who have ongoing projects on such topics as
user-centered design, ontology, generalization, and cyberinfrastruture. The
candidate can also draw on an established network of Federal, State, and
local government agencies that contribute data to The National Map. There
will be opportunities for the candidate to mentor several Ph.D. students.
References

Haklay, M., 2010, How good is OpenStreetMap information? A comparative study
of OpenStreetMap and Ordnance Survey datasets: Environment and Planning B,
v. 37, p. 682–703.

National Research Council, 2007, A research agenda for geographic
information science at the United States Geological Survey: Washington, DC,
National Academy Press
[http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12004]<http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12004>
.

Scharl, A., and K. Tochterman, eds., 2007, The Geospatial Web: London:
Springer.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2007, Facing tomorrow's challenges: U.S. Geological
Survey Science in the decade 2007-2017: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1039
[http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2007/1309/].

*Proposed Duty Station:* Saint Petersburg, FL; Denver, CO

*Areas of Ph.D.: *GIScience, geography, human-computer interface (CHI) or
graphic design (candidates holding a Ph.D. in other disciplines but with
knowledge and skills relevant to the Research Opportunity may be
considered).

*Qualifications:* Applicants must meet one of the following
qualifications: Research
Geographer<http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2012/qualifications.html#res_geog>,
Research Physical
Scientist<http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2012/qualifications.html#res_phys>
(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the
occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending
on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final
classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources
specialist.)

*Research Advisor:* Barbara Poore, (727) 803-8747 x. 3095, bspoore at usgs.gov

*Human Resources Office Contact*: Diann Benallo, (303) 236-9554,
dbenallo at usgs.gov



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