Jan

28th 2008

The Role Of Geographic Profiling In Serial Violent Crime Investigation

Filed Under Data | Leave a Comment

Thanks to films like silence of the lambs, many people associate criminal profiling with the methods and techniques developed by the FBI at the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico.

There are, however, a number of other approaches that can be used in the course of a criminal investigation. The role of one of these other approaches, geographic profiling, will be outlined in the course of this article. Read more

Jan

23rd 2008

Google in hot water with South Korea

Filed Under Google Earth, Google Maps | Leave a Comment

Apparently Google has upset South Korea again with its choice of annotation that mistakenly attributes certain locations in South Korea as being part of North Korea. According to Digital Chosunilbo, a daily news site about Korea:

The controversial areas include Ongjin County under the jurisdiction of the city of Incheon, and some islands in Ongjin County such as Baegryeong-do, Daecheong-do, and Socheong-do.

While close to North Korea, all of these locations are in South Korea. Yet all of them are described in detail by Google Earth as belonging to North Korea. Even Yeonpyeong-do, in whose adjacent waters the 1999 West Sea battle was waged, is described as belonging to the North.

There have been several incidents in the past with Google referring to Seoul (the capital of South Korea) as “under Japanese rule” and labeling some locales with the Japanese name instead of the Korean name.

Read more: Google Under Fire for Flawed Korea Maps - Digital Chosunilbo

Jan

23rd 2008

Maps aren’t just for humans

Filed Under Ecology | Leave a Comment

According to a short item in the Smithsonian’s January magazine, white-crowned sparrows map their navigation routes to their wintering grounds in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. The study looked at the navigation path of 15 adult and 15 juvenile birds. As the birds mature they build a mental map of their wintering grounds so that they can return to the location even if their starting point changes. White-crowned sparrows normally summer in Alaska but the 30 captured birds were released from New Jersey. The adult birds accurately changed their route to a southwesterly direction while the juvenile birds, out of genetic instinct, flew due south, missing their target.

Jan

21st 2008

Mapping the Primary Race

Filed Under Mapping, United States | Leave a Comment

With the United States presidential primaries so competitive for both the Democratic and Republican parties, it’s no surprise that some sites are using mapping to help understand the preference by state and county across the country. The Electoral Map is a relatively new blog that looks at politics and geography. Political Maps with the byline “Political News as told by maps” also tracks the primaries from a mapping perspective. With the candidates seeming to show up in a new state every hour, Slate.com has an interesting Google mashup showing where presidential candidates are campaigning.  At the top of the mashup is a slider to tighten or broaden the timeline mapped. A legend on the right allows you to choose which candidates are mapped. The Google LatLong Blog also has a post with additional mapping resources.

Jan

02nd 2008

World’s Largest Water Reclamation Plant

Filed Under Environment, United States | Leave a Comment

Orange County (California) officially launched the world’s largest reclamation plant to coincide with the New Year.  The project, costing around $490 million, filters waste water through a complex over 20 acres using a series of pipes, drains and filtering techniques before pumping the water through the area’s extensive groundwater system.  While the water is potable after being processed through the reclamation system, it is added to the groundwater to prevent saltwater intrusion and add another layer of natural filtration.  The system will add 130 million gallons of fresh drinking water a day to the area’s water supply, reducing the need to import water from northern California.  A massive campaign to educate the public and to prevent protests that have undermined other reclamation projects in the local area was responsible for the public’s acceptance of the plant.  The Los Angeles Times has a graphic demonstrating the technology. 

Read more: O.C. sewage will soon be drinking water - Los Angeles Times