Maria Giaoutzi

Crowdsourcing as a Tool for Knowledge Acquisition in Spatial Planning

The term “crowdsourcing” was initially introduced by Howe in his article “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” [1]. During the last few years, crowdsourcing has become popular among companies, institutions and universities, as a crowd-centered modern “tool” for problem solving. Crowdsourcing is mainly based on the idea of an open-call publication of a problem, requesting the response of the crowd for reaching the most appropriate solution. The focus of this paper is on the role of crowdsourcing in knowledge acquisition for planning applications. The first part provides an introduction to the origins of crowdsourcing in knowledge generation. The second part elaborates on the concept of crowdsourcing, while some indicative platforms supporting the development of crowdsourcing applications are also described. The third part focuses on the integration of crowdsourcing with certain web technologies and GIS (Geographic Information Systems), for spatial planning applications, while in the fourth part, a general framework of the rationale behind crowdsourcing applications is presented. Finally, the fifth part focuses on a range of case studies that adopted several crowdsourcing techniques.

Landfill siting using GIS, fuzzy logic and the Delphi method

The focus of this paper is on the development of an evaluation methodology for landfill siting. The first part of the paper presents the methodology developed, utilising GIS technology for the analysis and visualisation of the geographic data, and fuzzy logic for the evaluation of the final results. The Delphi method is also utilised to determine the membership functions used in the fuzzy logic approach. In the second part, a case study is presented, concerning one of the twenty-seven Prefectures of Egypt. Finally the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology are discussed.

Dynamic GIS Models for Regional Sustainable Development

This chapter gives a new conceptual framework for GIS modelling and offers an empirical modelling application for the Greek Sporades islands. Various spatial and non-spatial simulation experiments focusing on sustainable development of these islands are presented.

ICTs and Tourism Marketing for Regional Development

Tourism marketing has become the cornerstone for strengthening the position of regions in the global tourism market. ICTs have enhanced the marketing potential of remote and peripheral regions as tourist destinations. The scope of this chapter relates to the impacts of the new economy, enabled by ICTs, on tourism marketing for regional development. In the first part of the chapter, the context of the new economy is presented, with emphasis on the role and nature of the new actors in the tourist sector. In the second part, the evolving context of marketing possibilities for remote and peripheral regions is explored in the light of the new economy. In this context, a promotion/marketing framework is developed, based on the specific assets of tourist destinations as tourist products, that is aimed at enhancing their potential within the tourist market. More specifically, an e-Marketplace platform is developed, aimed at marketing peripheral regions as tourist destinations serving regional development goals.

In Search of Foresight Methodologies: Riddle or Necessity

To study the future is to study potential change – unveiling what is likely to make a systemic or fundamental difference over the next 10–25 years or more. Studying the future is not simply economic projection or sociological analysis or technological forecasting, but a multidisciplinary examination of change in all major areas of life in order to find the interacting dynamics that are creating the next age.

How to approach narratives in foresight studies: qualitative data analysis

Gathering of intelligence and knowledge, based on stakeholders’ participation, is at the core of foresight studies. Participatory approaches in foresight studies, though, generate a large amount of qualitative data. In order to deal with this issue, there is a need for tools and techniques capable of handling qualitative data, so that the input to a foresight exercise can be enriched and value can be added to the outcome of the decision making process. The focus of the paper is on the introduction of qualitative data analysis tools for the processing of qualitative data that are gathered by use of participatory approaches in foresight exercises. In the first part it attempts to shed light on the intriguing issue of integrating ‘narratives and numbers’ in a participatory foresight context. In the second part it presents the application of the ATLAS-ti model – a qualitative data analysis tool – on the data obtained from the stakeholders’ validation workshop, carried out in the context of the AG2020 project on the future of agriculture in Europe.

The role of ICTs in building entrepreneurial capacity in the regions of the future

This paper recognises the rising importance of entrepreneurship in regional and national economic development policy and programming. However, it is built on an assessment of the ICT industry and its destabilising (deconstructing) impact on economic and industry structure and an associated radical change in the international division of labour in the production process. This paper builds a four class entrepreneurial typology that sorts entrepreneurs from a little to a great deal of experience and then demonstrates differential demands and needs of ICT for entrepreneurial action. This serves as a framework for assessing policies that purport to promote entrepreneurship and associated behaviour in regions. Underlying assumptions of this paper are that ICT and entrepreneurship are tied together and the relationship is a strong driver of both regional and national development.

NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SPATIAL TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

An overview is given of recent transport developments taking place in Europe. Particular attention is given to the impacts of technological dynamics as reflected in the new information technology (NIT). Against this background the paper gives an overview of results and findings from four major international conferences on the impact of NIT on spatial developments and transportation. There appears to be a growing concensus that the impacts of NIT will not be dramatic, and that NIT will not be used instead of travelling all that much. However, NIT may be important in increasing an areass competitiveness. The same holds true for logistic systems and traffic safety.

The Impact of New Information Technologies on Spatial Inequalities

New Information Technology (NIST) may be regarded as a pervasive, radical and innovative technology, which may potentially trigger off a systemic transformation in our economies.

Market Segmentation in Tourism: An Operational Assessment Framework

Distribution channels are the paths by which tourism organizations can execute the communication and sales of their products and services. To varying degrees, all tourism product suppliers depend on these channels for the distribution of their products. Tourism destination organizations and individual businesses often find themselves making decisions concerning the development and distribution of their products, without having a full understanding of how the channel operators perceive and react to these strategic actions. If the proper distribution channels are developed, they can go a long way towards determining the patterns of destination use, penetrating target markets, and creating economic impact, as it is important to have an awareness of, and access to, effective distribution intermediaries. The specific objectives of this study were to compare the importance that international and domestic tourists attribute to various forms of information, both at tourism destinations and in the pre – trip context, and to carry out an analysis of their information sourcing behaviour, based on internal and external information sources, including the use of the Internet. Research in the province of Arcadia, in the form of a longitudinal study, offers an appreciation of not only what channels of distribution might best match the needs of a particular tourism destination, but also what product development and marketing actions would help the channel operators to draw visitors to it.