Science in the digital age overcoming uncertainty and the adoption of Volunteered Geographic Information for science Langley, Shaun Arthur author Messina, Joseph P. thesis advisor Shortridge, Ashton M. degree committee member Grady, Sue C. degree committee member Walker, Ned degree committee member text Text Theses No place, unknown, or undetermined 2014 2014 eng English application/pdf x, 136 pages With the advent of Web 2.0, the public is becoming increasingly interested in spatial data exploration. The potential for Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to be adopted for Science through collaborations between researchers and non-scientists is of special interest to me. In particular, mobile devices and wireless communication permit the public to be more involved in research to a greater degree. Furthermore, the accuracy of these devices is rapidly improving, allowing me to address questions of uncertainty and error in data collections. Cooperation between researchers and the public integrates themes common to VGI and PGIS (Participatory Geographic Information) to bring about a new paradigm in GIScience. This dissertation discusses VGI in the context of a new paradigm, eScience, and the broader framework of Neogeography. I discuss current issues with data quality and uncertainty regarding VGI and detail one approach to quality credibility of the data. Finally, the dissertation outlines the framework for utilizing VGI in the context of case study in disease ecology for the purpose of surveillance of tsetse flies, the primary vector of African Trypanosomiasis. My system allows for two-way communication between researchers and the public for data collection, analysis, and the ultimate dissemination of results. Enhancing the role of the public to participate in these types of projects can improve both the efficacy of disease surveillance as well as stimulating greater interest in science. by Shaun Arthur Langley Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Geography, 2014 Includes bibliographical references Geography Information resources Geographic information systems Geographic information systems Geography Geographic information science and geodesy Information science Geography Information resources Electronic Theses & Dissertations etd 9781321370119 1321370113 973326583 3646917 Langley_grad.msu_0128D_13063 In Copyright https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/z9zy-c634 aacr MiEM Michigan State University. Libraries 2017-09-01 2024-03-02 973326583 Converted from MARCXML to MODS version 3.7 using a custom XSLT. eng