No abstract

Geographic masks are techniques used to protect privacy when publishing sensitive data in maps, but are not well adopted among researchers and may be difficult to execute for some GIS users. We developed a client‐side web application called MaskMy.XYZ that makes geographic masking easy to perform. It executes donut geomasking, a well‐known geographic mask, on thousands of points in seconds, and visualizes the original and masked point patterns in an integrated web map for visual comparison. MaskMy.XYZ also features metrics for both privacy protection and information loss, and allows users to rapidly and iteratively adjust masking parameters based on these metrics. The user interface was designed to prioritize usability, and clear documentation has been included to educate users about geographic masks, which is otherwise only found in niche literatures. By developing this application, we hope that geographic masks will be more widely adopted such that privacy is better protected in research.

Recent revelations of dragnet surveillance by governments around the world have brought attention to privacy and surveillance in their many forms. In this article, we outline the technical mechanisms of geosurveillance to synthesize and inform on a constantly moving target. Despite their interconnections and overlap, to simplify and elucidate these geosurveillance mechanisms, we classify them into three parts: geolocation, unique identification, and the surveillance medium. We show that together they constitute a language that we, as subjects, did not choose yet are increasingly forced to negotiate. Moreover, these mechanisms are both numerous and highly complex and are only one component within large ecosystems of geosurveillance, making privacy ever more evasive. Understanding the mechanisms of our own subjection is integral to any prospects for intervention, however. As such, we highlight the Tor network as an example of resistance to geosurveillance that is enabled by acutely understanding the hypertechnical language that otherwise binds us. Indeed, as we emphasize throughout, mechanism matters.Las recientes revelaciones gubernamentales alrededor del mundo en relaci on con las redes de vigilancia policial han llamado la atenci on sobre cuestiones de privacidad y vigilancia en sus diferentes modalidades. En este art ıculo hacemos un esquema de los mecanismos t ecnicos de la geovigilancia para sintetizar e informar sobre un objetivo que se mueve constantemente. A pesar de sus interconexiones y solapamiento, para simplificar y dilucidar estos mecanismos de geovigilancia los clasificamos en tres partes: geolocalizaci on, identificaci on unica y medio de vigilancia. Mostramos que en conjunto estas partes constituyen un idioma que nosotros, como sujetos, no escogimos pero que crecientemente nos vemos obligados a negociar. M as todav ıa, estos mecanismos son a la vez numerosos y altamente complejos y son tan solo un componente dentro de los grandes ecosistemas de la geovigilancia, lo que convierte a la privacidad en algo mucho m as evasivo. Sin embargo, entender los mecanismos de nuestro propio sometimiento es esencial para cualquier prospecto de intervenci on. Por lo que representa, destacamos la red de Tor como ejemplo de resistencia a la geovigilancia, la cual es habilitada entendiendo a profundidad el idioma hipert ecnico que de otro modo nos constriñe. En verdad, como en todo momento lo enfatizamos, el mecanismo si importa. Palabras clave: SIG cr ıtico, geoprivacidad, geovigilancia, mecanismo, Tor.

Geosurveillance is continually intensifying, as techniques are developed to siphon ever-increasing amounts of data about individuals. Here we survey three tactics and three strategies for resistance in an attempt to provoke greater discussion about resistance to geosurveillance. Tactics explored include data minimization, obfuscation, and manipulation. Strategies for resisting geosurveillance build upon other forms of resistance and include examination of the assumptions of geosurveillance, investigating privacy-focused software alternatives, and strengthening the ability of activists to operate in this sphere. Individually, each of these are unlikely to effect great change; used in concert, they have the potential to guide technological development in such a way that it is less likely to serve corporate and government interests and more likely to protect individual and group privacy.

Background Geographic masks are techniques used to protect individual privacy in published maps but are highly under-utilized in research. This leads to continual violations of individual privacy, as sensitive health records are put at risk in unmasked maps. New approaches to geographic masking are required that foster accessibility and ease of use, such that they become more widely adopted. This article describes a new geographic masking method, called street masking, that reduces the burden on users of finding supplemental population data by instead automatically retrieving OpenStreetMap data and using the road network as a basis for masking. We compare it to donut geomasking, both with and without population density taken into account, to evaluate its efficacy against geographic masks that require slightly less and slightly more supplemental data. Our analysis is performed on synthetic data in three different Canadian cities. Results Street masking performs similarly to population-based donut geomasking with regard to privacy protection, achieving comparable k-anonymity values at similar median displacement distances. As expected, distance-based donut geomasking performs worst at privacy protection. Street masking also performs very well regarding information loss, achieving far better cluster preservation and landcover agreement than population-based donut geomasking. Distance-based donut geomasking performs similarly to street masking, though at the cost of reduced privacy protection. Conclusion Street masking competes with, if not out-performs population-based donut geomasking and does so without requiring any supplemental data from users. Moreover, unlike most other geographic masks, it significantly minimizes the risk of false attribution and inherently takes many geographic barriers into account. It is easily accessible for Python users and provides the foundation for interfaces to be built for non-coding users, such that privacy can be better protected in sensitive geospatial research.

This paper presents an empirically grounded call for a more nuanced engagement and situatedness with placial characteristics within a spatial epidemiology frame. By using qualitative data collected through interviews and observation to parameterise standard and spatial regression models, and through a critical interpretation of their results, we present initial inroads for a situated spatial epidemiology and an analytical framework for health/medical geographers to iteratively engage with data, modelling, and the context of both the subject and process of analysis. In this study, we explore the socioeconomic factors that influence homicide rates in the Brazilian state of Alagoas from a critical public health perspective. Informed by field observation and interviews with 24 youths in low-income neighbourhoods and prisons in Alagoas, we derive and critically reflect on three regression models to predict municipal homicide rates from 2016–2020. The model results indicate significant effects for the male population, persons without elementary school completion, households with reported income, divorced persons, households without piped water, and persons working outside their home municipality. These results are situated in the broader socioeconomic context, trajectories, and cycles of inequality in the study area and underscore the need for integrative and contextually engaged mixed method study design in spatial epidemiology.

Aging adult skeletal material is a crucial component of building the biological profile of unknown skeletal remains, but many macro‐ and microscopic methods have challenges regarding accuracy, precision, and replicability. This study developed a volumetric method to visualize and quantify histological remodeling events in three dimensions, using a two‐dimensional serialized approach that applied circular polarizing microscopy and geographic information systems protocols. This approach was designed as a tool to extend current histological aging methodologies. Three serial transverse sections were obtained from a human femoral midshaft. A total sample size of 6847 complete osteons from the three sections was identified; 1229 osteons connected between all sections. The volume of all connected osteons was interpolated using ArcGIS area calculations and truncated cone geometric functions. Each section was divided into octants, and two random samples of 100 and of 30 connected osteons from each octant were generated. Osteon volume was compared between the octants for each random sample using ANOVA. Results indicated that the medial aspect had relative uniformity in osteon volume, whereas the lateral aspect showed high variability. The anterolateral–lateral octant had significantly smaller osteon volume, whereas the posterior–posterolateral octant had significantly larger osteon volume. Results also indicated that a minimum of 100 osteons is statistically more robust and more representative of normal osteon distribution and volume; the use of 30 osteons is insufficient. This research has demonstrated that osteon volume can be interpolated using spatial geometry and GIS applications and may be a tool to incorporate into adult age‐at‐death estimation techniques.

This study analyses GPS performance in Yukon's Arctic coast to inform future research that uses this technology in the region. To test this, Telonics GPS collars were placed on stakes during the summers of 2009 and 2010 throughout the region for varying lengths of time. The fix records produced by these collars were then collected and cleaned, leaving 30 samples. Using these records combined with a digital elevation model, eight variables were extracted and analysed in an attempt to find relationships, such that a fix rate could be predicted throughout the landscape. The results indicated that very few strong relationships existed. Densiometer values proved to be the only relationship between an environmental variable and fix rate. Available sky and aspect data produced results that were contrary to those expected. Overall, Telonics Generation 3 collars had extremely high fix rates, high accuracy, and low positional dilution of precision. Moreover, there was little variation in these results. This means that future GPS studies in the region would likely require minimal correction for fix rate bias. However, if corrections were to be made, more data would have to be gathered to ensure the results were statistically sound. The analysis suffered from the limitations of small sample size and low sample variance, among several others. Therefore, future studies should increase the number and diversity of sites tested.