DOCSLIB.ORG

Master Thesis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Master Thesis Faculty of Environmental Sciences Institute of Cartography MASTER THESIS Historical Spatio-temporal data in current GIS Case Study: German-Herero war of resistance 1904 submitted by Susanna Ambondo Abraham 13 July 1991, Oshikuku Matriculation Number: 4576256 International Master of Science in Cartography Technical University of Dresden Supervisors: First Supervisor: Prof. Lars Bernard Second Supervisor: Dr.-Ing. Christian Murphy Submission date: 09 October 2017 Statement of Authorship I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this master thesis and information directly or indirectly taken from other sources have been noted as such. I further declare that I have not submitted this thesis nor any partial work of this thesis to an examination committee. Dresden, 09 October 2017 _____________________ ii Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank the Lord for his provision, strength and comfort on this journey. I could have not done it without his grace and mercy upon me. This has been the most challenging and emotional episode of my life. I would like to take this time and express my appreciation to all that helped me make my studies in Germany a worthwhile. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Lars Bernard for agreeing to supervise me and for his guidance on this thesis. I would also like to thank Dr-Ing Christian Murphy my second supervisor and Prof Dirk Burghardt for serving on my thesis committee and for their kind help and time. A special appreciation goes to Mrs Juliane Cron, for her kind assistance from the very first day on this master’s course, for motivating me to not give up when I felt like leaving. I am really grateful for all that you have done for me. Another special thanks goes to Mr Ankama Nadagho for his continuous support and for always believing in me. Equally, I would like to thank my dear friend Donald Akogou for being there to review my work and for always listening to my issues. My dear friend Maja Kalinic, you have not only been a classmate but also a sister to me. I am grateful to have met you and for making my life in Germany less stressful. Finally, my dear mama and sister for being my motivation to take on this amazing challenge. I thank you for your support and love. iii Abstract The growing developments in Geographic Information Retrieval (GIR) and Temporal Information Retrieval (TIR) techniques have given new ways to explore digital text archives for spatio-temporal data. Often, we are faced with questions regarding past events and the answers are hidden in the historical text archives. The question is how to retrieve the answers from the text documents. This thesis aims to contribute to the better understanding of spatio- temporal information extraction from text documents. Natural Language Processing techniques were used to develop an information extraction framework using GATE development framework. The developed framework uses gazetteer matching and pattern based rules to recognize and annotate elements in the documents. The goal is to use the extracted spatio- temporal data to study the time-geography context of the German-Herero war of resistance by using GIS. However, there are shortcomings regarding spatio-temporal functionalities in GIS applications. Space-time cube analysis, trajectory analysis and spatio-temporal clustering tools were used to establish space-time patterns in historical events of this phenomenon. While doing so, we assess the limitations of ArcGIS functionalities in handling time. The results shows that ArcGIS have the capabilities of handling time information. Space-time patterns were identified and presented using 2D and 3D visualization techniques. However, more functionalities are still needed in order to efficiently analyse spatio-temporal information, especially in regards to discrete historical temporal patterns. There is still a lack of spatio-temporal query functions. Additionally, more visualization methods are still needed that explicitly accentuate space-time changes without time animations. Keywords: Spatio-temporal data, Natural Language Processing, Information Extraction, GIS iv Table of Contents List of figures .......................................................................................................................... viii List of tables ............................................................................................................................... x List of abbreviations and symbols ............................................................................................. xi Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem definition ....................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Case study Background ............................................................................................... 2 1.4 Research Identification ................................................................................................ 3 1.4.1 Research questions ............................................................................................... 4 1.4.2 Intended innovations ............................................................................................ 4 1.5 Material and methodologies ......................................................................................... 4 1.5.1 Methodologies: ..................................................................................................... 4 1.5.2 Materials: .............................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2: Literature review................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Methods for extracting spatio-temporal data ............................................................... 6 2.3 Spatio-temporal data models ....................................................................................... 8 2.3.1 Snapshot data model ............................................................................................. 8 2.3.2 Event-based spatio-temporal data model (ESTDM) ............................................ 8 2.3.3 Simple time-stamp model ..................................................................................... 8 2.4 Spatio-temporal databases ........................................................................................... 9 2.5 Visualizing and analysing spatio-temporal data ........................................................ 11 2.5.2 Cartographic depict modes ................................................................................. 12 2.5.3 Space-time visualization models ........................................................................ 13 Chapter 3: Extraction of Spatio-temporal data from historical text documents ................... 16 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 16 v 3.2 Document pre-processing .......................................................................................... 18 3.3 Creation of gazetteers ................................................................................................ 20 3.3.1 Spatial Gazetteer creation ................................................................................... 21 3.3.2 Temporal gazetteer creation ............................................................................... 22 3.4 Contextual Information Extraction ............................................................................ 23 3.4.1 Named Entity Extraction pipeline ...................................................................... 24 3.4.2 Spatiotemporal relationship extraction pipeline ................................................. 28 3.5 Trajectory and location events extraction .................................................................. 31 3.5.1 Geocoding ........................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 4: Historical Spatio-temporal data in ArcGIS ........................................................ 36 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 36 4.2 Spatio-temporal data .................................................................................................. 36 4.2.1 Spatio-temporal data type ................................................................................... 36 4.2.2 Temporal GIS patterns........................................................................................ 38 4.2.3 Requirement for modelling, analysing and visualizing historical data .............. 40 4.3 Components of a temporal GIS ................................................................................. 40 4.4 Modelling and presenting time in ArcGIS ................................................................. 41 4.4.1 Modelling historical events as point in time ....................................................... 42 4.4.2 Modelling troop trajectory as duration in time ..................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fish Owl 14 Day Self-Drive Tour Starts/Ends: Windhoek
    Fish Owl 14 Day Self-drive Tour Starts/ends: Windhoek Accommodation 1 night Elegant Guesthouse DBB 2 night Sossus Dune Lodge DBB 2 night the Delight BB 2 night Erongo Wilderness lodge DBB 2 night Okaukuejo DBB 2 nights Okonjima DBB / F Incl. 2 nights Grossbarmen DBB Day 1 1 night at the Elegant Guesthouse – Windhoek Pick up your rental car when you arrive at Windhoek International Airport and set off on the easy 45-minute drive to reach Namibia's capital of Windhoek. Spend the afternoon relaxing at the Guesthouse or take a City tour. Late Afternoon you will be picked up from the Guesthouse and taken for Dinner, where the complete tour will be discussed with you. Overnight on Bed & Breakfast with Dinner Day 2 /3 2 nights at Sossus Dune Lodge- Sossusvlei Today you will be heading to the south west of the country. You will be taking the B1 road on the way to Rehoboth and then head west. You will driving through passes and beautiful landscapes before arriving at your desert destination. On the second day, early wake up to go the dunes. You will have a chance to climb “big dady”, “big mama” before arriving at the pinnacle of the desert, the “dead vlei”. After the vlei, you can discover the Sesriem Canyon and the desert environs Overnight on Bed & Breakfast with Dinner Day 4/5 2 nights at the Delight hotel Swakopmund Today you will be heading down to the coastal town of Swakopmund. A stopover at Solitaire is advisable for a meal before proceeding.
    [Show full text]
  • Early German Herpetological Observations and Explorations in Southern Africa, with Special Reference to the Zoological Museum of Berlin
    Bonner zoologische Beiträge Band 52 (2003) Heft 3/4 Seiten 193–214 Bonn, November 2004 Early German Herpetological Observations and Explorations in Southern Africa, With Special Reference to the Zoological Museum of Berlin Aaron M. BAUER Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA Abstract. The earliest herpetological records made by Germans in southern Africa were casual observations of common species around Cape Town made by employees of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) during the mid- to late Seven- teenth Century. Most of these records were merely brief descriptions or lists of common names, but detailed illustrations of many reptiles were executed by two German illustrators in the employ of the VOC, Heinrich CLAUDIUS and Johannes SCHUMACHER. CLAUDIUS, who accompanied Simon VAN DER STEL to Namaqualand in 1685, left an especially impor- tant body of herpetological illustrations which are here listed and identified to species. One of the last Germans to work for the Dutch in South Africa was Martin Hinrich Carl LICHTENSTEIN who served as a physician and tutor to the last Dutch governor of the Cape from 1802 to 1806. Although he did not collect any herpetological specimens himself, LICHTENSTEIN, who became the director of the Zoological Museum in Berlin in 1813, influenced many subsequent workers to undertake employment and/or expeditions in southern Africa. Among the early collectors were Karl BERGIUS and Ludwig KREBS. Both collected material that is still extant in the Berlin collection today, including a small number of reptile types. Because of LICHTENSTEIN’S emphasis on specimens as items for sale to other museums rather than as subjects for study, many species first collected by KREBS were only described much later on the basis of material ob- tained by other, mostly British, collectors.
    [Show full text]
  • People, Cattle and Land - Transformations of Pastoral Society
    People, Cattle and Land - Transformations of Pastoral Society Michael Bollig and Jan-Bart Gewald Everybody living in Namibia, travelling to the country or working in it has an idea as to who the Herero are. In Germany, where most of this book has been compiled and edited, the Herero have entered the public lore of German colonialism alongside the East African askari of German imperial songs. However, what is remembered about the Herero is the alleged racial pride and conservatism of the Herero, cherished in the mythico-histories of the German colonial experiment, but not the atrocities committed by German forces against Herero in a vicious genocidal war. Notions of Herero, their tradition and their identity abound. These are solid and ostensibly more homogeneous than visions of other groups. No travel guide without photographs of Herero women displaying their out-of-time victorian dresses and Herero men wearing highly decorated uniforms and proudly riding their horses at parades. These images leave little doubt that Herero identity can be captured in photography, in contrast to other population groups in Namibia. Without a doubt, the sight of massed ranks of marching Herero men and women dressed in scarlet and khaki, make for excellent photographic opportunities. Indeed, the populär image of the Herero at present appears to depend entirely upon these impressive displays. Yet obviously there is more to the Herero than mere picture post-cards. Herero have not been passive targets of colonial and present-day global image- creators. They contributed actively to the formulation of these images and have played on them in order to achieve political aims and create internal conformity and cohesion.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental & Social Impact Assessment Report
    Page | 1 “Balancing Growth with Resilience” ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT SubmissionClosure to: & Rezoning of Erven 379, 402, 403, 404 and 410 from Public Open Spaces to Private Open Spaces, Swakopmund Proper, Namibia Consultant / EAP: Erongo Consulting Group CC Erf 780, Vrede Rede Street Tamariskia, Swakopmund, NAMIBIA +264 (0) 81 277 2797 / (0) 85.277.2797 [email protected] [email protected] Proponent Municipality of Swakopmund P.O. Box 53, Swakopmund, NAMIBIA Corner Kamho / Rakotoka Street [email protected] Attention: Paulina Engelbrecht – Environmental Officer APP-002040 “Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common.” – Denis Diderot Closure & Rezoning of Erven 379, 402, 403, 404 & 410 from Public Open Spaces to Private Open Spaces, Swakopmund Proper, Namibia Page | 2 “Balancing Growth with Resilience” Document Status PROPONENT Municipality of Swakopmund PROJECT TITLE Closure & Rezoning of Erven 379, , 402, 403, 404 and 410 from Public Open Spaces to Private Open Spaces, Swakopmund Proper, Namibia PROJECT TYPE Environmental & Social Impact Assessment Study PROJECT LOCATION Erven 379, , 402, 403, 404 and 410 Swakopmund Proper, Erongo Region, NAMIBIA LOCAL AUTHORITY Municipality of Swakopmund, Erongo Region COMPETENT AUTHORITY Environmental Commissioner: Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Private Bag 13306, Windhoek, Namibia Tel: (+264-61) 2842111, Fax: (+264-61) 229936 PROJECT EAP / REVIEWER Erongo Consulting Group P.O. Box 7118, Swakopmund, Namibia Cell: 081.277.2797 & 085.277.2797 Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Web: www.erongoconsultinggroup.com CONTRIBUTORS Megameno L.
    [Show full text]
  • 0 FFI (JIAL GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY of South West Africa
    0 FFI (JIAL GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY of South West Africa. Published by Authority. BUITENGEWONE II OFFISIELE KOERI\NT van Suidwes ~ f\frika. Uitgegee op gesag. 6d Saturday, 29th June, 1929. WINDHOEK Saterdag, 29 Junie 1929. No. 325 No. 85.] [ 20th June, 1929. Cattle Brands Register for South West Africa~ EUROPEAN, POUND AND O1WERNMEl\T BRA!\T>S REGISTERED, ALLOTTED, TRANSFERRED AND CAN­ CEL!-ED L'P TO AND INCLUDING 31st DECEMBER, 1928. Published in terms of Secti(,_ii nineteen of the Cattle Brands P roclamation, No. 36 of 1921 (Gazette No. 68), as amended by Proclamations Nos. ,~1of 1922 (Gazette :--:o. 87); I 4 of 1923 (Gazette No. 111); 33 of 1923 (Gazette No. 121) ; 19 of 1924 (Oa.utte No. 138) and 14 of 1925 (Gautte No. 160). No. 85.] [ 20 Junie 1929. Veebrandmerk • Register vir Suidwes • Afrika. EUROPEA;\;E, SKUT- EN OOE\\'i.:RN1ENTS BRAl\D,\1ERKE, \VAT GEREOISTREER, TOEGEKEN, OORGEDRA EN pEKA:-!SELEER IS ·TOT OP 31 DESE.\l BER 1928. Gepubliseer ooreenkomstig ;-1.rtiekel neiintien \·an die Vee-Brandmerkc Proklamasic, No. 36 van 1921 (O/fisiifle Koerant No. 68), soos gewysig de•_;r P~ok];i.mas;es '.'ios. 79 ran 1922 (Offisiiile Koerant No. 87), 14 van 1923 (Offi­ siifle Koerant -:-.: ':- ~-;-l );··J2-i-'an 19,:tl (O// isii!le Koer,wi --~-:0. l '.!1 ) , 19 Y:!Ii. 1924 (O/fisiiile K.oerant No. 138), en 14 van · J 92'5 (Ojjisii!e l(oera11: :,o. 160). 5_8_7_8___ ___________________B_u_it~en~ewone Offisii:le Kr•1.: rant, J unie 1929. Nr. $5.J (20. Juni 1929.
    [Show full text]
  • I the EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
    THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN NAMIBIA (ELCIN) AND POVERTY, WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO SEMI-URBAN COMMUNITIES IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA - A PRACTICAL THEOLOGICAL EVALUATION by Gideon Niitenge Dissertation Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in PRACTICAL THEOLOGY (COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT) at the University of Stellenbosch Promoter: Prof Karel Thomas August March 2013 i Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part been submitted it at any university for a degree. Signed: _______________________ Date_________________________ Copyright © 2013 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved ii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the loving memory of my late mother Eunike Nakuuvandi Nelago Iiputa (Niitenge), who passed away while I was working on this study. If mom was alive, she could share her joy with others to see me completing this doctoral study. iii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za ABBREVIATIONS AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ARV Anti-Retroviral Treatment AFM Apostolic Faith Mission ACSA Anglican Church of Southern Africa AAP Anglican AIDS Programme AGM Annual General Meeting AMEC African Methodist Episcopal Church CAA Catholic AIDS Action CBO Community-Based Organisation CCDA Christian Community Development Association CAFO Church Alliance for Orphans CUAHA Churches United Against
    [Show full text]
  • 2121 C CONTENTS GENERAL NOTICE Page
    GOVERNMENT GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA N$1.00 WINDHOEK- 18 June 1999 No. 2121 c CONTENTS GENERAL NOTICE Page No. 121 Namibia Water Corporation Limited: Determination of bulk water supply tariffs General Notice MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT NAMIBIAN WATER CORPORATION LIMITED No. 121 1999 DETERMINATION OF BULK WATER SUPPLY TARIFFS In terms of section 7 (3) of theNamibia Water Corporation Act, 1997 (Act N o.12 of 1997), it is hereby made known that the Namibia Water Corporation Limited has, in consultation with the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, determined- (a) the bulk water supply tariffs set out in the Schedule; (b) that the tariffs set out in the Schedule shall come into operation on 1 April 1999. E.H.T ANGULA CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD NAMIBIA WATER CORPORATION LTD. NAMIBIA WATER CORPORATION LTD - PROPOSED WATER TARIFFS for 1999/2000 Cost Existing NewTariff % Center Description Area Tariff1998 99/2000 Increase ANI Anichab BRANDBERG 2.47 2.72 10% ANK Anker BRANDBERG 2.47 2.72 10% BRA Braunfels-Khorixas BRANDBERG 2.12 2.33 10% 2 Government Gazette 18 June 1999 No.2121 EIN Fransfontein BRAND BERG 2.23 2.45 10% ELD Ka1kfe1d BRANDBERG 2.23 2.45 10% ERW Erwee BRANDBERG 2.47 2.72 10% GAK Gainatseb!Khorixas BRANDBERG 1.79 1.97 10% HAL Ha1a1i BRANDBERG 2.08 2.29 10% KAM Kamanjab BRAND BERG 2.47 2.72 10% KHO Khorixas Reservoir BRAND BERG 2.12 2.33 10% NAM Namutoni BRAND BERG 1.45 1.60 10% NDU Otjovasandu BRANDBERG 2.23 2.45 10% NEI Nei-Neis-Uis BRANDBERG 2.33 2.56 10% OKO Okombahe BRAND BERG
    [Show full text]
  • Findaid 2/72
    Findaid 2/127 National Archives of Namibia Private Accessions Findaid 2/127 A.0068 Palgrave Album 1876 Compiled in 2017 National Archives of Namibia Findaid 2/127 For Private Accession A.0068: Palgrave Album Described by Werner Hillebrecht, Windhoek, 2017 © National Archives of Namibia, 2017 Republic of Namibia Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture National Archives of Namibia P/Bag 13250 Windhoek Namibia [email protected] From A.0068 – Photo 1033, Walvis Bay in 1876 2 A.0068 – Palgrave Album Introduction Description This accession consists of a large-format photo album with __ pages, size 60 x 48 x 9 cm. The photos, showing portraits, group portraits, landscapes and buildings from southern and central Namibia, were taken in 1876. Most photos are of excellent quality and in good preservation condition. Many of the iconic images from this album have been repeatedly used in publications on 19th century Namibian history. Provenance The photographs were taken by F. Hodgson who accompanied the Cape Government’s Special Commissioner William Coates Palgrave on his mission to Namibia in 1876. Altogether three albums, with slightly differing contents, are known to exist (the other two are owned by the Parliament Library in Cape Town, and the National Library of South Africa (Cape Town). They were presented together with Palgrave's report to Parliament). This album had been in the possession of Mr. J.J. Christie, who was Palgrave's Secretary. It was bought from his son, H. Christie, Kimberley, in 1953 by the Historical Monuments Commission, and deposited at the National Archives. Between 1924-1949, it had temporarily been in the custody of Kimberley Public Library.
    [Show full text]
  • Thermal Waters Along the Swakop River.Pdf
    THERMAL WATERS ALONG THE SWAKOP RIVER, SOUTH WEST AFRICA by T. vV. Gevers, M.A., Dr. Phil., D.Se; O. Hart, M.Se; and H. Martin, Dr. Phil. [Plates I-XI] ABSTRACT Three thermal springs are located along the northwestern flanks of the Khomas Highlands, over a distance of 20 miles, within the broad valley of the Swakop River. At Gross Barmen hot water issues naturally from some 12 individual closely spaced orifices, as well as from 2 bore-holes. Temperatures vary from 41·6 to 69°C. The yield of the natural springs is 2,060 gallons or 9· 4 cb.m. per hour. The temperature of the hot spring at Klein Barmen, 7 miles away, is 62°C, the yield being 960 gallons or 4· 34 cb.m. per hour. The water of the Okandu spring, 13 miles distant, is only tepid (38°C); owing to absence of well defined orifices its yield could not be measured. Five new chemical analyses are presented. Total dissolved solids range between 944 and 1094 p.p.m. Sodium by far predominates among the cations, the dominant anions being sulphate, chloride and bicarbonate. These waters therefore belong to the mixed alkaline-sulphate-muriate class. Silica is relatively high and at Gross Barmen small amounts of siliceous sinter occur. Gas bubbles are composed mainly of nitrogen. Radioactivity is insignificant. The origin of major, minor, and trace elements is discussed in relation to rocks traversed. Comparison is made with ordinary ground-water of semi-arid and arid regions and the conclusion reached that the springs are of meteoric origin.
    [Show full text]
  • FINDHILFE: Schrift-Archiv Der Rheinischen Missionsgesellschaft Für Das Südliche Afrika Teil 3: Südwestafrika / Namibia (Feldakten)
    Signatur Titel Inhalt Bemerkungen Aktenlaufzeit FINDHILFE: Schrift-Archiv der Rheinischen Missionsgesellschaft für das südliche Afrika Teil 3: Südwestafrika / Namibia (Feldakten) Please note: Additional information on the use of this findaid can be found in the printed findaid 2/92 Teil 1 [not in digital format] Allgemeines RMG 2.490 Katholische Mission in Südwestafrika − Berichte von d. verschiedenen Stationen über d. Aktivitäten d. 1899; 1933-1937 Katholischen Mission, 1933 − Die römische Propaganda in unseren afrikanischen Kolonien, G. Müller, Leipzig, 17 S. (Druck), 1899 RMG 2.491 Zur Frage d. Mischehen u. − Korrespondenz, Stellungnahmen, Gesprächsprotokolle, 1899-1914 Mischlingskinder Rundschreiben RMG 2.492 Africa Literacy and Writing Centre, − Dank für Spenden 1961 Kitwe, Rhodesia RMG 2.493 a Protokolle d. International − Protokolle, Memoranden, Literaturverzeichnisse 1937-1939 Committee on Christian Literature for Africa, London RMG 2.493 b Protokolle d. International − Protokolle, Memoranden, Literaturverzeichnisse 1937-1939 Committee on Christian Literature for Africa, London RMG 2.494 Bekämpfung d. afrikanischen − Verordnungen, Rundschreiben, Drucksachen 1890-1939 Branntweinhandels − Satzung d. Kommission zur Bekämpfung d. afrikanischen Branntweinhandels, (Druck), 1910 3 Signatur Titel Inhalt Bemerkungen Aktenlaufzeit − Der Deutsche Verband zur Bekämpfung d. afrikanischen Branntweinhandels, August Schreiber, 8 S. (Druck), 1914 − Druckschriften d. Verbandes, 1937, 1938 RMG 2.495 a Protokolle d. 1891-1904 Reichstagsverhandlungen über Südwestafrika RMG 2.495 b Protokolle d. 1905-1916 Reichstagsverhandlungen über Südwestafrika RMG 3.296 Christian Institut (CI) im südlichen − s. a. RMG 3.523 1966-1970 Afrika, Braamfontein: Korrespondenz Siegfried Groth mit Christian Frederik Beyers Naudé, van Wyk, Engelbrecht, Straßberger RMG 3.297 Friedrich Albert Spiecker: 1881 Reisebericht über e. Besuch bei d.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Veterinary Medicine in Namibia
    Page 1 of 11 Historical Article The history of veterinary medicine in Namibia Author: Until the middle of the 19th century, very few references exist regarding the occurrence of 1 Herbert P. Schneider animal diseases in Namibia. With the introduction of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia Affiliation: (CBPP) in 1859, this picture changed completely and livestock owners implemented various 1Agrivet International, forms of disease control in an effort to contain the spread of this disease and minimise its Windhoek, Namibia devastating effects. After the establishment of the colonial administration in 1884, the first animal disease legislation was introduced in 1887 and the first veterinarian, Dr Wilhelm Correspondence to: Herbert Schneider Rickmann, arrived in 1894. CBPP and the outbreak of rinderpest in 1897 necessitated a greatly expanded veterinary infrastructure and the first veterinary laboratory was erected at Email: Gammams near Windhoek in 1897. To prevent the spread of rinderpest, a veterinary cordon [email protected] line was established, which was the very beginning of the Veterinary Cordon Fence as it is Postal address: known today. After the First World War, a small but dedicated corps of veterinarians again PO Box 178, Windhoek, built up an efficient animal health service in the following decades, with veterinary private Namibia practice developing from the mid–1950s. The veterinary profession organised itself in 1947 in the form of a veterinary association and, in 1984, legislation was passed to regulate the Dates: Received: Dec. 2011 veterinary profession by the establishment of the Veterinary Council of Namibia. The outbreak Accepted: Jan. 2012 of foot and mouth disease in 1961 was instrumental in the creation of an effective veterinary Published: 16 May 2012 service, meeting international veterinary standards of quality and performance which are still maintained today.
    [Show full text]
  • Coastal Area
    Coastal Area Although feared by early mariners, the At Sandwich Harbour, some 40 km south the first European, the Portuguese navi- central Namib coast, has long been a of Walvis Bay, the dunes sweep down to gator Diego Cão, set foot on the coast popular destination with Namibians and a pristine lagoon (which once served as of southwestern Africa in 1486. visitors. Swakopmund, the country's a harbour) to create spectacular coastal COASTAL premier holiday resort, is characterised scenery. Sandwich also ranks as one Further inland, the Spitzkoppe rises by a wealth of well-preserved German of the most important coastal wetlands abruptly above the arid and sparsely colonial buildings. Street names serve in Africa. It is accessible by four-wheel vegetated plains of the Namib. Also as reminders of former colonial rulers drive vehicle only and is open to day known as the “Matterhorn of Namibia”, and administrators, while German is still visitors. the granite outcrop is a typical example COASTAL widely spoken. Typical German cakes of an inselberg, or island mountain. With and confectionery can be enjoyed in the Inland of the coastal towns of sheer granite rock walls of up to 600 m town's cafés, while the shops are stocked Swakopmund and Walvis Bay lies the high, the Spitzkoppe is the country's top with a mouth-watering selection of cold Namib section of the Namib-Naukluft rock climbing destination. meats. Well-known historic buildings Park with its gravel plains, fascinating include Woermann House, the old Moonlandscape, the rugged Kuiseb The Brandberg is not only the highest State Railway Station, Alte Kaserne Canyon and one of the world's botanical mountain in Namibia (the summit of (Old Fort) and the old Magistrate's curiosities, the Welwitschia mirabilis.
    [Show full text]