Lucy Mburu, M.Sc.

Lucy Mburu was a doctoral candidate and research assistant at the Chair of GIScience until June 2016. In this summer season, she is set to complete her Doctoral Degree in Applied Geoinformatics at the Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University

Subject of Thesis

Bridging theory with practice: A framework for conceptualizing and evaluating models of criminal behavior using geographic data

Research interests

• Spatial modeling
• Open Source Geographic information systems (GIS)
• Geo-computation
• Interdisciplinary Research
• Geographic profiling of crime patterns
• DBMS and Information Systems
• Open source GIS

EDUCATION AND WORK

• since 10/2012: Doctoral candidate in the GIScience Research Group, University of Heidelberg
• Since 2008: Lecturer in Geo-informatics and database management systems, KCA University – Ruaraka, Nairobi, Kenya
• 09/2004 – 01/2007: Post-graduate certificate, Diploma and Master study in Computer-based Information Systems , University of Sunderland, UK
• 09/1998 –10/2002: Bachelor study at the faculty of Arts, Maseno University, Kenya.

HONORS AND AWARDS

• 30/09/13 – 02/10/13 : Grant award from the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE) Council to attend the 2nd AGILE PhD School at the Benedictine abbey of Frauenwörth, Germany.
• 01/10/2012 – 30/06/2016: Full PhD Scholarship award funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study at GIScience research group, Heidelberg University, Germany.
• 01/03/2012 – 30/09/2012: Full Language Course Grant funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study the German language at the Goethe Institute in Mannheim.
• 09/2004 – 01/2007: Full Postgraduate Diploma and Master Scholarship award funded by the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission to study at University of Sunderland, UK.

Publications

Journal papers

• Mburu, L. and Bakillah, M. (2016) Modeling Spatial Interactions between Areas to Assess the Burglary Risk. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 5(4), 47; doi:10.3390/ijgi5040047
• Mburu, L., & Helbich, M. (2016). Analysis of Crime Risk Using a Commuter Harmonized Ambient Population and Spatially Filtered Negative Binomial Regression. Annals of the Association of American Geographers; doi: 10.1080/24694452.2016.1163252.
• Sun, Y., Mburu, L., & Wang, S. (2016). Analysis of community properties and node properties to understand the structure of the bus transport network. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
• Mburu, L., & Helbich, M. (2016). Communities as Neighborhood Guardians: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Community Policing in Nairobi's Suburbs. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 1-22.
• Mburu, L., & Helbich, M. (2015). Evaluating the Accuracy and Effectiveness of Criminal Geographic Profiling Methods: The Case of Dandora, Kenya. The Professional Geographer.

Conferences and workshops

• Mburu, L. (2014). Mapping seasonal Crime in Nairobi, Kenya, a Space and Time Surveillance. GI-Forum Conference, 1-4 July 2014, Salzburg, Austria.
• Mburu, L. & Zipf, A.(2014). A Spatial Approach to Surveying Crime-problematic Areas at the Street Level. Agile Conference, 3-6 June 2014, Castellón, Spain.
• Mburu, L. W (2013). Modeling and Mapping Crime in Eastern Nairobi, Kenya. AGILE PhD School, Frauenwörth, 30 Sep-2 Oct, 2013.
• Mburu, L. (2010). Geographic Profiling of Repetitive Spatial Urban Crime Patterns in Dandora, Nairobi, Kenya. 6th ESRI Eastern Africa User Conference, Zanzibar

Master Thesis

• Mburu, L. (1997). Applying User-Centered Interface Design Methods to Improve the Usability of an Electronic Prescription System. MSc. Project Dissertation. DIssertation.com