The CFGIS Blog

CFGIS March 2, 2012 Ignite Videos

2012-03-06T08:10:00.001-08:00

At this past users group we had two brave presenters and a video ignite ignite. Hope you enjoy them!!!

In addition to the usual Ignite presentation, CFGIS also featured an ignite presentation given at a TED event all about how to give an ignite presentation.

Tim Kitchen presented on Where in the World is the EM Team.

Claudia Paskauskas told us about the importance of not hitting that snooze button

Then and Now: The 2011 Japan tsunami

2012-03-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

The devastation caused by the tsunami which struck Japan last year serves as a reminder of the power that nature can release. It has been a year since the disaster and NBC has put together a series of before and after pictures from many of the sites impacted by the tsunami. The images which slide depict the location during the flooding of the tsunami and of what the area looks like today. Despite a large amount of cleanup which is still occurring to remove all of the debris many of the areas are beginning the stages of recovery.

Click here to view images and story. Image from cnn.com

Great turnout at CFGIS Users Group Meeting!!!

2012-03-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

We are very happy to see such a great turnout at the 1st CFGIS meeting of 2012. We have more than 70 attendees here today to learn more about GIS and how it is be used thoughout Central Florida. We want to say thank you to everyone for attending the meeting and being involved in CFGIS. Your attendance and participation is what makes CFGIS and the entire Central Florida GIS community strong. Thank you, we hope you enjoy the meeting and look forward to a great 2012!!!

CFGIS Users Group is Almost Here!!!

2012-02-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

Be sure to mark your calendars and join CFGIS next Friday March 2nd at FDOT D5 offices. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. and will feature a number of great presentations and outstanding networking opportunities.

For more information click here!!!

We will see you there!!!

GIS Is Everywhere! Online Cemetery Makes Tough Visits Easier

2012-02-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

One of Adelaide’s largest cemeteries – famous as the site of Sir Donald Bradman’s funeral – can add another unique story to the pages of its history: becoming the nation’s first cemetery to use world-leading technology to take their graveyard online.

Centennial Park Cemetery has used Esri Australia’s Geographic Information System technology to create a website that maps the location of graves so visitors can easily find information about their loved one’s final resting place.

The website will be joined by a mobile phone application to be released later this year, meaning visitors will be able to navigate their way around 40.5 hectare cemetery from the palm of their hands.

“We’ve made that difficult process a little easier to deal with by providing visitors with everything they need to know at their fingertips.

“People can access records of their ancestors and view detailed maps so that they know exactly where to visit before they leave the house.

“With GIS technology, all the information and maps are there at the click of a button, hopefully making potentially difficult visits a little easier."

Read the full article about this just released use of the GIS technology.

What is OGC?

2012-02-14T05:53:00.000-08:00

This is a cute video OGC (Open Geospatial Consorium) by ogcvideo. It talks about what OGC is and what it is trying to do through its consensus standards development process.

Satellite Mapping could save Coral Reefs

2012-01-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

This article from earthtimes.org discusses how satellite mapping could be used to prevent damage to coral reefs and increase awareness.

From the article: A marine ecologist says new satellite mapping should be introduced to help identify and halt the rapid decline of coral reefs. Phil Dustan has been investigating coral reefs for almost 40 years, since famous marine ecologist Jacques Cousteau warned him in 1974 that humans were destroying reefs.

Dr Dustan, now a University of Charleston biology professor, in the United States, believes that by using Landsat satellite mapping the declining reefs, hotspots can be identified and conservation measures put in place.

Click here to see full story. Image from EarthTimes.org

Crowd Sourced Maps

2012-01-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

Can crowd sourcing ever take the place of traditional datasets and collection types?

Ask this question to a variety of different geospatially inclined people and I am certain you will get a wide variety of very passionate and yet different responses. For those who may not be familiar with the term crowd sourcing, it is the practice of utilizing amateurs or the public at large to aid in providing information or data which has become available with the increases in technology. Two examples that you may have seen are the open street map project and to some extent even Wikipedia, both locations where the general public is able to add content in an attempt to refine what already exists or expand upon it.

Even Google Maps is beginning to use crowd sourcing, it recently announced that the Google Map Maker will open its editing tools to everyone. One reason for this shift is to allow locals to add content which Google’s teams would have difficulty obtaining. A review process is in place to ensure that the added content is verified but essentially local individuals add content directly to the live maps.

Another good example of crowd sourcing is the urban forest map project which was utilized in San Francisco to map the location and get information about trees all around the city. The program has met with great success as the community heavily participated in providing a large amount of information. This has saved the city a large amount of money as this information is being collected by empowered citizens and traditional tree surveys have not needed to be conducted.

While these two examples are great uses of getting the public involved and providing content, there are several concerns and problems which immediately rise to the surface making this practice controversial. The three most common concerns are accuracy, updates or maintenance, and documentation or metadata.

As geospatial professionals we understand the critical importance of data accuracy. Hours upon hours can been spent in discussion about differences in accuracy and precision as they relate to different geographic datasets. Many wonder how high the accuracy of a data set which is being edited and created by an untrained member of the public can be. This can be argued from both points of view. Some argue that it is impossible for crowd sourced maps can be as accurate as professionals creating data. While others note that the accuracy greatly increases because local knowledge is able to correct mistakes and expand on information which cannot be known from traditional methods. This leads to one of the advantages of crowd sourcing in that you have access to an endless supply of local knowledge based peer reviewers who together are able to refine information and accuracy, while in traditional data collection practices constant revisions can be costly and impractical.

Like many discussions the reality is probably somewhere in the middle and dependent on what layer is being created and for what purpose. For some data such as utilities which require high accuracy levels as they relate to other projects and inaccuracies can cause many problems, traditional data collection methods should be used over crowd sourcing options. Other data sets which are intended for basic navigation or public knowledge and don’t require a high level accuracy, such as business or tree locations you would expect might have a better accuracy in crowd sourcing as local knowledge is able to offer information which be difficult for a data collector to know and increased peer review can refine.

The timeliness of data created from crowd sourcing can be difficult to distinguish, unless it is included in the original collection. However one important consideration of crowd sourcing to remember is that if the community is involved, it is likely that changes on a local level will be reported quickly by locals, where in the traditional data update process it would take time for changes to be reflected.

Metadata and other documentation can be among the most difficult parts to complete when using crowd sourcing as your public is made from a variety of professions and technical levels. While you are likely to have some experts editing data you are just as likely to have citizens contributing who do not have the same level of background or technical experience. With such a wide variety of potential editors, understanding who exactly is maintaining the data can be hard, where in a traditional data collection you know exactly who created the data, how the data was created, and any details which are relevant to the data.

All of these different factors need to be considered when determining whether utilizing crowd sourcing options are the best option or where traditional data collection remains superior. It does appear that at present both forms have many advantages and disadvantages. Determining when to use which is really dependent on the type of project or data that will be collected, edited, and maintained.

CFGIS Winter 2011 Newsletter is Here!!!

2011-12-29T06:54:00.000-08:00

The Winter CFGIS Newsletter is available on the CFGIS main page. Click here to view!!!

Make sure not to miss any of the great articles, upcoming events, and other information.

The Green Thing - Are You Doing Your Part?

2011-12-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soft drink bottles and beer bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Auckland Super City . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the train or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Remember: Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off.

NORAD tracks Santa

2011-12-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

The countdown to Santa's flight has begun and with the Christmas holiday just a few days away I wanted to make sure to pass along the NORAD Santa information which will be tracking Santa Claus as he delivers presents on Christmas Eve, for those of you with little ones make sure to show them, as an incentive for why they should get to bed on Christmas Eve.

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

In addition to the website resource for tracking Santa's progress. NORAD will also be placing Santa's path into an updating Google Earth file that can be added directly to the Google Earth to take advantage of the other features of the program.

The story behind how NORAD became the official Santa trackers is quite a good one, taken from the NORAD website is the explanation about how NORAD became the official tracker of Santa Claus:

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, we now track Santa using the Internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

Finally, media from all over the world rely on NORAD as a trusted source to provide updates on Santa’s journey.

Now you know how the tradition got started, hopefully you enjoy this fun little twist on geospatial technology.

From all of us at CFGIS we hope you have a safe and happy holidays!!!

Geography of College Football

2011-12-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

College football has been the center of discussion for many in the past few weeks and not just because of the wild finish of the season or the build up to the many great bowl games that will be starting soon. It has been geography which has taken center stage in many of the conversations.

This may not seem strange to those of use who follow the big rivalries of college football each year such as Michigan - Notre Dame, Florida - Florida State, or Texas - Oklahoma which pit close geographies against one another every year in the ultimate battle of bragging rights (Which I am happy to say belongs to FSU this year).

But back to the first question what has happened this year to put geography in the limelight?

Two words: Conference Realignment

Every year smaller schools compete hard for the opportunity to enter the larger conferences which can lead to better recognition, more recruitment, and in some cases an increase in annual money. Congratulations to the University of Central Florida for entering the Big East this year. What has made this year particularly of notice though is that many conferences are adding teams which are well outside of the traditional geographic area for that conference and many of these programs are well established.

This year we have already seen University of Missouri enter the SEC and Boise State enter the Big East. The ACC added both Pittsburgh and Syracuse to its new roster.

The breaking of these traditional geographies have many questioning the names of conferences and if those geographies truly matter any longer. It will take some time to see what if any change occur from these new additions.

Some others are worried about what these additions will do to those long standing rivalries which we have all come to know and love, others believe we will start to see new larger geographic rivalries start to build as teams travel greater distances to take on conference opponents.

Only time will tell if these new geographies will prove to build greater rivalries or push college football conferences too far.

In the meantime click here to view the common census sports package which allows users to choose an area and see the fan breakdown of that area. See if you can spot the lines of these great rivalries and where the borders really lie.

End of the 2011 Hurricane Season

2011-12-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Hurricane season came to a close on November 30th. Being in Central Florida we are always aware of the dangers that hurricanes pose to our shorelines. While we in Central Florida were fortunate this year to not have any severe impacts however that does not meant that it was not an active season for storms.

This video from NOAA utilizes the GOES East Satellite to bring you the entire 2011 hurricane season in less than five minutes, allowing you to see many of the storms form and dissipate over the past few months.

From NOAA:

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30 and produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. This level of activity matched NOAA's predictions and continues the trend of active hurricane seasons that began in 1995.

Surprisingly, none of the first eight tropical storms reached hurricane status, a record since reliable reports started in 1851. Hurricane Irene's effects in the Caribbean and the United States led to 43 deaths and accounted for the bulk of this season's damage at $7.3 billion. Irene was the first landfalling hurricane in New Jersey in 108 years. Hurricane Katia had far-reaching effects causing severe weather in Northern Ireland and Scotland and power blackouts as far east as Saint Petersburg in Russia. Tropical Storm Lee caused major flooding in Pennsylvania, New York and into the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The strongest storm of the season was Ophelia, which reached category four strength in the Atlantic Ocean east of Bermuda.

An integral part of NOAA's ability to monitor and predict hurricane formation and movement is the data that is provided by the GOES satellite, with its visible imagery, infrared sensors, and sounding capabilities. This animations merges both the visible and infrared imagery taken by the GOES East (GOES-13) satellite every 30 minutes over the Northern Hemisphere from June 1 -- November 28, 2011.

Inspiring maps for the Blind

2011-11-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

Topographic maps can be difficult to understand. Being able to extrapolate into a third dimension while seeing lines on a piece of paper can be complicated, especially when you consider the variations of slope, cross cutting rivers, and other features which often are depicted throughout a topographic map. Now take this one step further, put on a blindfold and attempt to read the topographic map. How would you read it, could you decipher the map, where would you begin?

This was the question posed recently at Gainesville State College when Efren Chavez, a blind student, signed up for a geology class which required students to interpret a topographical map. Click below to read the full article and learn how professors were able to use the technique of creating a mirror image to create depth in a two dimensional map which can be read by the blind.

Click here for full story from the Atlantic Journal-Constitution (Image Courtesy of AJC)

ECFRPC Receives $2.4 Million HUD Sustainable Community Regional Planning Grant

2011-11-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

Great news for the Central Florida region!!! The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council has received a 2.4 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) please see below the official press release and visit www.ecfrpc.org for more information.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL RECEIVES $2.4 MILLION HUD SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES REGIONAL PLANNING GRANT

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Administrator of the Southeast, Ed Jennings Jr., yesterday awarded the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council a $2.4 million HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant to develop transit around East Central Florida’s SunRail stations.

The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council accepts the award on behalf of the East Central Florida Sustainable Communities Consortium, a partnership of local governments, private developers, educational institutions, and non-profit agencies. The Consortium will use the grant funding to prepare for development around the future station locations for the SunRail commuter rail system, scheduled to begin operation in 2014.

Commissioner Cheryl L. Grieb, Chair of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC), accepted the $2.4 million check from HUD at Monday’s award ceremony on behalf of the ECFRPC and the ECF Sustainable Communities Consortium. “SunRail represents a historic opportunity to transform growth patterns around the stations to attract high-quality, higher-paying jobs and to provide residents the opportunity to access these jobs using public transit. The grant funding will support detailed station area planning for six of the 12 Phase I SunRail stations, affordable housing assessments for all 12 station areas, and regional collaboration to share best practices and to guide future transit planning in East Central Florida” said Grieb.

Out of 468 applications, the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council was 1 of 56 selected grantees from around the United States. This grant is part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which represents an association between HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the agencies’ policies, programs, and funding consider affordable housing, transportation, and environmental protection together.

The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council was established in 1962 as an area-wide association of local governments serving the six counties of Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia. The ECFRPC is one of 11 regional planning councils mandated by the Florida Legislature under the authority of Chapter 186, Florida Statutes. The Council provides a forum where members and leaders can discuss complex regional issues and set regional goals and objectives.

Members of the East Central Florida Sustainable Communities Consortium:
• East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
• Brevard County
• Lake County
• Orange County
• Osceola County
• Seminole County
• Volusia County
• City of Daytona Beach
• City of DeBary
• City of Deltona
• City of Longwood
• City of Orlando
• City of Palm Bay
• City of Sanford
• Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX)
• FDOT (District 5)
• Lake-Sumter MPO
• METROPLAN ORLANDO
• Space Coast TPO
• Volusia TPO
• Creative Village Development, LLC
• Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, University of Florida
• Nonprofit Housing Roundtable of Central Florida
• Orlando Health
• Health Council of East Central Florida
• myregion.org
• Urban Land Institute (ULI)

National Geography Bee

2011-11-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Do you know which state is the largest? What ocean current drives ships between Europe and the Americas? What about which present day county is home to the ruins of Persepolis?

The National Geography Bee presented by National Geographic tests students from across the nation and the world in their geographic knowledge. The questions as you can see above are much more than simply knowing where a state or country is but also understanding parts of how the world works and the ways different regions relate to one another.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or GIS professional the ability to identify where you are in the world and analyze relationships is key to better understand how everything works together. Explore the NGB website and take quizzes to see how your geography knowledge ranks up against people from all over the world and explore many different resources for parents and teachers.

If you are a teacher or a parent and want to learn more or get your school involved the deadline to get your school registered is fast approaching. Click here to go to the National Geography Bee home page for information on how to get your school registered to compete!!!

Celebrate GIS Day November 16th, 2011

2011-11-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

GIS day is only a week away!!! This global event brings together GIS professionals worldwide, uniting around the technology which is changing how we make decisions and discover exactly "Where We Are" in the world.

To learn more about GIS Day including videos, educational material, and much more please visit the official GIS Day website.

CFGIS is happy to announce that several of our county users groups and jurisdictions will be hosting their own GIS day events this year. We are very hopeful that many of our CFGIS community members will be able to attend and take advantage of these great meetings to learn more about GIS and how it is being used in the local community everyday.

Here is a brief list of the events that we know of in the Central Florida Region:

Nov 16th 11:00 - 3:00 - City of Palm Bay/Brevard County Users Group -
250 Community College Pkwy SE South Pavilion of Building 2, Palm Bay, Florida

Nov 16th 10:00 - University of Florida/IFAS Osceola County Extension -
1 Courthouse Square, Kissimmee, FL

Nov 16 - Lake County Users Group - Will be visiting Tavares High School to educate students and give presentations

Nov 16 9:00 - 5:00 - Polk County - Polk County EOC
1890 Jim Keene Blvd, Winter Haven, Fl

If you know of any other GIS Day celebrations that we might have missed, please announce them here!!!

Thank you and hopefully we will see you at one of these great GIS Day celebrations!!!

October 28 GIS Users Group Thank You!!!

2011-10-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

CFGIS would like to thank everyone who attended this past Fridays fall CFGIS users group meeting. It was a fun day filled with a variety of presentations, we are happy to say that we had over 70 attendees representing more than ten counties!!! A big thank you to everyone who took the time to attend the meeting and take advantage of all that CFGIS has to offer.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the meeting we have recorded the CFGIS ignite block and embedded them below for you to watch.

The first is from Claudia Paskauskas, who presented on "Leaders are made, not born"

This next presentation is from Kate Hardie, who discussed how emergency management scenario training shares similarities with several role playing games and how GIS can help bridge the gap in making scenarios realistic.

The third and final ignite was performed by Dave Jordan, who take the extra brave step of presenting a mystery ignite. This ignite was titled "Map Olympics" and Dave had never seen the PowerPoint, relying only on instinct to present this fun ignite.

In addition the three easy ways to access census data presentation has been placed in the document library on the CFGIS website.

Our next CFGIS meeting will be sometime near the end of February or early March. Stay tuned and again thank you too all attendees!!!

October 28 Next CFGIS Users Group Meeting!!!

2011-10-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

CFGIS will be holding our next users group meeting on October 28th, 2011 from 10-12:30 at the FDOT District 5 offices located at 133 S. Semoran Blvd, Orlando Fl, as always attendance is free!!!

We have put together another great agenda, click here to open. This quarters user group will feature presentations on the evolution of GIS in public safety, three easy ways to access census data, and a presentation on GIS in next generation 9-1-1. We will also have the always fun and popular ignite block.

The CFGIS users group brings together GIS professionals from more than 10 counties throughout central Florida. Providing for great networking and outreach among attendees in both the public and private sectors.

Make sure the data is on your calendar and we'll see you there!!!

Do You Ignite?

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

5 minutes, 20 slides, automatic slide transition, no redo, no stopping... no pressure!!!

Over the past year a new fast paced style of presentation has made an appearance at users groups and conferences throughout Florida, the Ignite Presentation. Many of you have had the experience of seeing these incredibly fast paced and fun presentations at CFGIS users group (Next Meeting October 28th, mark your calendars!!!) and many of you recently had the opportunity to witness them at the CFGIS Workshop and the South Florida GIS Expo as part of the FLURISA tract at each conference.

Ignite presentations are FIVE minute presentations, exactly five minutes or the presenter gets cut off. The number of slides vary slightly depending on the presenter as do topics and they are automatically transitioning, which means the presenter has NO control once the presentation begins.

These presentations challenge the presenter in more ways than you might realize. It creates an environment where the presenter must identify the best key takeaways that he wants the audience to have and find a way to clearly communicate those points in only five minutes all while staying perfectly in-sync with the timing and their notes. It also means that for the audience rather than only getting to see one or two presentations in a half hour block you can fit several, each covering different topics and interests.

One of the best parts of this style is that it is meant to be fun and fast. Each presenter is able to bring their own style to the presentation. Some present serious information from the very beginning leaving you a series of tips and key points, while others will take a winding journey and reveal the message at the end of the presentation tying everything together.

For those of you who haven't had the chance to see one of the unique, fast, and fun presentation or want to learn more about it, good news!!! We will have three at the CFGIS Users Group next Friday, October 28. Click here for agenda, driving directions, and additional information.

And if you think you are upto the challenge of presenting an Ignite, let us know!!! We are always looking for victims... um I mean presenters who are willing to try this unique presentation style.

If you want to see an example of past CFGIS Ignite presentations, click here.

Fall 2011 CFGIS Newsletter is here!!!

2011-10-14T06:58:00.001-07:00

CFGIS is happy to announce that the fall edition of the newsletter has just been released. This quarter features several interesting articles, a list of the newest data available in the CFGIS clearinghouse, and much much more. Click here or go to www.cfgis.org to read the full newsletter.

Fall is in the air

2011-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have finally reached the time of year where the heat is almost bearable and we start to get spoiled with those cool crisp mornings (or as cool as we get in Florida). It is also time to start baking all of those delicious autumn pies, cakes, and cookies. Autumn brings with it many great opportunities for us to celebrate geography.

Halloween is only a few weeks away and so is the next CFGIS Users Group meeting. Make sure to mark your calendars to join us on October 28th from 10:00- 12:30, click here to learn more.

With the coming of the fall season we wanted to include a couple of images, videos, and links showcasing geography in a fun and festive way. Hope you enjoy!!!

Jak-o-Lantern of the world

For a fun recipe of Globe cookies, try this!!!

TEDx - Presentation on Importance of Data Visualization

2011-09-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

This presentation given at the TEDx- Rainer this past December discusses several different technologies Microsoft Research is utilizing to better provide data visualization to the world.

While the term "GIS" is never directly used during the presentation, it is apparent in every aspect of what they are doing. However sometimes this little fact can be overlooked, with non GIS-professionals not realizing that the data and tools which they are using are being powered behind the scenes by GIS nor the complexities involved in creating some of the products which are available everyday because of the work of data custodians, database administrators, analysts, and many other geospatial professionals. Make sure to highlight these behind the scenes facts to your coworkers, peers, and decision makers to help them better understand the power of what we do.

Its Conference Time Again

2011-09-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

It seems that this time of year all of our regional workshops and conferences kick into gear giving GIS professionals the opportunity to show all of the great projects and techniques they have worked on over the past year and bring everyone together to create those highly valuable networking opportunities.

This past week the 5th Annual CFGIS workshop was held in Daytona Beach, FL. It was well attended and gave GIS users the opportunity to learn new skills, learn from their peers, and enhance their network of GIS professionals. This was the first of many workshops and conferences that will be coming to Florida this year. Presentations from the CFGIS Workshop will be available soon on the workshop's website. Click here to view.

The next regional conference, the South Florida GIS Expo will be held on October 6th & 7th at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Registration is free and attendance is highly encouraged, click here for more information.

For the north Florida GIS users, the Seven Hills Regional Users Group (SHRUG) workshop will be held November 9th and 10th in Tallahassee, FL. Click here to learn more.

Other conferences such as GIS in Transit held in St. Petersburg, FL last week as well as the 25th annual FACM conference to be held in Bonita Springs, FL next month are great examples of how actively Florida associations are making available educational opportunities for the state GIS community.

FLURISA the Florida chapter of URISA is actively working to bring many great things to the GIS community. Included in this effort, FLURISA members have been contributing at each of the conferences with presentations and holding special meetings to make the GIS community even stronger. If you are not yet a member, click here. Registration is free for the next year and you don't want to miss all of the great things that will be coming for members only!!!

Hopefully, each of us throughout the Florida GIS community will be able to take advantage of one or more of these great opportunities. Stay tuned for all of the great things still to come!!!

CFGIS July 29th IGNITE presentations

2011-08-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

CFGIS held its July 29, 2011 Users Group a few weeks ago and we are very happy to say that we had over 100 attendees taking advantage of the great program. We wanted to share with you two CFGIS Ignite presentations in case you were unable to make the meeting or just wanted to see them again.

The world of Social Media

2011-07-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

This article shows the world usage of Flickr and Twitter.

"Sometimes it’s very easy to forget just how quickly the world changes, particularly with the all-conquering innovations that develop on the internet.
After all, it’s just five years ago that Twitter first opened its doors to an unassuming public, and nobody could have begun to imagine the impact that the network would make around the globe – culture to culture, person to person – in such a short space of time.
These incredible maps, created by Eric Fischer, use geolocation to show how both Twitter and photo-sharing service Flickr are spreading across the planet.
The locations of tweets are detailed in blue, while those from Flickr are in red/orange. White dots show locations that have been posted to both."

Before and After Aerial of the Minot River Flooding in North Dakota

2011-07-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

The flooding this year in Midwest has been very damaging. PBS has put together several before and after aerial photographs of the Minot River in North Dakota, the photos are interactive allowing viewers to slide a bar and see exactly how much flooding has occurred in the past few months. Click here to view the article and see the interactive flooding tool.

Is Social Media a Fad? Are you ready?

2011-06-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng

East Central Florida Regional Atlas is Now Live

2011-06-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

CFGIS is proud to announce the launching of the East Central Florida Regional Atlas. This interactive map, developed by the ECFRPC, contains many different regional datasets that are available for download in the CFGIS clearinghouse. Several additional tools are available including: Search, Draw & Measure, and Find an Address.

Click Here to check out the new Regional Atlas.

Hurricane Season is Coming

2011-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Season is fast approaching. Make sure to visit the National Hurricane Center's GIS data download page to stay up to date on various tropical systems that may be affecting our Florida communities by clicking here.

Hurricane preparedness week was May 22 -28, click here to access brochures and documents to ensure that you are better prepared for the coming hurricane season.

Geographic Information System (GIS) Market in Retail Sector 2010-2014 - Sector Is Expected To Grow At A CAGR of 13 Percent

2011-05-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b2c585/geographic_informa) has announced the addition of the "Geographic Information System (GIS) Market in Retail Sector 2010-2014" report to their offering.

TechNavio analysts forecast that Geographic Information System (GIS) market in the Retail sector will reach $456.5 million in 2014. One of the key factors contributing to this market's growth is the increasing adoption of GIS to identify the right location for stores and outlets. However, the lack of communication infrastructure in developing countries could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) market in the Retail sector has also been witnessing a number of entrepreneurs opting for GIS based information and solutions for starting businesses. Key vendors dominating this market space include ESRI, Hexagon AB, Bentley Systems, Autodesk, and IBM Corp.

TechNavio's report, Geographic Information System (GIS) Market in Retail sector 2010-2014, has been prepared based on in-depth qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market with inputs from industry experts. The report focuses on North America, EMEA, and APAC and covers the scope of the Geographic Information System (GIS) market exclusively in the Retail Sector.

Key questions answered in this report:

What will the market size be in 2014 and at what rate will it grow? What key trends will this market witness? What are the key factors driving market growth? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the opportunities and threats faced by each of these key vendors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of these key vendors?

GIS Technologies Reducing Long Term Risk in the Retail Sector

Research conducted by TechNavio reveals that the Global GIS Technologies market in the Retail sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13 percent. The report, which focuses on North America, EMEA, and APAC, indicates that the market is currently driven by the increasing use of GIS technologies to reduce long term risk.

GIS provides data oriented suggestions which give long term investors a transparent view of the business. Various critical factors can be easily tracked using GIS making them extremely popular especially in the Retail sector, report TechNavio analysts.

In spite of the demand for this technology, a lack of awareness in developing countries about the efficiency of GIS applications hinders the growth of this market. However, the use of GIS Technologies as propellers by retailers in order to maximize the profit is expected to drive the market.

The Global GIS Technologies market in the Retail sector is marked by government and private organizations creating awareness about GIS. This makes the study an important one for companies to fully understand the potential in the market and formulate their own strategy.

The report, Geographic Information System (GIS) Market in Retail Sector 2010-2014, is based on extensive research and inputs from industry experts, vendors, and end users. It examines the factors impacting the evolution of this market, including the key trends, drivers, and challenges. Further, it contains an in-depth understanding of the key vendors including a SWOT analysis for each vendor.

Companies Mentioned:

ESRI
Hexagon AB
Bentley Systems
Autodesk
IBM Corp.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b2c585/geographic_informa.

Contacts

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Presidential Election Interactive Map Tool

2011-05-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

This interactive mapping tool allows you to look at past presidential, senate and house elections and depict those results by state. Users also have the ability to adjust votes for the upcoming 2012 presidential election to determine how the magic 270 votes needed can be achieved. Historical data from past elections is also available and be used to see different trends that have occurred over time.

Click here to open Interactive Tool

Healthy Community Maps Available on Bing

2011-04-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Bing Maps have launched a new tool which gives access to healthy community data for the United States. Some of the different indicators are obesity rates, diabetes, birth attributes, and many other health indicators.

Click here for Link

In order to access the data from Bing Maps you click the more apps located at the bottom of the map pane, the community health maps are listed in this section.

Building a Successful GIS Program in a Middle School

2011-03-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

This interesting and informative paper discusses how teachers can begin to implement a GIS program within a middle school and the advantages of doing so. Barbaree Duke shares her experiences of implementing a GIS program in North Carolina and the positive effects that it had for the students. If you are an educator this is a great case study for how to begin to implement GIS within your own school.

Click Here for Paper

.

US Census Releases Interactive Apportionment Data

2011-03-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

Pollen and Allergy Mapping Tools

2011-03-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

If you are one of the 35 million Americans with pollen allergies (NIAID), you may enjoy having some tools handy to learn key information about the pollen index and others in your area. This website not only makes available a good allergy forecast mapping per state and city, but also offers tools like comparing 2 different zipcodes delivering Dynamic Allergy Forecasts.

http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp

Sendai (Japan) Earthquake and Tsunami Mapping Response

2011-03-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

Keeping you posted about resources shared by the GIS Lounge website related with the recent Earthquake and Tsunami.

http://gislounge.com/sendai-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-mapping-response/

CFGIS Ignite Videos - February 25th, 2011

2011-03-10T08:56:00.001-08:00

If you missed our CFGIS User Group meeting in February, you didn't see that 3 courageous individuals took up the Ignite challenge. This is your chance to see them in a fast paced 5 minute presentation!

Witness Al Hill investigate how Volusia County workers drove to work! Find out about FACM with Christine Schluter! And, learn how to deliver your information to 3 different audiences with Keith Smith!

LRO: Mapping our Future on the Moon

2011-03-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

This video comes from NASA. Discussing the role of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to create the first comprehensive atlas of the lunar surface. This project includes several different types of remote sensing technologies to better understand the surface of the moon and its features.

Charting the Sea Floor

2011-03-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

The technology of mapping continues to evolve and become even more impressive each day. This video depicts how the sea floor mapping program at Cal State University in Monterey California is using sonar technology to effectively map the ocean floor and model it as never seen before. Enjoy!!!

State Agency Reviews Policy On Facebook Prying

2011-02-27T06:15:00.000-08:00

This social media story comes from Maryland, where the Maryland Department of Public Safety is reviewing a policy requesting permission to view new hire candidates Facebook page.

Click Here to Read More

G-I-S State of Mind

2011-02-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Those of you may remember the G-I-Yes!!! video from a few years ago that the Austin, TX GIS department put together. Well the very talented and funny group have returned with another very funny GIS satire on a popular song. Enjoy!!!

Have You Taken The URISA 2010-2011 Salary Survey Yet?

2011-02-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

URISA is now collecting data for the 2010-2011 Salary Survey. If you want to participate, just click in the link below and answer the survey!

http://www.urisa.org/2010_salary_survey

Feel free to spread the world about the survey by sharing this link with others!!!

URISA says "Thanks!!"...

URISA's Vanguard Initiative

2011-02-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

URISA is pleased to announce its inaugural Vanguard Cabinet.

The Vanguard Cabinet (VC) is a new URISA initiative to engage young GIS practitioners, increase their numbers in the organization, and better understand the concerns facing these future leaders of the GIS community. The VC is an advisory board made up of URISA young professionals who represent the young membership of the organization. The Cabinet’s mission is to collaborate with URISA’s Board of Directors and Committees in creating and promoting programs and policies of benefit to young professionals.

See the entire announcement: http://www.urisa.org/vanguard

A GIS Journey - What GIS Is

2011-02-02T05:26:00.000-08:00

Geographic Information System (GIS) software uses the power of geography, spatial location to gather, analyze, and visualize vast amounts of information. See how this innovative technology can be used to investigate the fascinating lands of Asia.

Social Media: Organizational Policy of Use

2011-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

The social age has arrived! Even if you try to stay away from social media, it’s unavoidable that others will do the same. Phrases like “friend me” for Facebook, or “follow me” for personal, industry and corporate blogs have become commonplace. “Liking” or rating your level of satisfaction or agreement with an article, a service, or a product became common practices embedded as part of our daily routine. The latest we have heard about both private sector and government utilizing social media is Law Enforcement’s utilization of Facebook to deliver Amber Alerts and President Obama’s use of lingo from several social media sites during the latest State of Union address. Social media is unavoidable. Sooner or later we all will be there directly or indirectly.

Social media is emerging as a whole new frontier for the GIS community and the possibilities for outreach and community involvement are expanding rapidly. Through technological advances organizations and companies are able to reach a larger and more diverse population, enabling new marketing strategies and creating new opportunities to involve their target audience and gain feedback. Technology is evolving quickly and the entire industry is seeing the benefits. The channels to enable an easy and effective way to share ideas, communicate, and discuss trends changed forever the speed and the ways things are done.

Many of us have started conversations about social media and are arriving at the critical juncture that occurs with emerging technologies, “How do we use social media?” “What are the impacts of using social media (personal, professional, organizational, policy)?”. While on the surface this may seem like a very straightforward question when you consider how social media sites work it can quickly become a more complicated discussion.

It becomes a discussion of not only how to use social media but in what ways as an organization, or a professional or even the average person should use it. Social media in its very nature has a way of obscuring the fine line between a professional and private persona. It is in the organizations best interest to clarify this line if possible to ensure that everyone understands clearly when using social media as part of an organization outreach if the response is of the individual or if it is part of that person’s professional responsibility.

This discussion is already being considered by many social media sites. In January of 2011, the social media site Facebook altered its terms of use to become friendlier to governments in the hope to increase use by those public entities. As social media sites continue to be used to reach out and communicate, organizational policies will become increasingly important.

Bottom line it is that it’s recommended that organizations and companies have specific policies about the use of social media in an attempt to draw a more defined line between the persona and the professional that shares a comment, like or participate in social media forums. When is the individual no longer the professional and vice versa? Answering “the professional is the 8 to 5 individual” lately is not always considered to be accurate. The recommendation is that any policy of social media usage is better than no policy.

What is your organizations policy in regard to social media? Has one been discussed, if so do you know what it is?

Let us know by sharing your comments on our BLOG or LinkedIn groups.

Written by Claudia Paskauskas and Keith Smith

Day on the Job: GIS Analyst

2011-01-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

Wesley Catanzaro is a cartographer and Geospacial Information System (GIS) Analyst for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He uses GIS technology to gather and organize information in order to improve pedestrian infrastructure. Part of ConnectEd's Day on the Job series, Wesley discusses his daily duties and the knowledge needed to be a Cartographer and GIS Analyst.

Welcome to the CFGIS Blog

2011-01-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the CFGIS blog. If you are wondering what the CFGIS blog is and what type of topics we will be talking about then I have great news, I am going to tell you all about it.

First what is the CFGIS blog and why have we decided to bring it to you in a blog format? As you probably know CFGIS was created to coordinate, integrate and support the Central Florida GIS community. But why a blog?

In today's culture, social media is emerging as a great tool for professionals to come together and discuss issues and as technology continues to change, coordination and support becomes even more critical especially in the GIS community, we are creating this blog to facilitate conversations about technologies, management strategies, and articles that are important to the Central Florida GIS community.

The key piece of this blog is to facilitate conversations, we want your comments and input on the discussions. We want to create an environment for those in the CFGIS community to discuss topics and potentially assist one another, helping all of us improve through collaboration our individual programs and strengthen the overall GIS community. So don't be shy about contributing your experiences, knowledge, or concerns.

The second piece is the type of topics that the CFGIS blog will feature? The answer is simple, the blog will discuss all topics that relate to GIS and the CFGIS community. This blog is meant to be a living breathing creature, the amount of discussion generated around a particular topic will likely drive whether those types of topics continue to be brought forward for discussion or not.

In closing we hope that you find this blog to be meaningful and are very happy to be adding another great resource to our CFGIS community.