Archived GIS Snippets
Published in 2013
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The Transformative Power of GIS - Your GIS Cheat Sheet
by pat fiorenza
In today’s world, we are surrounded by data. Data powers everything we do– the decisions we make and the services we use. Now is the time to institute a data-driven culture and mapping data to strategic mission driven decisions, like Bob Dylan said, “You better start swimming or else you’ll sink like a stone.”
The core challenge is to identify value and insights from the volumes of information we have. The data we are creating holds so much promise to transforming the public sector – from the way services are delivered to managing a changing workforce.
That’s why I am so excited to see increasing applications and uses of GIS technology. We see the beautiful maps that GIS produces, but there is so much happening behind the scenes. GIS combines all the technology that agencies are currently exploring into one, single platform. GIS is part cloud, part mobile, part big data- all driving improved decision making.
Below you’ll find a GIS cheat sheet, from our recent guide, Mapping the Revolution: Incorporating Geographic Information Systems in Government (Download PDF or read below). The cheat sheet will give you the need to know information, and help you learn about the power of GIS. The report will also explain how GIS can transform your agency. Our report also covers:
- Case studies and applications of GIS in the public sector
- Lessons learned and best practices for GIS adoption
- Examples how GIS is creating an open and transparent government
- Ways GIS is powering civic engagement initiatives
- Thoughts from Esri President, Jack Dangermond
first published week of: 09/30/2013
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This Picture of Boston, Circa 1860, Is the World’s Oldest Surviving Aerial Photo
“Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It”
by James Wallace Black. Photo: James Wallace Black / The Met
The first flight of an untethered hot air balloon—humanity’s first really successful attempt at flight—took place in 1783 when “Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes” flew over Paris. The first real photograph was taken in 1826 when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took a picture out of his window. It took more than 30 years for someone to put these two inventions together to bring us the world’s first photo from the air. That photo, an 1858 aerial image of Paris, France, captured by Gaspard-Félix Tournachon is no longer with us. But the next best thing, says PetaPixel, is in the caring hands of the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art: an 1860 photograph of Boston captured from 2,000 feet. The Met:
Best known for his photographs of Boston after the devastating fire of 1872, Black launched his solo career in 1860 with the production of a series of aerial photographs taken from Samuel King’s hot-air balloon the “Queen of the Air.”
… Black’s photographs caught the attention of Oliver Wendell Holmes, a poet and professor of medicine at Harvard, who gave this photograph its title. In July 1863, Holmes wrote in the “Atlantic Monthly”: “Boston, as the eagle and wild goose see it, is a very different object from the same place as the solid citizen looks up at its eaves and chimneys. The Old South [Church] and Trinity Church [left center and lower right] are two landmarks not to be mistaken. Washington Street [bottom] slants across the picture as a narrow cleft. Milk Street [left center] winds as if the old cowpath which gave it a name had been followed by the builders of its commercial palaces. Windows, chimneys, and skylights attract the eye in the central parts of the view, exquisitely defined, bewildering in numbers…. As a first attempt [at aerial photography] it is on the whole a remarkable success; but its greatest interest is in showing what we may hope to see accomplished in the same direction.”
first published week of: 04/08/2013
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TM Forum and Esri Provide Solution to Maintain Telecom Services during Disasters
Computerworld Honors High-Tech Program
When threatened by natural disaster or civil unrest, telecommunication companies work to keep up phone and Internet service, especially to assist police, fire fighters, and paramedics. To avoid outages, network operators must transfer cloud-based applications to servers located out of harm's way. The task is not easy. Recently, TM Forum, a global nonprofit telecom industry association, worked with Esri and others to develop a high-tech solution. The resultant Resilient Cloud Catalyst: Maintaining Service in the Face of Developing Threats won the 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureate in the World Good category. The Resilient Cloud Catalyst detects developing threats and models potential impact. Such advanced notice gives operators the time they need to identify vulnerabilities in the network and relocate critical services. "When lives are at stake, you need to be able to sense impending threats and transfer resources," said Randy Frantz, Esri director of telecommunications and location-based services. "When you use ArcGIS technology from Esri with your network management system, you can easily evaluate external threats and determine potential impact on operations." Esri technology adds capabilities to network monitoring and management system by helping companies do the following:
- Detect and identify a developing threat
- Model potential impact on the network prior to any actual impairment
- Identify critical application services that could be disrupted by the threat
- Relocate critical application services to network resources that are not under threat
- Combine business data and geography from different sources to create new insights
- Diagnostics to identify problems related to geography to accelerate decision making
- On-demand access to location and availability of assets, everywhere you go
first published week of: 05/13/2013
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tomTom device enables easy access to vehicle information via smartphone
TomTom Business Solutions will launch a new device to enable a smartphone to connect to real-time vehicle and driving information. The TomTom LINK 100 dongle allows third-parties to create a wide range of new mobile applications that make use of vehicle information and driver usage.
The easy to install TomTom LINK 100 logs vehicle diagnostic information, such as engine rpm, load and temperature, directly from the on-board diagnostic port. The integrated 3D accelerometer logs driving behavioural data. By providing access to real-time information the LINK 100 will enable the automotive, leasing, insurance and roadside assistance industries to create innovative products that allow the end-user to benefit from connected car technology.
"This innovation opens up a wealth of possibilities for development of smartphone apps allowing motorists and businesses alike to benefit from ready availability of vehicle data," said Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director, TomTom Business Solutions.
"TomTom is leading the way by providing an interface that offers the highest standards of reliability and data security. The available data empowers drivers to drive more safely and efficiently and provides diagnostic insight, paving the way for products that deliver consumer value while allowing suppliers to control cost and risk."
The LINK 100, which also offers accident detection and crash logs, is expected to aid the evolution of usage-based insurance products and solutions designed to help the leasing industry reduce risk.
For car manufacturers and dealerships, it will mean the ability to offer ongoing maintenance and technical services, based on information gathered from the vehicle.
Drivers, meanwhile, will be able to use smartphone apps to gain a snapshot of their driving performance for each trip in order to help them to identify where improvement is necessary. Driver location privacy is maintained as the device does not incorporate GPS or reporting on vehicle location.
first published week of: 09/16/2013
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Top 3 Reasons your Business Can Benefit from Geo Analysis
by ryan goodman
This week [Ryan] released two articles related to location intelligence and business analytics, but targeted toward two different groups. For years I have painted the same vision for where maps add the most value within a BI implementation. It is the information and usage of location data to present information that drives the greatest value and these articles touch on that subject.
FOR BUSINESS USERS
The following 3 BUSINESS USE CASES cases provide insight to how organizations are currently driving value among business consumers through geographic analysis:
FOR BI PRACTITIONERS?
Location analytics presents a great opportunity to enhance the value through integration of geo-spatial data and map visualization. Learn the top 3 uses and best practices for plugging in geographic analysis for SAP.
Read More At Centigon Solutions Blog
first published week of: 08/19/2013
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Training the cyber workforce to handle new threats
by william jackson
Agencies are getting fresh advice on how to address a perennial weak link in cybersecurity: People.
Agencies are required to have educational and training programs for workers, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a draft revision of Special Publication 800-16, A Role-Based Model for Federal Information Technology/Cyber Security Training.
The document provides a methodology for developing training courses for those who have significant IT security responsibilities. The threat landscape these employees must address has changed significantly since its original publication in 1998, and the level of attention being paid to training needs has increased over the years.
“Some of the most effective current attacks on cyber networks worldwide exploit user behavior,” the authors write. “These include phishing attacks, social engineering to obtain passwords and introduction of malware via removable media. These threats are especially effective when directed at those with elevated network privileges and/or other elevated cyber responsibilities.” continued…
first published week of: 12/02/2013