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1998 Sun Valley Abstracts |
| Interpretation
of RMS Errors in Affine Map Transformation Kang-tsung Chang, University of Idaho EDMS 2000 - The Future is Here Steve Aldridge, Idaho Department of Water Resources Beginning GIS Concepts for Local Governments Terry Bartlett, Marshall & Associates, Inc. Mapping Land Use and Land Cover in the Payette Valley Daniel Kerr, Idaho Department of Water Resources Wildfire Hazard Zones Steve Erickson, Metro DRC County Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas
Studied Using GRID Process E-Commerce:
Enabling the Electronic Storefront with GIS Idaho OnePlan Mapping
Application Integrating GIS and Internet
– A Comparison of Architectures Introduction to the
Image Analysis Extension for Arcview Why Sun in GIS Field Data Collection for GIS
Implementing GIS for
Electric Transmission Lines Opportunities in
Electrical Deregulation Dialog Designer
Extension with ArcView A Digital Road Atlas for
ArcView Using ArcView to
Create HTML Image Maps from Existing Themes Are You Storing
Metadata in Your Head? MrSID Extension for
Arcview 3.1 Vendor Perspectives SDE from an ESRI
Perspective Evaluation of SDE on
MS SQL Server SDE at Metro: Odyssey to the Unknown The Internet as a
Delivery Platform MapObjects
Programming for Public Access Data Washington
Partnership Cadastral Framework Project Designing and
Maintaining an Integrated Land Records Cadastral Database Prospecting for GIS
in Rural Government Building
Organizational Partnerships as the Basis of a County GIS Map Objects -
Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask Land Use Based
School Enrollment Forecasting Development of a
Modern GIS Curriculum Design
Considerations for a Geographic Data Library Setting up a
Metadata Node for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Merging Technology
with Business Functions Visual Display of
Stream Temperature Variability Using GIS to Assist
with Idaho's Ground Water Monitoring Program Urban Hazard Mapping with GIS
Jump Start Your
Internet Mapping Applications Getting to Know Your
Themes to Overlay 101 Framework Road Data Model
Geographic Information Systems is a very computer intensive discipline. It uses all facets of the computer hardware and software. Since it is so dependent on all the features, this talk will look at what the requirements are of the typical and advanced GIS user. Then, I will contrast those requirements with the solutions provided by Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lastly, some common misconceptions and erroneous perceptions about computers and their capabilities are explored. Design Considerations for
a Geographic Data Library This paper presents a design and implementation of GIS data library, called the GeoLibrary. A digital library is quite different from a traditional library although the basic functions of documenting and distributing information are the same. Rather than being a centralized collection site, a digital library acts as an intermediary agent, providing access via computer networks to geographically distributed users. The paper discusses different client-server design options for a digital library and concentrates on one specific design adopted for the GeoLibrary. The design is based on a stand-alone client software, developed specifically for GIS data browsing and query functions. The paper concludes with the overview of the GeoLibrary functions and its future extension capabilities. EDMS 2000 - The Future is Here
Development of EDMS, the Environmental Data Management System, began in early 1991 at Idaho Department of Water Resources. The mission was simply stated: "Bring together all Idaho ground-water quality data in one location and make it easy to access". Gathering all the data (actually copies) and restructuring to a standard form proved to be challenging. Time and resources haven’t allowed us to gather "all" of the data. Accuracy of geographic location has been a problem with data from some providers. Still, we have managed to add nearly one half-million analytical results to EDMS from numerous projects. Making the data easy-to-access wasn’t as successful. Although we provided excellent SQL query and reporting tools, EDMS users had to learn to use the query tools. It also has been necessary for them to gain a working knowledge of the system. Finally, there was no direct relationship to graphic data such as GIS files, which made it necessary for the user to know how to specify location parameters. The World-Wide Web, along with advances in client-server technology, brought the needed tools. With the capability to query an SQL database through a Web server and make it available on a standard Web browser, we at last had a method of delivering data which required no special training. Also, client software such as ARCView was introduced with the capability to connect to an SQL database. This meant users could query an area and create an event table in ARCView. EDMS has moved into the "Future" with the opportunity to approach its full potential. SDE
From an ESRI Perspective The Spatial Database Engine (SDE) technology is the cornerstone for much of ESRI's
future software release plans. This presentation will cover: Field Data Collection for GIS
Electronic Data Solutions is an authorized dealer for several types of field data recording equipment and software including Trimble GPS mapping equipment, Laser Technology laser rangefinders, Juniper Systems handheld field computers, Hydrolab water quality instrumentation, and ESRI ArcView GIS software and its extensions. EDS also offers system integration and custom software services. During the presentation, the equipment used as GIS input tools will be highlighted and the data will be shown utilized in ArcView. System integration and custom software applications compatible with ArcView will also be presented. Integrating GIS and Internet – A
Comparison of Architectures The integration of GIS and Internet technology may prove to be the last step required to take GIS off the desks of computing professionals and into the hands of decision makers. With existing technology it is possible to deliver performance and functionality over the Internet that meets many application requirements. Increases in computing speeds, available bandwidth, and optimized software, will rapidly expand performance and functionality for GIS deployed via the Internet. There are several distinct architectures currently being promoted by GIS and imaging software developers for providing access to spatial data over the Internet. This presentation will review the architectures of some of the different options currently available and provide some insight to how they will scale with expected Internet developments. Topics discussed will include stability, functionality, server environment, and client environment. Setting up a Metadata Node
for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) This presentation will discuss issues surrounding setting up a metadata node for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Topics will include: hardware and software configuration, organizational support, participation/partnerships, and system administration. The presentation will detail the real-life experience of setting up the Washington State NSDI node. Interpretation of RMS
Errors in Affine Map Transformation An affine map transformation produces a RMS error, which measures the deviation between digitized tic locations and their intended locations. GIS users often interpret the RMS error as a measure of how well the transformed coverage matches with the original source map. This interpretation overlooks the geometric properties of the transformation method. Affine transformation allows scaling, rotation, translation, and skew. A transformation may therefore shift the rectangular outline formed by the four corner tics and map features within it in both distance and angle, while maintaining an acceptable RMS error. This study conducted a series of experiments to show the potential problems of assessing map transformation accuracy with RMS errors alone. A soil map carefully digitized and transformed into UTM coordinates with a good RMS error (0.00082" for input, 0.504m for output) was used as a standard coverage. In the experiments, the RMS error did not change when the X or Y dimension of the digitized corner tics was reduced or increased, or when the X and Y dimensions were changed systematically. Likewise, the RMS error remained the same when the longitude or latitude extent of the tics was altered. Implications of the experiments are discussed. E-Commerce: Enabling
the Electronic Storefront with GIS Technologies such as MapObjects have created exciting new opportunities for interactive display and query of geographic data on the Internet. E-commerce, the ability to perform commercial transactions over the Internet, is another area of rapid development. This presentation describes Metro’s recent efforts combining these two technology trends to support our retail map sales program. Rather than using an off the shelf storefront package, Metro has developed a scaleable, object based solution designed to work within the organization as a whole. This presentation will highlight the suite of technologies required to enable this functionality, as well as the resources applied to this venture. We also will discuss the specific design considerations that are brought about by the constraints and considerations of promoting a government enterprise function within the context of a traditional ‘information only’ government web site. Idaho OnePlan Mapping Application
Marshall & Associates, Inc. is currently assisting the Idaho OnePlan Steering Committee in evaluating the feasibility of implementing an interactive mapping application at the existing Idaho OnePlan Farm and Ranch Resource Center Web site. This application will allow landowners to identify tracts of land through the aid of digital imagery, available geographic datasets and on-screen digitizing to evaluate current and future farming practices and how they are affected by various conservation plans. User needs, data requirements, application functionality and implementation will be addressed. A prototype of the OnePlan Mapping application developed in Visual Basic utilizing MapObjects LT will be demonstrated. Introduction to the Image
Analysis Extension for Arcview Dialog Designer Extension
with ArcView The Dialog Designer can make ArcView accessible to non-GIS staff by providing easily
understood forms and dialogs. This presentation will demonstrate several custom built
applications that use dialogs. Some of the routines are for searching tax lots,
adding themes, printing maps, and displaying query results. Suggestions for
integrating dialogs into your application will be made. Included will be a
discussion of the numerous tips and tricks learned over the past 198 months of using the
Dialog Designer. All scripts and dialogs will be available for downloading from the
Internet. The purpose of this presentation is threefold: 1. Describe the Dialog Designer
extension. 2. Demonstrate how it has been integrated into several ArcView applications. A Digital Road Atlas for ArcView
Pierce County, Washington wanted to enhance the cartographic quality of maps produced from their awarding wining ArcView application CountyView. The county’s GIS Division developed a digital road atlas extension to meet this need. This application contains a simplified GUI containing zoom-in, zoom-out tools tied to map views of increasing, or decreasing detail. Map scales included are full county (1:360,000), regional (1:120,000), municipal (1:40,000), neighborhood (1:15,000) and local (1:6,000). Hardcopy output of any map scale can be sent to a variety of page sizes from A (8.5x11) to E (34x44). The GUI also contains a menu system that allows users access to over 170 layers of county data. Generic drawing & text labeling tools and panning features are also included. Avenue scripts can easily be modified to develop custom atlas products. In addition to the generic digital road atlas, two custom cartographic applications have been developed. The county transportation department atlas design was based on an 11x17 page with an index system around the margin, route numbers, arterial classifications, bridges with structure numbers on the generic road atlas base map. The regional fire dispatch organization required district map books that would contain all public and private roads and alleys. Page size for this product was 8.5x11 and covered a 1 square mile area. An indexed margin helps the user locate roads whose names are located in the legend area on each page. Using ArcView to Create
HTML Image Maps from Existing Themes The King County Department of Transportation Transit Division GIS group has developed an ArcView extension which converts a view to a clickable image map for website application interfaces. Clickable image maps are usually created by effort intensive coding of each object's pixel coordinate geometry. This tool automates the pixel coordinate generation for each HREF link, providing the shape of each geographic polygon. Examples of this time saving extension will be demonstrated. Evaluation of SDE on MS SQL
Server The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) evaluated the Spatial Database Engine(SDE) on
Microsoft SQL Server to determine performance, functionality and reliability of SDE on
Intel/NT platform. BPA is considering SDE for centralized spatial data management,
providing fast multiple client access to spatial data, supporting web mapping applications
and using standard SQL datatypes that are not supported in INFO. SQL Server was
chosen for ease of use and setup, low entry cost with commodity hardware and existing SQL
Server support within BPA . SDE software was loaded onto a Dual Pentium Pro 200
server with SDE at Metro: Odyssey to the Unknown Metro, the regional government in Portland, Oregon, began development of its Regional Land Information System (RLIS) in 1987 using ARC/INFO. In 1997, the decision was made to migrate the RLIS data to SDE/Oracle with the goal of having SDE fully functional by spring, 1999. Currently Metro’s shapefile database (RLIS Lite) has been loaded into SDE and is available to all in-house users. A custom extension has been developed to enable ArcView users to access and display SDE layers with symbolization and scale dependencies built in. Similarly, ARC/INFO AMLs have been written to easily display SDE layers on Metro maps. In addition, Metro’s Internet mapping applications are using the SDE data layers for queries, map display.and on-line map production. Future plans include resolving performance issues, developing procedures to directly edit SDE layers with ARC/INFO 8.0, merging shapefile and coverage databases into the single SDE layer format, and training users. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate, store and serve Metro’s planning related data from the regional data warehouse using the power and functionality of SDE. Designing and Maintaining
an Integrated Land Records Cadastral Database Cadastral information, in both tabular and map form, and the management of it forms the foundation for a huge portion of the business function of a local government. Tabular data in legacy systems have been maintained for decades to support property appraisal and tax assessment. The advent of GIS has made it possible to automate the hardcopy geospatial map information and link it to this tabular data in ways never before realized. Through the process of designing and developing a GIS cadastral database, hundreds of issues must be addressed and resolved to produce a final product which will meet the needs of the organization and its clients now and into the future. Snohomish County in Washington State has a growing GIS program which has been traversing the road of cadastral database design and development since the early 1990’s. Today it has a working cadastral database design using state-of-the-art data modeling tools. And cadastral data conversion efforts are well underway and are expected to be complete by the early part of the next decade. This paper will describe many of the key technical issues which must be addressed in the conceptual and physical design and management of a cadastral GIS database. Examples from the Snohomish County integrated land records database design will be used to illustrate the solutions which have been found to address these issues. Prospecting for GIS in
Rural Government Access to information is a critical part of the daily operation of local government. Rural governments may have smaller budgets and fewer employees, but have the same need to access timely and accurate information. A considerable amount of money is being spent finding this information. This happens because the information is stored redundantly in several places and in several formats. In Idaho we find ourselves trailing surrounding states in the implementation and use of GIS and related information technologies. This presentation will briefly describe the plan for implementation of GIS in Madison County/ City of Rexburg, and will frame the challenges ahead. The major stumbling blocks are organizational not technical. Information flow in the county and the relationship with state and other support organizations will be discussed. Many small governments like Madison County lack the resource and technical expertise to do it on their own. Hopefully a discussion of how state and local organizations could benefit from improved cooperation and a "new way of thinking" will follow. Building Organizational
Partnerships as the Basis of a County GIS In December 1997, Blaine County formed a GIS Task Force, comprised of representatives from county departments; cities of Hailey, Ketchum, and Sun Valley; U.S. Forest Service; Idaho Transportation Department (ITD); Sawtooth Science Institute (affiliated with Idaho State University); environmental organizations; and local engineering/surveying companies. The purpose of this group was to identify the long-range needs of the organizations represented with the intent of developing a county-wide GIS Implementation Program. After three meetings, the group determined that a county-wide survey control network should be the initial primary focus, and requested that representatives from the engineering/surveying companies, along with ITD and other surveyors around the state, develop standards for a Request for Proposals (RFP). With oversight and assistance from Idaho Department of Water Resources, ITD, and others, an RFP was circulated throughout Idaho. Four responses were received, and a contract was awarded in August 1998 to a consortium of local Blaine County engineering/surveying firms in association with CH2MHill, Boise. The survey control network portion of the contract is being conducted by the local consortium with field assistance from ITD, while CH2MHill is conducting a Needs Assessment and developing a GIS Implementation Plan. Mapping Land Use and Land
Cover in the Payette Valley The Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR), in a joint effort with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), is mapping land use and land cover in the Payette Valley, Idaho. The study area covers approximately 420 square miles, and 330 1:24,000 scale color infrared aerial photographs, collected in July of 1997, are being used for photo interpretation. The photographs that cover one township are scanned using a Hewlett Packard ScanJet 4C scanner, and the images are processed and converted to TIFF images using Adobe Photoshop. The TIFF images are converted to stacks in ARC/INFO, and the images are map registered to the Geographic Coordinate Database (GCDB). The images are mosaicked together to cover one township, and the resulting 24 bit image is compressed to an 8 bit image to save disk space. Using an AML program written in house, image interpretation of the aerial photographs is done on screen. The classification scheme includes 26 land use and land cover classes. Preliminary 1:24,000 scale township maps are plotted and used for field verification of areas where land use or land cover is in question. Finally, a dataset of the whole study area is created by appending the land use and land cover coverages. A final 1:100,000 scale map is created from this coverage. The resulting land use and land cover information will be used by the BOR to calculate irrigated land area and by the IDWR in the adjudication of water rights. Future work for this project includes mapping irrigated land from 1939 photographs and comparing the results to the 1997 data. Wildfire Hazard Zones Wildland/Urban interface, the area where urban development is moving into wildland areas, creates a significant hazard in the potential for loss of property due to fires moving through wildlands. To address this problem, the Oregon Legislature enacted legislation in 1993 that allows a jurisdiction to designate areas subject to catastrophic fire as "Wildfire Hazard Zones." The purpose of these zones is to define areas where buildings need to be constructed so that they will survive fires spreading through adjacent wildlands. Using Arc/Info Grid, existing federal and local data and the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) administrative rules for identifying Wildfire Hazard Zones, the Data Resource Center (DRC) has identified the Wildfire Hazard Zones for the area in the City of Portland and Tualatin Valley Fire District. Four hazard factors, as defined by the ODF administrative rules, were used to define the hazard zones. They are; fire weather hazard, topography hazard, natural vegetative fuel hazard and natural vegetative fuel distribution hazard. To identify the zones, the DRC collected the necessary data and established methodologies to apply the administrative rules using GIS. While this is not necessarily a difficult process, clearly there are many benefits to communities who identify Wildfire Hazard Zones and make efforts to mitigate damage in those areas. Visual Display of Stream
Temperature Variability In-stream monitoring often entails hourly or daily measurements for a period of several years, and stations are often placed so as to form a dense network within a watershed. This sampling often results in large data sets. These large data sets are often difficult to display on a map product in a way that allows a visual interpretation of both the spatial and temporal variability of the data. Graphs are often used to display the data, as they provide a good visual representation of the temporal variability. However, multiple graphs drawn on a map can quickly clutter the map and prevent the viewer from interpreting the spatial variability from station to station. AML routines have been written that allow a large amount of data to be displayed graphically on a map as rosettes at the points where the data was recorded. These routines operate in ARCPLOT and allow a large amount of flexibility in their use. They allow the data to be presented in a temporal context, but display it in a fashion that is positionally accurate and takes up very little map space. This allows the data from a dense sampling network to be displayed so the temporal and spatial variability of the data can be simultaneously analyzed. To date, these AML routines have been used in Idaho and Oregon to examine the inter- and intra-year variability of stream temperature, to compare recorded stream temperature values to state government standards, and to examine the overall trends of a large multi-agency stream temperature data set. Using GIS to Assist with
Idaho's Ground Water Monitoring Program Idaho, like many other states, has several agencies and many programs involved in groundwater monitoring. These monitoring efforts are at three scales: statewide, regional and local. An interagency committee was formed to coordinate ongoing efforts, as well as gather information about past monitoring and prioritize potential future monitoring. After studying the needs, it was decided to use GIS, specifically ESRI's ArcView, to integrate the information gathered from member agencies and others. A prototype ArcView project was developed to show the committee members how ArcView could be used to assist their efforts. Subsequently, two projects were developed, one to house the past, ongoing and planned monitoring and another to prioritize potential monitoring. The project identifying historical, ongoing and planned monitoring activities is, essentially, a visual bibliography. At a glance an inquirer can determine what monitoring activities are within an area of interest and print out a report. This information will reduce duplication of effort and provide a more complete history, perhaps reducing the need for future monitoring. Prioritization of potential future monitoring is an important decision-making tool in an era of scarce resources. For potential monitoring, the committee developed a protocol for prioritizing problem areas based on data availability. This protocol was used in ArcView to assign sites and areas a priority level code for each parameter, such as nitrates or bacteria. Inquirers can determine the location, size and general characteristics of these features, as well as explore potential causes and discern trends. Land Use Based School
Enrollment Forecasting Enrollment forecasting may appear to be a highly specialized niche, only remotely connected to GIS. However, school districts and local governments are increasingly recognizing the need to cooperate in planning the future. In Oregon, state law requires the cooperative development of a long range plan and enrollment forecasts for school districts which are experiencing high growth. City and county GIS staff may find school districts coming to them for assistance, asking them to add attendance area boundaries to the planning data base or to address match the residences of students. In turn, school districts are conscious of the need to link their facilities and financial planning to housing and land use plans. This paper will explain several methods used in school enrollment forecasting, particularly those that are linked to land use and housing forecasts. It will demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches. For example, one common pitfall is to assume that 100 new housing units will generate some particular number of additional students. This approach tends to disregard demographic changes in existing housing inventories and varied types of in-migrant households. Finally, some suggestions will be made concerning how GIS data bases might be enhanced to better support school planning. Development of a Modern GIS
Curriculum Central Washington University is developing a new GIS curriculum using ESRI and ERDAS (EE) products. We believe ArcView, ArcInfo, Imagine, and the other EE software deliver the introductory and advanced concepts and experience necessary for attaining GIS proficiency. Because of new technology and the advent of Internet-based paradigms, only high-level software can offer proper professional preparation to students. This presentation discusses CWU's new GIS program, which includes two introductory courses, intermediate and advanced GIS, GIS project management, ArcInfo courses, and remote sensing as well as special topics and research options. The program is interdisciplinary, integrative, and systematic, requiring a software infrastructure that meets both low and high learning environments. Primary focus in on ArcView and its extensions. Special challenges exist. Development under limited resource support is a standard formidable task. Learning and incorporating new software and learning approaches are always substantial course preparation requirements. Embracing the new directions in GIS is necessary, such as Internet technology and its use as a major medium for data and product dissemination and the urgency for more on-line education. Other factors will be discussed. CWU's GIS problems, progress, promise, and potential are shared by many higher education institutions. EE software and products are substantial benefit in successful development of an aspiring GIS program. The Internet as a Delivery
Platform Economic Development is one of the most difficult and challenging applications for web sites and GIS because it requires a wide range of information, large volumes of accurate data, and tools to make the information useful to people with very different needs. Pierce County turned this challenge into opportunity. The Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Geographic Information Services Division (GIS) teamed together and developed a web site with a well designed site architecture for quick information access and mapping to visualize economic factors and conditions in Pierce County. The site design focused providing original and unique content in the form of text, images, charts and maps on the benefits of living and working in Pierce County. Maps are available in both static and interactive formats. The static maps, created using ArcView, focus on specific data themes. The interactive mapping format is made available using Map Objects Internet Map Server in an application called MAP-Your-Way to Economic Development. MAP-Your-Way gives the user the ability to display and analyze any combination of information from the database and with a single "click" of a mouse button the user sends results in the form of a map or table to the printer. The Pierce County Economic Development Board and Geographic Information System team proudly present: www.co.pierce.wa.us/edb Issues: Gathering and converting data from Economic Development Board sources (charts, tables, newspaper articles) Geocoding data in ArcView and creating effective map Linking the data in the Web site to the maps Graphic arts/illustration for maps and web pages to convey a message MapObjects Programming for
Public Access Data What if .... maps could talk and answer questions about properties values, the location
of restaurants and the closest park. Today, in Pierce County, a new, Internet,
geographic information application allows citizens to ask these map questions and more
using MAP Your Way. MAP Your Way is a new breed of service delivery system that, not
only, supplies map information and map analysis to citizens but allows the maps to be a
navigation tool to the wealth of data available from the County. The citizen has three
ways to start their mapping session: they can enter their address, click on a mini-map of
the county, or search a selected data set for a particular name. A popular use is
for a person to enter their address, identify their tax parcel to show property
value, find the closest library to their home and then show all the parks in a five mile
radius. The resulting information is shown in table format below that map with links to
other department pages where available. Over two dozen data themes are available for
citizens to access and query. This web based GIS will change the way citizens access
information, view the County and understand their environment. What an exciting and
powerful, communication media and actual paradigm shift in how people access and
understand information. Map Your Way (http://triton.co.pierce.wa.us), has won the
1998 National Association of County Information Offices (NACIO) Award of Excellence, for
"Best in Class" in the Computer Media Category competition. Washington Partnership
Cadastral Framework Project Beginning GIS Concepts for
Local Governments This presentation will overview the basic concepts of GIS for local government. The framework for this discussion of GIS will be "the six parts of a GIS". Within that framework I will define the functions of a GIS, identify some of the local government GIS applications, define and discuss the GIS data model, and also describe the steps of a "GIS development process" which I believe is essential to success GIS implementation. County Critical Aquifer
Recharge Areas Studied Using GRID Process To comply with State Growth Management guidelines, GIS capability was used to support the identification of Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas (CARAs) for Spokane County, Washington. The GRID module of Arc/INFO provided a tool to process the layers of information needed to study the relative susceptibility to contamination of County aquifer systems. The classic EPA aquifer susceptibility model, DRASTIC, was adapted to reflect the special transmissivity of the Spokane Aquifer, and other Spokane County aquifers. The result is called SHADI, a model requiring five layers of data. SHADI stands for S (soils), H (hydraulic conductivity), A (annual recharge), D (depth to groundwater), and I (importance of the vadose zone). After months of work developing the component data layers, GRID processed the data using the SHADI formula. The SHADI results were mapped, and refined for the CARA Citizen's Committee to indicate areas of HIGH, MODERATE, and LOW groundwater susceptibility in Spokane County. The CARA Committee has incorporated this simplified SHADI map of Spokane County into its Critical Aquifer Recharge area protection plan. Other County departments are using the SHADI data as well. SHADI will continue to be a useful tool for Spokane County. Implementing GIS for
Electric Transmission Lines PNM Electric and Gas Services is the largest public utility in New Mexico. The Transmission Engineering Department of PNM Electric Services is responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of approximately 2,500 miles of high voltage transmission and sub-transmission power lines, the majority of which are in rural and remote areas of New Mexico. Over the past four years the company experienced environmentally damaging maintenance activities that also violated land rights constraints. Because of this, the company realized a need for a GIS system that would abate various environmental and land right infractions while increasing the efficiency of repair and maintenance activities. This article will discuss the identification of the problems, methodology of data collection, and coordination and building of the Tamis GIS system using Arc/INFO and ArcView. Opportunities in
Electrical Deregulation Deregulation of the Electrical utilities industry has many energy providers looking for ways to stay competitive. Customer satisfaction and work management are the driving forces behind the recent insurgency of Information Technologies being implemented throughout North America. AM/FM/GIS, once thought to be an expensive technology that produced little benefits, now is the focal point for many decision critical support tools. While this new environment has created many challenges for utility IT professionals, it has also given them new opportunities. This presentation will explore some of the new Information Technologies that are being implemented at Idaho Power company, including AM/FM/GIS, GPS, Outage Management Systems (OMS), Automated Meter Reading (AMR), Distribution Automation (DA) devices, Real time historians and the integration of many existing legacy systems like Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Customer Information Systems (CIS). Are You Storing Metadata in Your
Head? MrSID Extension for Arcview 3.1
How to Ensure a Successful Software
Installation - The Vendor's Perspective Many of us have experienced the implementation of new software from different perspectives from our first experiences with our own Arc/INFO workstation to passive observers of our paychecks from new payroll systems. All of these projects have common elements that, upon reflection, pointed towards certain failure or resulted in excessive kudos. This presentation will review these common elements in an attempt to distill the fundamental laws of software implementation that must be observed. Map Objects - Everything
You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask If you're new to developing with components or wondering whether technology like MapObjects is for you, this is the session for you to attend. This session will introduce basic principles of COM and object-oriented technology in the context of MapObjects. Learn about MapObjects' component architecture, what functionality it provides to developers, and how it is used. An application will be built from scratch using Visual Basic, providing an introduction to the Visual Basic programming language and an excellent opportunity to understand what is involved in building applications with MapObjects. MapObjects IMS and the new release of MapObjects Version 2.0 will also be discussed, and an overview of ESRI's future directions with component technology, including java, will be presented. Other topics will be discussed as audience interest dictates. Customizing ArcView for
Non-Programmers ArcView GIS is a desktop GIS that has a limited but powerful set of "out of the
box" functionality. However, ArcView's functionality can be greatly
enhanced or extended by the use of "free" extensions and scripts and simple
customization of the ArcView interface. Besides being "free", it's easy!
You do not have to be a programmer or have any programming skills to learn Merging Technology with
Business Functions The evolving nature of GIS, and related technologies, pose unique issues for successful implementations within an agency. The challenge is not only utilizing a technology, but ensuring the technology is appropriate for the business functions of an agency. Also, critical is planning for change in GIS technology. For example, the merging of GIS and IS technologies is a technical issue facing every agency. Urban Hazard Mapping with GIS
Jump Start Your Internet
Mapping Applications Internet Starter Applications are an easy way for organizations to quickly and efficiently deploy powerful mapping applications on the Internet or Intranet. These applications allow rapid application development and fast deployment. By creating an easy-to-use interface, they allow increased data accessibility by all staff and clients and a simple method to inexpensively distribute GIS data and powerful query and analysis capabilities over the Internet or the organizations Intranet. By utilizing these templates, organizations can expect to realize lower application development costs and increased efficiency. Marshall & Associates, Inc. will demonstrate server setup, database design and structure, and the process to setup and deploy these applications in this presentation. Getting to Know Your
Themes to Overlay 101 Getting your themes to overlay properly in ArcView can sometimes be a mystery. This session will discuss how ArcView handles coordinate systems, map projections, datum shifts, and GRID themes. It will include a discussion and demonstration of several new tools included with ArcView 3.1 like the datum shifter and Projector! Additionally the changes to how ArcView handles projections and coordinate systems with shapefiles at the 3.1 release will be covered. Differences in the Projector! and ESRI's other product project utilities will also be discussed as well as a discussion of how ESRI technology will handle projections in ESRI's future architecture. However, the goal is to clear up any questions users have regarding ArcView and coordinate systems! NSDI
Framework Road Data Model The objective is to provide a logical data model for identifying unique road segments which are independent of cartographic or analytic network representation. These road segments will form the basis for sharing and transactional updating of NSDI framework road databases. In accordance with the FGDC Standards Reference Model, the NSDI Framework Road Data Model is being proposed under the classification of a data content standard. It also includes mandatory standards for assigning and reporting identification codes as well as voluntary guidelines for data collection under the classification of a process standard. This standard will specify: a conceptual model for identifying physical road segments that are temporally stable and independent of any cartographic representation, scale, level of detail, or network application. a mandatory set of attributes for each road segment included in the NSDI framework road layer, and a format for a unique identification code to be assigned to each identified segment. a process for assigning, modifying and recording road segment identification codes, and establishes a national repository for road segment identification. Guidelines for selecting and locating the end points of appropriate road segments will be included as an informative appendix. The user of the standard does not have to follow the guidelines to be in conformance with the standard. Last Modified September 29, 1998 |