Annual Conference & Exposition - Friday Schedule
Friday, October 10, 2008
Educational Sessions
8:30 – 10:00 AM
Management & Professional Development
Managing GIS Projects with Agile Practices
With all the buzz about agile practices in the GIS community these days, it's easy to get lost in the jargon and clutter. Very simply, agile practices iteratively and incrementally deliver high quality, valuable, working software and GIS products to customers. This session will focus on defining what agile practices are and how to apply them within GIS organizations.
- Managing GIS Projects with Agile Practices
Chris Spagnuolo, Data Transfer Solutions, Fort Collins, CO
Management & Professional Development
Identifying and Evaluating Geospatial Competencies
The occupations and employers that rely upon geospatial technologies are increasingly numerous and diverse. This diversity is reflected in the variety of mechanisms that have been developed to assure the competence of geospatial practitioners. This panel discussion will consider several initiatives concerned with identifying and assessing individual mastery of core geospatial competencies.
- Identifying and Evaluating Geospatial Competencies
David DiBiase, GISP, Penn State University, University Park, PA
J Allison Butler, GISP, AICP, Butler & Butler LLC, Orlando, FL
Geospatially Enabled Enterprise
Data Conversion
- Leading Louisiana…Baton Rouge G.I.S.
Warren Kron and Jose Villalobos, City of Baton Rouge Planning Commission, Baton Rouge, LA - Maximizing Value Extraction From Spatial Assets at USDA – APFO
Lori Uhlhorn, USDA, Salt Lake City, UT
Scott Knutti, SPADAC Inc, Mclean, VA
Emergency Management & Homeland Security
GISCorps Volunteers Assist in Post Cyclone Disaster in Myanmar (Burma) and Post Katrina Recovery Efforts
In May and June of 2008 over 30 GISCorps volunteers provided their GIS expertise to the UN's Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). They collected thousands of features from pre and post cyclone satellite imageries which were made available to many aid and humanitarian agencies to be used in a variety of disaster response applications. Volunteers will share their experiences with the audience. Another presentation will be given by David Allen who assisted Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in a post Katrina recovery effort in Biloxi, MS.
Presenters to include:
- Tom Ponte, GISCorps Volunteer
- Ingrid Bruce, GISCorps Core Committee Member
- David Allen, GISCorps Volunteer
PPGIS
Creating Collaborative Communities of Practice: Assessing the Impacts of PPGIS Work
This session will explore the ways in which PPGIS tools, methods, and practices can collectively improve communication between different groups. It will also highlight some of the short and long term benefits of creating collaborative communities of practice.
- Surveying the Extent of PPGIS Practice: Preliminary Findings and Directions for Future Research
Richard Amanna and Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Hunter College, New York, NY - Data Basin: PPGIS Tools that Bridge the Divide Between Scientists, Policy Makers & Citizens
Josh Knauer, MAYA Design, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. Tosha Comendant, The Conservation Biology Institute, Corvallis, OR - The Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) Program: Engaging Youth in Planning for the Future of the Region
Hubert Morgan, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Chicago, IL
Data Acquisitions & Conversion
Shoring up Your Data for the Enterprise
Build it once, use it many times. These three perspectives demonstrate how disparate data can be integrated and distributed widely.
- New Technologies for Parcel Fabric Management
Brent Jones, ESRI, Redlands, CA - Limited Funding, Not Enough Staff Time & 56 Comp Plans – Building a Geospatial Regional Zoning Layer for the First Time
Michael Tafel and Robin Reilley, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Denver, CO - Kentucky Landscape Census
Demetrio Zourarakis, GISP, State of Kentucky, Frankfort, KY
Sudha Maheshwari, Sanborn, Ann Arbor, MI
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Management
Use of holistic approaches in GIS to capture, analyze and evaluate various physical assets to better manage living conditions, safety and infrastructure.
- A Holistic Approach to Infrastructure Mapping and Updates
Nalishebo Kaunda and Timothy Barnes, City of Huntsville, Huntsville, AL - Connectivity and Accessibility Measurement of Facilities in Residential Complex
Hoon Chang and Hyunji Seo, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea - Road Sing Management System
Jeyoon Woo and Kyusoo Chong, Korea Institute of Construction Technology, Goyang, Korea
Interactive track
A New Funding Model
This highly interactive panel session will present results of collaborative national effort to define a mechanism for tracking GIS benefits to various levels of Government. A proposed method will be presented, followed by discussion.
- A New Funding Model for GIS Development
Cy Smith, State of Oregon, Salem, OR
10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon
Closing Plenary Session
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Rebuild New Orleans Charity Project
During the 2008 GIS/CAMA Technologies Conference that was held in New Orleans, conference attendees participated in a post-conference volunteer activity through the Beacon of Hope Resource Center. All who participated were grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to rebuilding efforts by cleaning up one of the affected areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
We are again working with Beacon of Hope for the URISA Annual Conference to ‘give back’ to New Orleans. Make plans to participate!
Beacon of Hope Resource Center - The center is “…a grassroots organization taking proactive measures to rebuild neighborhoods using volunteer effort and attempting to bring back people to neighborhoods that are struggling to recover. Through generous donations and the efforts of volunteers we have had an immediate impact on the surrounding community,” says Beacon’s Director of Volunteers Liz Widener.
URISA volunteers will be bussed to the Gentilly area of New Orleans, which was a particularly hard-hit area following Katrina. Because of the breaches and the failure of levees in the surrounding area, floodwaters submerged most homes in the area to the roofline or higher.
Slowly but surely, residents are making their way back to the area to repopulate the neighborhood. To make their home-coming a bit easier, we will be cleaning and cutting down overgrown lots, picking up debris and cleaning storm drains throughout the Gentilly area. Beacon of Hope will provide tools (shovels, rakes, garbage bags). Bring workgloves if you have some and dress appropriately (as if you were doing yardwork at home).
Some comments from participants during the GIS/CAMA Conference:
- "Seeing the entry dates that emergency response crews spray painted on the abandoned homes was depressing. They were searching for flood victims and utility hazards. Once we started clearing debris from the sidewalks and streets I felt really good inside and I would not hesitate to do it again."
- "It was a great project to be involved with and I can only hope that our small contribution to the cleanup might help make a difference to the residents, letting them know that there are people out there that still care about them."
- "This was my third trip to New Orleans, and my first charity experience. I still can’t find the words to describe the experience. I can only say, this was the first time I didn’t have a problem doing hard work and it didn’t matter to me that my body ached afterward. It was a rewarding experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. What I found impressive was the positive attitude of the people who live in New Orleans. I will be in New Orleans again in October, and I am looking forward to another charity event."
- "The charity event at the GIS/CAMA Technologies Conference was exhilarating to participate in. Granted, it was hard work…but it was such a good feeling to contribute to the rebuilding of what was surely a tight-knit community before Katrina. I am so hopeful that our small contribution might encourage a few families to move back home. We’ll do this again during the URISA conference, which will be back in New Orleans this coming October."
Get involved! Be sure to register for the Charity Event!
