Workshop Abstracts
Abstracts are listed alphabetically by the first listed author’s last name.
Cartography Workshop
John Barge
Dr. Lee P. Herrington,
Bill Johnson
GPS Workshop – Facts and Fundamentals
Jonathan Cobb, Waypoint Technology Group, LLC, jcobb@waypointtech.com
Ken Pennock, Waypoint Technology Group, LLC, kpennock@waypointtech.com
The Global Positioning System ("GPS") is a powerful public "utility" that provides highly accurate positional information for use in a broad range of applications, including geospatial data development and verification. This workshop will present a comprehensive overview of how the GPS determines positions, and the presenters will de-bunk some of the myths about GPS accuracy, explore the full range of GPS solutions available for professional GIS applications, identify the primary criteria to consider when identifying a solution, and preview emerging trends in the GPS industry. This session is designed to acquaint new and/or prospective GPS users with fundamental GPS concepts, and to provide insight into equipment and software functionality and limitations. Questions and discussion are welcome and encouraged.
Geocoding Workshop
Austin Fisher, Applied GIS, Inc., afisher@appliedgis.com
This training will introduce GIS users to the basic concepts and processes of data improvement, address geocoding and illustrating how positional error caused by geocoding may affect the results of a GIS project. Particular attention will be given to the long term effects (i.e. cost savings) of data and attribute improvement. In addition, attendees will learn about current CSCIC programs and available resources to facilitate data improvement and geocoding.
Linear Referencing Systems and Dynamic Segmentation Workshop
Kevin Hunt and Laurie Cooper, New York State Department of Transportation
A linear referencing system (LRS) is used to encode a systematic measuring scheme on line features. The NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has been using LRS technology in GIS for over ten years to provide a mechanism to associate business data which is referenced to a measure along a road with the GIS base mapping. This workshop will explain linear referencing systems and the dynamic segmentation technology that allows display and analysis of business data. It will include a demonstration of constructing and editing LRS route features in ESRI’s ArcGIS and will also cover how NYSDOT uses the latest dynamic segmentation technology to streamline a wide variety of workflows.
Horizontal Datums: What are they and why you should care
Dr. Thomas Meyer,
Everyone who uses a GIS is using horizontal geodetic datums whether they are aware of this or not. Horizontal geodetic datums are used to assign "horizontal coordinates," such as latitude and longitude, to everywhere. If there was only one horizontal datum, then there would probably not need to be a workshop on them. However, there is more than one and thereby enters the confusion. Many GIS users have confronted mixing data sets in various horizontal datums, leading to offset features. This workshop presents a history of horizontal datums, explains why there is more than one of them, and shows you what to do to make sure your spatial data are being used consistently.
Vertical Datums: What does "height" really mean?
Dr. Thomas Meyer,
"Height" is a common, ordinary everyday word and everyone knows what it means. Or, more likely, everyone has an idea of what it means, but nailing down an exact definition is surprisingly tricky. This workshop is the complement of the horizontal datums workshop; it provides the third dimension. It explores the origins of vertical datums, discusses the role of gravity, provides distinctions between mean sea gauges and datums such as the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 to clarify the question, "What does 'height' really mean?"
Workshop: Developing Hydraulic Models in a GIS Environment
Christopher O'Conner, Watershed Geographic Information Technology Section,
Division of Water, NY DEC, cxoconno@gw.dec.state.ny.us
This workshop will present an example of the datasets, tools, and processes involved in developing a hydraulic study for a stream. These studies are used in applications ranging from stream water quality determination to bridge pier scouring. The GIS environment described will include standard and custom tools developed for ESRI’s ArcView 3.x software package. The hydraulic modeling environment described will include HEC-RAS, a software package developed by and distributed freely from the US Army Corps of Engineers. The following topics will be covered:
1. Required Datasets and Related Issues
2. Stream Bank Delineation
3. Elevation Model Development
4. HEC-RAS Input Stack Creation
5. Remarks on the Development of Water Surface Elevations in HEC-RAS
6. Importing and Mapping HEC-RAS Output in ArcView
7. Remarks on more Sophisticated Hydraulic Models
State Archives Workshop:
Workshop on State Archives GIS Grant Funding for Local Governments
Jennifer O'Neil,
GIS can be an effective and efficient tool for government, but its complexity makes it difficult for governments to develop and fund. This presentation will focus on creating a successful application to develop and implement a GIS through the State Archives' grant program.
Homeland Security Workshop:
GIS & Homeland Security War Gaming: Preparing for an Uncertain
Bruce Oswald, Assistant Director/CIO, NYS Office of Cyber Security & Critical
Infrastructure Coordination (CSCIC), Bruce.Oswald@cscic.state.ny.us
Ed Freeborn, National Law Enforcement and
Applying proven war gaming techniques to GIS use for Homeland Security and Emergency Response provides a valuable tool to analyze and improve an organization’s GIS capabilities. In this session, Bruce
Oswald of the NYS Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination (CSCIC) and Ed
Freeborn of the
National Law Enforcement and
(NLECTC-NE) will conduct a fun seminar style demonstration game to illustrate how war gaming can be used to explore many issues associated with the use of GIS for incident response and lead to a better understanding of the problems many organizations are facing in the use of GIS. The audience will be asked to respond to a scenario and engage in discussions and analysis of the many factors impacting the situation. The scenario will present information regarding a postulated threat or incident (man-made or natural) that may be related to wider Emergency Response or Homeland Security issues. As the scenario unfolds, the an expert panel will be asked to respond to the audience’s discussion and provide insight as to how their organization(s) might respond to the available information regarding the incident and address what kinds of information or actions are needed to best respond to the threat. The game is not meant to be predictive or proscriptive, but is intended to demonstrate how State, County and municipal governments can use this technique to examine organizational approaches and discover new methods for dealing with these challenges. The specifics of the scenario will be announced at the session; audience participation is planned.
Census Data Workshop
Bob
Development, RSCARDAMALIA@EMPIRE.STATE.NY.US
The Census Bureau has just begun implementation of the nationwide American Community Survey. The
ACS will replace traditional Census long form data available only once every decade. This session will provide an overview of the survey process, data products, and availability. The session will also update users on changes to the Census Bureau's TIGER database and efforts to insure an accurate count in the 2010 Census.
Programming Workshop:
Custom Application Development using ArcObjects and ArcIMS
Larry Spraker, Applied GIS, Inc., lspraker@appliedgis.com
Liz Arabadjis,
There are many ways of tailoring ESRI’s software to create custom solutions. This workshop will focus on discussing and demonstrating how to customize ArcGIS using ArcObjects as well as how to develop custom websites using ArcIMS.
ArcGIS: Although developers have a choice of development environments when Customizing ArcGIS including VB, C++, .NET, we will discuss concentrate on VB using ArcObjects. Real world analogies and examples (with props!!) will be used to help understand the basics of object-oriented programming: classes, properties, methods, events and interfaces, and how to get started in ArcObjects. We will also address how to build a standalone executable using ArcGIS Engine.
ArcIMS: We will compare and contrast the different deployment options such as the default HTML Viewer, ASP, JSP, Cold Fusion, etc. We will also show how to customize the default HTML viewer, and how to build a server-side application in ASP using the ActiveX Connector object model.