Abstract

GIS: Geography in Action

GIS is evolving rapidly, providing a way to abstract the world with digital geographic knowledge. GIS provides spatially integrated thinking and a digital environment for studying relationships, patterns, and processes. Sharing geographic knowledge, especially via the Web, changes how we communicate and collaborate. As a science-based approach, GIS changes how we work. Collecting data and measuring the planet with spatial analysis and modeling allows us to visualize the world so we can better understand it. This approach is systematic and holistic, analytic and quantitative, and visual. As such, it speaks to people.

This presentation will describe how GIS professionals use maps, models, and analysis to save resources, make organizations more efficient, support decision making, and create more sustainable action.

Biography

Jack Dangermond is Founder and President of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), headquartered in Redlands, California, USA. Founded in 1969, ESRI is the leading geographic information systems (GIS) company in the world, providing software like ArcInfo, ArcView GIS, and ArcExplorer to clients in 90 countries. Over the last thirty years, Jack has delivered keynote addresses @scores of international conferences, published hundreds of papers on GIS, and given thousands of presentations on GIS throughout the world. He is the recipient of a number of medals, awards, lectureships, and honorary degrees, including the Cullum Geographical Medal of the American Geographical Society, the EDUCAUSE Medal of EduCause, the Horwood Award of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, the Anderson Medal of the Association of American Geographers, and the John Wesley Powell Award of the U.S. Geological Survey. He is a member of many professional organizations and has served on advisory committees for such U.S. agencies as NASA, EPA, the National Academy of Sciences, and NCGIA. Jack was educated@California Polytechnic College-Pomona, the University of Minnesota, Harvard Universitys Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Design, and holds two honorary doctorate degrees from Ferris State University and the University of Redlands, respectively.

Group Underwriting & Claims Director

Abstract

Delivering a new Dimension in Risk Management
RSA Group

GIS solutions are becoming indispensable to the delivery of new perspectives on risk for the insurance industry. Some of these risks we have lived with since the beginning of history. 0thers are emerging as our environment and climate change. It is the sophistication of the insurance industry’s management of, and response to, these risks, that is increasingly put to the test.

We invite you to join us on a tour through our claims files. We will be reviewing the 2007 year of natural catastrophes, and how we used GIS to help our customers get back on their feet.

We will also be looking at a past event and, using our GIS tools to recreate this for today, ask the question - How well prepared are we to manage the risks?

Biography

Timothy Mitchell was appointed Group Underwriting & Claims Director in 2007 and joined the Group in November. Timothy has over thirty years experience in the insurance industry and joined RSA from Zurich Financial Services where he held senior underwriting roles including three years as Global Chief Underwriting Officer for General Insurance. Timothy has also held senior management roles at AIG and Continental Insurance. Timothy is a member of the RSA Group Executive team.

Abstract

Going beyond software and hardware
Any Geographical Information System that is applied anywhere in the world can only be as good as its implementation. The more efficient the implementation, the more useful GIS system becomes and the more benefits can be drawn from its assets. This talk will present a real life implementation of the Enterprise GIS system within the Authority and discuss the main factors that are instrumental to its overall success. First, the establishment of general government agreements that govern the exchange of information will be presented. This will in turn influence the second factor that involves the changes in processes that have to take place within the organization in order to accommodate that new system. The third factor is data validation, where the real network is compared to the data in the system. The fourth factor is to interface the GIS with other information systems to facilitate the exchange of data and to streamline the business processes that are spanning several systems. This will include a discussion of the challenges that are faced during the integration process and that may affect the implementation and efficient use of the whole GIS.

Biography

Nawaf Alkhalifa graduated from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals in 1992 with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. He obtained an MBA from the University of Edinburgh in 1999 and started working in the Ministry of Electricity and Water as Assistant Undersecretary for Admin and Finance. In the year 2008 the Ministry became a government owned undertaking called the Electricity and Water Authority where he was awarded the position of Vice Chief Executive for Admin and Finance. During his tenure, he steered a lot of successfully completed projects such as: SAP, GIS, and Balanced Score Card implementations to name a few. Current ongoing projects include the implementation of CASCADE which is a computerized maintenance and management system as well as the conversion of the authority's internal rules and regulations from those of a government ministry to a government owned independent authority.

Flooding is a global threat

On the day of the plenary, ESRI (UK)’s Technical Solutions Group and Customer Care team will present how GIS can help in the mitigation of a flood event, the planning for a flood event and the allocation of effective resources during and after a flood event.

This 50 minute demo will show GIS in action as a flooding scenario is presented highlighting how ArcGIS as an enterprise system can assist in all aspects of flooding including field data collection, effective analysis of flood risk, provision of a common operating picture and dissemination of data through a variety of means.

Abstract

Bringing the Real World to the Classroom ~ Using GIS Across the Curriculum
GIS for many has traditionally been associated with Geography as its main subject gateway for delivery in schools, consequently it has not penetrated a wider curricula primarily because it has not been seen by many teachers as a viable resource for their subject area. Mark Smith and Steve Dunn from The Grammar School at Leeds have been engaged in a partnership project with ESRI since 2004 to develop teaching resources using ArcGIS. Once familiar with the software they immediately recognised the potential GIS had in a wide range of curriculum areas and set about positioning GIS in several subjects in their school. Their work included INSET for Staff together with the development of dedicated resources aligned to UK curricula.

This plenary session outlines the work that students at Leeds undertake from Y7 up to Sixth Form and will cover examples of GIS being applied in Biology, History, Religious Studies, Maths, Business Studies, and of course Geography. From tracking the Black Death in the parishes of East Anglia, to niche theories in Biology, and from Water Pumps in Soho to 3D urban landscapes in Leeds, students from The Grammar School at Leeds will also be on hand to show their work using desktop and handheld GIS in action.

Biography

Mark Smith

Mark is Head of Biology at the Grammar School at Leeds. He has a particular interest in teaching ecological fieldwork, both in school and on overseas expeditions, which is how he originally became involved in using GIS. His department uses GIS in a variety of lessons looking at biodiversity hotspots, cholera, tuberculosis and plant distribution as well as for collecting and analysing field data. He has worked in partnership with ESRI(UK) for the last five years developing approaches to the use of GIS as a learning tool in schools.

Steve Dunn

Steve teaches Geography and is responsible for GIS in the Geography Department at the Grammar School at Leeds. In addition to teaching, Steve spent eight years in curriculum development and has utilized this to great effect in positioning GIS across several subject areas within the School. His particular interests include developing handheld learning for fieldwork and the use of mobile GIS. He specializes in human geography and has developed a range of GIS lessons across KS3-5 and has worked in partnership with ESRI (UK) for the last five years developing approaches to the use of GIS as a learning tool in schools.

Abstract

Rapid mapping for disaster zones around the world
Ever wondered how geographical information systems (GIS) are being harnessed for humanitarian purposes?

MapAction is an established UK-registered charity, largely manned by unpaid volunteers, whose purpose is to deploy a trained team of specialist personnel to apply the power of GIS to map humanitarian relief operations.

In such crisis’, relief agencies need rapid answers to questions about ‘where’. Where are the greatest needs? Where are the gaps that need to be filled? Aid that ends up in the wrong place is of no use in relieving human suffering. MapAction’s work in disaster zones multiplies the efficiency of emergency response. We do this by setting up a field-mapping centre at the site of a disaster highlighting the places where relief help is most urgently needed as the crisis unfolds.

We don't create maps per se, what we do is to depict the situation on a map as a crisis unfolds. An important part of our service is that we update our maps at regular intervals, daily or more frequently, in accordance with changes in the dynamic situation pertaining at the time.
Our baptism of fire came in response to the Asian Tsunami Disaster when a team was scrambled at short notice to help map disaster relief efforts in Sri Lanka. Since then (December 2004) MapAction have completed over 60 missions in both disaster relief and capacity building.

Our capability is predicated on responding to a sudden onset disaster, though MapAction can and do get involved with other types of humanitarian relief activities. We have operated during famine in Lesotho, conducted development work in Tajikistan and we are currently working in Malawi.

MapAction has experts in remote sensing imagery, communications, logistics, security, computing and medical skills in addition, of course, to GIS and GPS navigation skills. We’re a team that works efficiently and effectively under field conditions in fraught situations.

It is hoped the GIS community will take satisfaction from the use of GIS in a worthy cause.

Biography

Appointed Director/Chief Executive MapAction in mid-2002 with the remit to create an operational capability for the charity. He has since led rapid response missions in the aftermath of tsunami, earthquake, flood and hurricane. Prior to MapAction he served in the British army, which included attachments to the American and Brazilian armies, and he was appointed OBE in 2001. He has a degree in mathematics and was elected an honorary member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2005. He is married with two daughters and lives in Buckinghamshire.

Abstract

On the Front Line of Global Change
In a fast-evolving world, the news media are on the frontline witnessing many of the most dramatic changes -- physical, geographical and political -- and they're also often first to seek new visual techniques to make their coverage more effective. As the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation have become stronger in recent years, David Shukman has reported from locations as diverse as the Antarctic and the Amazon, northernmost Siberia and the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

From the opening of the fabled North West Passage sea-route through the Arctic to the massive scale of tropical deforestation to the tragic shrinking of the Aral Sea in Central Asia, he's found that mankind's fingerprints are all too often evident.

As a Geography graduate, David has long understood the pivotal role maps can play in shaping global developments from the conflict in Northern Ireland to the fall of the Berlin Wall. More recently, the floods of summer 2007 have highlighted the heavy price of poor mapping of critical facilities and vulnerable homes.

Biography

David has been Environment & Science Correspondent for BBC News since 2003. He has reported from more than 80 countries including 11 assignments to the polar regions. His coverage of climate change has won him a series of awards in Britain and the US.

David made the first live television broadcasts from the UK's Antarctic base at Rothera and became the first journalist to accompany a survey flight over Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. He has reported from NASA's ice camp in Greenland, a permafrost research station at Cherskii in the Russian Arctic and a Canadian icebreaker sailing through the fabled North West Passage.

Reporting for television, radio and the Web, David has presented coverage from the Amazon rainforest, the Aral Sea, the Kalahari Desert, the Massai lands of Kenya, the floodwaters of Mozambique and dry lands of Tajikstan. Most recently, David has featured the threats to two islands in the Pacific Ocean: Tuvalu, which faces being overwhelmed by rising sea levels, and Midway Atoll, which is engulfed by a tide of plastic waste.

Previously David worked as World Affairs Correspondent, Europe Correspondent based in Brussels and Defence Correspondent - roles which saw him cover conflicts in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Angola, Sierra Leone and Georgia. Most memorably he was in East Berlin during the opening of the Wall. He covered the launch of the euro.

David graduated from the University of Durham with a BA Hons degree in Geography in 1980. He is the author of two books and is working on a third. He is a book reviewer for the Daily Mail, a contributor to Traveller magazine and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is married with three children.