Geospatial Redux: Geo-Literacy Awards, NGAC Call for Nominations, Top UK Geography Programs…

Share this article:

Related Content:

Geospatial Grants from the FGDC ArcEditor for OpenStreetMap, National Geospatial Advisory Committee Nominations

Geo-Literacy Outreach Awards

Blogger Catholicgauze who runs the popular geography blog, Geographic Travels, is sponsoring a Geo-Literacy Outreach Award.  Those interested in applying for consideration need to complete the application and submit a proposal on a unique way to advance geo-literacy:

Projects can come in a multitude of forms; whether it is a new classroom exercise connecting geography with unique ideas thought separate from geography, a project with the chamber of commerce or another business, demonstrating how a hospital can implement geography, or an activity with a civic organization. We encourage submitters to think “outside the box” and to go beyond the standard line of “Geography will save the world.” Most of the world is geographically illiterate because people do not see the day-to-day use and importance of geography.

Applications are due by October 1, 2012 and the top two winners will be announced by November 1, 2012.   The top applicant will received $300 as the Alexander Von Humboldt Prize, and the second place applicant will take home the the Isaiah Bowman Prize and receive $200.

Call for Nominations for the National Geospatial Advisory Committee

The Department of the Interior is looking for nominations for its National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC).  What is the NGAC?

The NGAC provides recommendations and advice to the federal government on national geospatial policy issues and the management of national geospatial programs and allows the Federal government to hear views and opinions that are representative of partners in the geospatial community.

The committee is made up of up to thirty members selected from a variety of representative geospatial sectors: government, non-profit, academia, and private companies.  This nomination round will fill ten of the positions on the committee.

Those wishing to nominate, need to send the following via email to ngacnominations@fgdc.gov by July 19, 2012:

• A nomination letter summarizing the nominee’s qualifications and interest in NGAC membership and describing the nominee’s ability to represent a sector or stakeholder group.
• A biographical sketch, resume, or vita.
• One letter of reference and the names and contact information of two additional references.
• Contact information for the nominee (name, title, organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number).

More information about the nomination process and the NGAC is available on the NGAC web page.  Final selection will be made by the Secretary of the Interior.

Top UK Geography Programs

The Guardian has released its 2013 guide for the top geography and environmental studies programs in the United Kingdom.  Topping the list are Cambridge in the top spot, followed by Oxford.  (Via Geographic Travels)

Four Technologies That Transformed Government

Federal Government Weekly takes a look at four technologies that have changed the way government agencies do business.  Included among the four: GPS, which has revolutionized the way we interact with our world and underscored the power of place.

“We’ve had this explosion of ‘the power of place,’ provided by the ubiquity of GPS and the availability of precise geospatial information,” said Keith Masback, president of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. “All members of the federal government are interacting with their IT systems and their data differently because they’re geo-enabled and enabled with precise location information.”

The article notes the importance of GPS and other geospatial technologies that have played critical roles in governmental response to natural disasters, law enforcement, and the way the 2010 US Census was undertaken.  The recently overhaul to the way Arlington National Cemetery is managed is aided through geospatial technologies.

“Arlington is now able to visualize operations across 624 acres, in real time, to understand what’s occurring at the cemetery,” said Maj. Nicholas Miller, the cemetery’s CIO. “We’ve transformed into a GIS-managed operation.

GIS Guide to Public Domain Data

Esri Press has released a new book called The GIS Guide to Public Domain Data:

[The book] provides GIS users with detailed information about the sources and quality of spatial data available in the public domain and the policies that govern its use.

This guide covers practical issues such as copyrights, cloud computing, online data portals, volunteered geographic information, and international data. It provides GIS practitioners and instructors with the essential skills to find, acquire, format, and analyze public domain spatial data. Supplementary exercises are available online to help put the concepts into practice.

Rhus – Open Source Mobile GIS

Crowdsourcing data enthusiasts might be interested in reading the latest update about Rhus, an open source mobile GIS being developed for community ecology.    The application (available in native android and iOS apps) is aimed towards citizen science data collection:

We saw the main goals as being offline usability, geo-spatial queries, open source customization, and visualizing change over time. For community projects, it’s also important to have seamless integration between mobile apps and a community website to facilitate social data collection.

The software stack has moved out of the alpha stage and more documentation about the project can be found on the project wiki for Rhus.  The Wildflowers of Detroit is a showcase community ecology project that shows geotagged photos of wildflowers growing in urban areas.  Rhus is being  developed by Winteroot, a team comprising of Matthew Shultz,a computer scientist, and Gwendolyn McKay, a designer and herbalist.

Wildflowers of Detroit Rhus App for Android