Day: October 12, 2009

Present Your GIS Story at ESRI’s 2010 User Conference

/ Matt Artz / 2 Comments

esriAbstract Submission Deadline for the ESRI International User Conference Extended to November 6, 2009

ESRI invites users to tell their GIS story by sharing their experiences with GIS and presenting during a moderated session at the 2010 ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC). The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended to November 6, 2009.

The ESRI UC is the world’s largest GIS event, providing an ideal forum for the global ESRI user community to communicate its innovative projects. Presenters can choose from more than 40 tracks covering different industries, technologies, and science and modeling.

“Playing an active role in the conference adds value to your experience,” says ESRI president Jack Dangermond. “It’s an opportunity to share what we’re all looking for—how to do things better.”

Presentation resources available at the conference include presentation room equipment and Internet access as well as the on-site Speaker Coaching Lab. Terry Richard, a GIS analyst for the City of Burnaby in Canada, said, “As a first-time presenter, I was impressed with ESRI and its multimedia staff. Their assistance enabled my group to experience a successful presentation.”

The 2010 ESRI UC will be held July 12–16 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Submission guidelines for ESRI software users and business partners are available online. Abstracts can be submitted at www.esri.com/ucpapers.

Map of the Day: Zoonoses Disease Monitoring with GIS

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Zoonoses are diseases that are transmissible from animals to humans directly or through ingestion of contaminated foodstuff. Since 2004, according to the former Directive 92/117/EEC, European Union member states submit zoonoses data using an online reporting system and a central data repository developed and maintained by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA).

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“Data collected covers over eleven zoonotic agents and zoonoses that include salmonella, verotoxin producing E. coli, tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis, trichinella, and rabies. The data entered is compiled and analyzed in a yearly Community Summary Report on trends and sources of zoonoses. Maps showing the distribution of zoonoses are an integral part of this report. Further, with the advent of ArcGIS Server technology and with the necessary confidentiality and data comparability precautions, the Web system offers a straightforward way to visualize and communicate the information, helping identify questions and hypotheses on the pattern and trends of diseases and their possible causes.

“Besides the zoonoses data collection, EFSA investigates issues related to the origin and development of other epidemics, such as the Bluetongue virus in 2006. In this mandate, GIS tools and spatial analysis methods play a fundamental role.

“Courtesy of Francesca Riolo, European Food Safety Authority.”

Quote of the Day

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

“A good friend of mine once said, ‘For each new advance, each new technology, it’s both a technical advance but it’s also an advance in method.’  This science theorem really rings home as we expand the analytic language of what we can do with geography.”

–Jack Dangermond