PERSPECTIVES

“Does the structure of a product manufacturer’s business impact marketing and communications?”

This column is sponsored by

"The structure of a manufacturer’s business does impact marketing and communications. This occurs for a number of reasons. It can enhance and support the organisation’s message in unique and positive ways. In other cases the influence may not be as supportive, and may even appear downright confusing. The dynamics involved in this relationship are interesting."

Jeff Thurston, Editor, EMEA and Russia, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

"There have been several structural changes at companies, where divisions and product lines have been realigned, that have greatly altered how they approach the market. I’ll stick to generalities here that relate to many companies as it’s not important to get specific. Changes in approach speak to how geospatial perceptions have evolved, and of course to the competition in the marketplace."

Matt Ball, Editor, Americas/Asia-Pacific, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

TOP STORIES

FEATURES

The Free State of Saxony in Germany has been developing a forest management system that has evolved into the Saxon Forest Geographical Information System (FGIS). The system not only supports forestry but it integrates tightly into the wider Saxony Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). Both government agencies and citizens can access the system, sharing information and collaborating together. As a state-of-the-art forest and SDI development, this system is now looking to expand its GIS capabilities in other innovative ways.

TOP FIVE LINKS OF THE WEEK

 
Jeff's Top Five Links of the Week

4)' Video on YouTube - Spanish Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)

5) Introduction to SensorML - SensorML provides standard models and an XML encoding for describing sensors and measurement processes. 

Matt's Top Five Links of the Week

1) Earth System Modeling Framework - Software for building and coupling weather, climate, and related models.

2) Global Green - A national environmental organization addressing climate change, drinking water and weapons of mass destruction.

3) Pachube - A web service that enables people to tag and share real time sensor data from objects, devices and spaces around the world.

4) Water Resources Observation Network - Managing Australia's water resources.

5) Lewis & Clark Regional Water System -  Maps and details on this three state water supply system.

Reader´s Links of the Week

Submit suggested links to anything you would like to recommend that fellow readers do, see or read via e-mail to mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Geospatial Web Services Workshop 2008 -  presentations from the Service-Oriented Software Research Network (SOSoRNET) and Centre for Geospatial Science, University of Nottingham, UK - June 16-17, 2008

Dubai Architecture.info

Regione Umbria - GPS - GNSS - GLONASS

INTERVIEW

Autodesk Embarks on a Digital Cities Initiative

Autodesk has outlined a vision for highly detailed 3D digital cities that would become collaborative environments for secure integration of CAD, building information modeling (BIM), and geospatial information. V1 Magazine editor Matt Ball sat down with Doug Eberhard, Autodesk’s senior director and industry evangelist for digital cities, to discuss the digital cities idea, and how these systems could help foster a holistic approach to city management.

COLUMN

Breaking the Accuracy Mold

Imagine a scenario in which street centerlines are stored in a GIS database with an accuracy of ±5 feet.  In the same database, parcel data are stored with an accuracy of ±0.10 feet.  And what if environmental data are stored at ±50 feet? Is that doable? As a matter of fact, presently this scenario is more the rule than the exception. 

EVENT COVERAGE

Intergraph 2008: Experience the Power

The 2008 Intergraph 2008 International Users' Conference took place in Las Vegas, Nevada from June 2-5. More than 2,600 attendees gathered from more than 60 countries, making the event one of the largest ever. The theme of the event was "Experience the Power," with strong connections to Intergraph's power business, but also a connection to the resurgence of the company after extensive restructuring.

BOOK REVIEW 

Analyzing Urban Poverty 

When I picked up this book I did not know what to expect. It is not a topic that is often discussed or written about. Authors Rosario C. Giusti de Perez and Ramon A. Perez take us on a journey inside the world of urban development for developing nations. As two of the earliest users of GIS, dating back to 1976, even before 'GIS' was used a term, they describe their award winning efforts using GIS in the squatter communities of Venezuela – known as barrios.

HEADLINE NEWS

CALENDAR

• Irish Tidal Power Generation to Start Next Week
• Statkraft Introduces New Offshore Windmill Concept
• 50-50 Chance of First Iceless Summer for North Pole: Scientist
• Editorial: Confusion Reigns in Australian Climate Response
• A Second Wind for Aging Wind Turbines
• Science Cities Set Out Their Stalls
• Constructive Support from the EU to Promote the Sustainability of the Fishing Sector
• Integrated Research in Water Sector Stressed
• The Eco-Crunch: Can Britain Still Afford to Go Green?
• Chiefs Must Help to Conserve Our Forests - Minister
• Heirs to the Scandinavian Thrones Study the Arctic
• Marine Environment Inquiry: Better Management of the Marine Environment
• Sweet Deal for Everglades, Sugar Firm
• Asian Cities 'Growing by 100,000 a Day'
• Last Goodbye To Satwa
• IBM Eyes SA For New Software Laboratory
• Conservation And Banking Groups Team Up For Rainforest Project
• Going Green: Leasing Buildings with Reduced Environmental Footprints
• Follow the Silt
• NASA Warming Scientist: 'This is the last chance'

TOP 5 BLOG POSTS OF THE WEEK 

VECTOR ONE

SPATIAL SUSTAIN 

1. Siemens Transportation: Rail in the City
2. GIS and Rail
3. 4D Dynamic Architecture
4. New City to be Built in Dubai
5. Roman Topography

1. Farming Wind in Minnesota
2. Weeds and Climate Change
3. Circus World Museum
4. Microsoft's Imagine Cup Focuses on Environment
5. 3D Model of the Upper Mississippi Basin

BOOKSTORE

GIS for Water Resource and Watershed Management (2002)

By John G. Lyon

Examines the fundamentals; demonstrates new approaches, techniques, and methods; and provides examples of real applications.

Limits to Growth (2004)

  By Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis L. Meadows

Using extensive computer models based on population, food production, pollution and other data, the authors demonstrate why the world is in a potentially dangerous "overshoot" situation. 

Integration of Information for Environmental Security  (2007)

By H. Gonca Coskun, H. Kerem Ciqizoglu, M. Derya Maktav

There is a need for temporal access to complete, updated, reliable information, in a dedicated form, is an essential prerequisite to effectively counter security threats.