ArcGIS Explorer Research Articles

Student Led Area Measurement Assessments Using Virtual Globes and Pictometry Web-based Interface within an Undergraduate Spatial Science Curriculum

<p><em>The use of Virtual Globes and Pictometry continues to expand and develop in undergraduate spatial science education. Spatial science undergraduates measured the area of 30 rectangles on the earth’s surface and compared them to Pictometry hyperspectral imagery measurements within a web-based interface and the Google Earth interface compared to ArcGIS Explorer, Map Developers and ArcMap using the ArcMap 10.5.2 interface. An analysis of variance of the absolute mean area errors (p-value of 0.009271) concluded the accuracy of the five area measurements were statistically different at the 95% confidence interval. A Tukey pair-wise test found that the Pictometry and Google Earth methods were more accurate than the ArcGIS Explorer, Map Developers and ArcMap methods. The lowest standard deviation of errors (72.6 sq. ft.) for Pictometry was the most accurate and precise method for on-screen area measurement, followed by Google Earth (SD = 205.0 sq. ft.). The high variation of area measurement error from ArcMap, Map Developers, and ArcGIS Explorer made them less reliable as an alternative to field measurements with ArcMap the worst (SD = 915.1 sq. ft.). The results indicate that Pictometry and Google Earth could both be used to accurately estimate area using on-screen measurements compared to in situ area measurement assessments. </em></p>

Spatial progression of estate property management system with customized freeware GIS

Estate property management system mainly deals with geographical area with associated information for monitoring and managing estate properties. Geographic Information System (GIS) has potential to handle spatial and aspatial data in a single platform which makes GIS a favourable choice for estate property management system. The availability of free and open source GIS helped this technology affordable and popular in large number of applications. Hence there is a demand to develop a new or upgrade an existing non-GIS based system to a GIS based property management system. In this paper a novel case study is presented where an Oracle based system is integrated with GIS platform using freeware ArcGIS Explorer (AGX) customization. The integration of dynamic data from Oracle server is challenging due to non-supportive database type in AGX. The issue is overcome by introducing an intermediate file handling mechanism in the GIS interface using Oracle client in .net frame work. The proposed system can run in multiple nodes in a local area network and capable of fetching data from Oracle server. It serves user queries on both spatial and aspatial data that enables spatial visualisation of aspatial data.

Are There Other Options?

This study compared University of Missouri child and adolescent telepsychiatry services patients’ specific zip codes to child and adolescent psychiatrists’ practice locations to learn if telehealth was an appropriate option for this group of patients. In demographically and geographically diverse state such as Missouri, patients in rural areas may have limited or no access to timely, affordable and quality care. Many large urban health-care institutions have turned to telehealth as a means of providing equal access to care for all population, no matter where they choose to live. The management analyst system Cognos/Analyzer was used as a data source. Patient- and provider-specific zip codes were processed using GeoKettle software, and ArcGIS explorer was used for map visualization. While patients utilizing child and adolescent telepsychiatry services come from various parts of the state, providers are mostly clustered in urban locations along the Interstate 70. This greatly limits access to specialty care for rural and other vulnerable populations. Telehealth provides adequate and timely access to child and adolescent psychiatry services for the youth that may otherwise not be able to get needed care. Barriers such as mental health crisis and access to care for rural population have been more or less successfully addressed by telehealth for several decades now. However, the shortage of specialty physicians adds an additional layer of complexity to this issue. Health-care organizations with informatics tools such as telemedicine need to focus their efforts on maximizing usage to allow more access for the underserved population.

Construction of a Sports Geographic Information Digital Archive

The purpose of this study was to build a "Sports Geographic Information Digital Archive," a website which specializes in sports and physical activities in Japan, and to have people utilize the spatial data, statistical data and maps. This archive presents six themes of sport : professional sports, amateur sports, after-school sports clubs, female sports, sports industry and sports facilities. Thematic maps have been created using GIS software and offer demographic data, sports data, and short descriptive texts on the maps and references as they are uploaded to a server. Since March 31, 2011, 134 thematic maps have been available for viewing by anyone over the Internet. This archive can be accessed through the following three ways :(1) Using a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari. Using a web browser, the archive can be accessed without restrictions on time or place as long as an Internet connection is ensured. The archive was developed on the assumption that most people would access this site using a web browser.(2) Using ArcGIS Explorer, which is a free GIS viewer issued by Esri Japan. This software gives users an easy way to explore, visualize, and share GIS information. (3) Using ArcGIS Desktop In these three ways, ArcGIS Desktop alone makes it possible to process a thematic map. Currently, all thematic maps offered by this archive are classified only at the prefecture level. In the near future, municipally-classified thematic maps and a chronologically ordered listing of those maps are scheduled to be appended to the archive.

A New GIScience Application for Visualized Natural Resources Management and Decision Support

AbstractThis article presents two decision support plug‐ins in free GIS software: ArcGIS Explorer Desktop. The ubiquitous WebGIS Analysis Toolkit for Extensive Resources (uWATER) focuses on providing GIS analysis functions: spatial and attribute queries in the public services tool for users with limited access to commercial GIS software. The interface of uWATER is general enough to support decision‐making in numerous management issues in natural resources, economics and agriculture. The uWATER‐Pumping Assessment (uWATER‐PA) toolkit, on the other hand, is an extended package targeting the specific environmental issue of groundwater pumping impacts. The uWATER‐PA package is an excellent alternative to evaluating complex groundwater pumping assessment issues before investing significant time, labor, and funds in monitoring and detailed scientific study. It incorporates simulation of the physics of groundwater flow and user interaction into GIS software. A graphical user interface makes both data entry and interpretation of results intuitive to non‐technical individuals. Results are presented as colored drawdown maps and can be saved in GIS format for future dissemination. The impact of drawdown on existing wells can be characterized and mapped, through the use of uWATER's spatial query capabilities and the drawdown maps generated by uWATER‐PA.

Development of the Arctic Research Mapping Application (ARMAP): Interoperability challenges and solutions

Ensuring interoperability between WebGIS applications is essential for maximizing access to data, data sharing, and data manipulation. Interoperability is maximized through the adoption of best practices, use of open standards, and utilization of spatial data infrastructure (SDI). While many of the interoperability challenges like infrastructure, data exchange, and file formats are common between applications, some regions like the Arctic present specific challenges including the need for presenting data in one or more polar projections. This paper describes the Arctic Research Mapping Application (ARMAP) suite of online interactive maps, web services, and virtual globes (the ARMAP suite; http://armap.org/) and several of the interoperability challenges and solutions encountered in development to date. ARMAP is a unique science and logistic tool supporting United States and international Arctic science by providing users with the ability to access, query, and browse information and data. Access to data services include a text-based search utility, an Internet Map Server client (ArcIMS), a lightweight Flex client, ArcGIS Explorer and Google Earth virtual globes, and Open Geospatial Consortium ( OGC) compliant web services, such as Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS). Through the ARMAP suite, users can view a variety of Arctic map layers and explore pertinent information about United States Arctic research efforts. The Arctic Research Logistics Support Service (ARLSS) database is the informational underpinning of ARMAP. Avoiding duplication of effort has been a key priority in the development of the ARMAP applications. The ARMAP suite incorporates best practices that facilitate interoperability such as Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata standards, web services for embedding external data and serving framework layers, and open standards such as Open Geospatial Consortium ( OGC) compliant web services. Many of the features and capabilities of ARMAP are expected to greatly enhance the development of an Arctic SDI.

The Use of Virtual Globes as a Spatial Teaching Tool with Suggestions for Metadata Standards

Virtual Globe software has become extremely popular both inside and outside of educational settings. This software allows users to explore the Earth in three dimensions while streaming satellite imagery, elevation, and other data from the Internet. Virtual Globes, such as Google Earth, NASA World Wind, and ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer can be effectively used in standards-based, inquiry-driven geography lessons. With some practice, mashups (using data from more than one source to create new data) can be constructed for practically any application or area of interest. Educators who have not already begun to use these tools may wish to investigate them to help their students to think spatially by investigating processes and places on the Earth's surface in a three-dimensional visualization environment.