Featured Stories: Volume 7 No. 2

• Interoperable Web Mapping Service  
  According to recent survey results (2003), Habitat and Enhancement Branch (HEB) staff within the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Pacific Region, were challenged with locating, accessing, and integrating important spatial information as it is often housed within multiple government and nongovernment organizations. In addition, HEB staff did not have access to simple tools to create spatial datasets, upload standalone spatial datasets received from others, or search efficiently for spatial datasets vital to staff programs and projects.
  
  
• SpatialDirect at the City of Richmond / La Ville de Richmond adopte SpatialDirect
  The City of Richmond in British Columbia, has an enterprise GIS that contains a large amount of valuable data. They needed to be able to distribute this information to staff in a cost-effective manner. Using ArcIMS and Safe Software's FME® and SpatialDirect®, the city created an Intranet mapping website to provide the required information to staff.
  
  La Ville de Richmond en Colombie-Britannique s'est équipée d'un SIG d'entreprise qui contient un grand nombre de données de grande valeur. Elle cherchait une façon de mettre cette information à la disposition de son personnel de manière rentable. Grâce à l'utilisation d'ArcIMSMD d'ESRI ainsi que de FMEMD et de SpatialDirectMD de Safe Software, la Ville a pu créer un site Web cartographique sur son intranet.
  
  
• New Annotation Toolbar at ArcGIS 9.0  
  With the release of ArcGIS 9.0 comes a new set of tools for users to create new and manipulate existing annotation - the Annotation toolbar. In previous versions of ArcGIS, users familiar with editing annotation may recall that one of the only annotation editing tools, the Edit Annotation tool, was incorporated in the Advanced Editing toolbar. This has now been moved into the new Annotation toolbar. Along with the Edit Annotation tool comes a whole new set of exciting editing tools that will allow users a greater level of control over the appearance of annotation on their maps. The Annotation toolbar includes, among other things, several one-click editing tools, keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys), and predefined symbols to get desired symbolization. The purpose of this Getting Technical is to provide you with an overview of what you can do with the Annotation toolbar.
  
  
• Grouping ArcSDE Features to Improve Display Speed in ArcIMS
  Merging ArcSDE features by combining geometry into a new multipart shape is a method to improve the display speed of an ArcSDE feature class. Display speed is increased by reducing the number of records that are retrieved from the database. Features can be joined based on a tile structure or by an attribute of the feature class with the sdegroup command. Attribute data of the feature class is lost through this process; therefore this technique is suitable for display oriented queries where attributes are not required.
  
  
• Mapping Cardiovascular Disease in Canada 
  Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer of Canadians and accounts for the greatest financial burden on the health care system across Canada. The burden of CVD on health in Canada is expected to increase in the next 20 years. Thus, it is imperative that current patterns of CVD and treatment practices are measured in order to control the epidemic of CVD, and to ensure that Canadians receive the best quality of CVD care in a sustainable manner.
  
  
• Mineral Titles Online
  With the election of a Liberal government in British Columbia (BC) in 2001, a new vision for efficient government administration was conceived. The BC government reorganized departments and responsibilities and as a result many of the mapping and base data management functions were grouped together under one or two ministries. The new ministries faced a reduction in the work force as well as an increased need for re-engineered technical applications and objectives for a leaner, enhanced administration system. This brought about a collaborative and integrated approach forcing the government to utilize a common infrastructure and IT services to achieve service delivery. 
  
  
• ESRI Business Partner Award Recipients - Canadian Award Winners -
  ESRI Canada is pleased to announce that the following Canadian Business Partners, Enghouse Systems Limited, R.J. Burnside & Associates Limited, and Safe Software, received awards at the 2004 ESRI Worldwide Business Partner Conference in Palm Springs, California.
  
  
• GIS Portals/Portails SIG
  A GIS portal is a one-stop web application that enables all levels of government and organizations to create an online search catalog that makes use of GIS industry standards. It allows users to quickly and easily discover and directly use the data and services (e.g. ArcIMS services, Web Map Services, Web Feature Services, ArcSDE data sources, and much more) available on a particular topic for a specific geographic area. GIS portals organize content and services such as directories, search tools, community information, support resources, data, and applications. They provide capabilities to query, search, and manage metadata records for relevant data and services, and then link to the online sites that host content services.
  
  Un portail SIG est une application Web centralisée qui permet à tous les ordres de gouvernements et aux organisations de créer un catalogue de recherche en ligne qui se sert des normes de l'industrie des SIG. Cela donne aux utilisateurs la possibilité de repérer rapidement et facilement les données et services disponibles sur un sujet particulier, et ce, pour un secteur géographique précisé, et de les utiliser directement (par ex. les services liés à ArcIMS, à Web Map et à Web Feature, les sources de données ArcSDE et beaucoup plus encore). Les portails SIG structurent le contenu et les services suivants : répertoires, outils de recherche, renseignements communautaires, ressources de soutien, données et applications. Ils permettent aussi d'effectuer des recherches et de gérer des dossiers de métadonnées pour obtenir des données et des services pertinents, puis créer des hyperliens menant vers des sites en ligne qui hébergent différents contenus.
  
  
• GIS Analysis of Cellular Phone Coverage 
  Ian Berdusco and Colten Stevenson had no idea that a trip to the store to purchase a new cellular phone would turn into a successful, GIS-based science fair project. At their local cellular phone store, the salesperson told them that they would benefit from purchasing cell phone plan that included a phone with the new 850 MHz frequency. However, the salesperson could only tell them that 850 MHz was better and the students wanted proof for their local area. So, Ian and Colten, both grade eight students at Valley View Public School in Val Caron, Ontario, near Sudbury, decided to do some research for themselves, and developed a very interesting science fair project.