GIS Ireland 2009 Conference Report

GIS Ireland 2009 Conference Report

The nature, scope and purpose of the meeting.

The GIS Ireland 2009 Conference took place on October 14, 2009 at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland in an effort to provide a venue for presenting current information concerning global information systems and how they are being used. The scope of the conference was based on the conference's theme which was "Geographical Information/GIS / Spatial Data Infrastructures and the Current Economic/Crisis." The purpose of the conference was to bring together a wide variety of organizations competing in the public and private sectors as well as students with a common interest in identifying opportunities for using global information systems (GIS) to their maximum advantage in innovative ways with a specific focus on how these methods can be applied in Ireland and the European Union.

A profile of the people who attended it.

The plenary session consisted of nine presentations by the public and private sector, including a representative from Google and one from the Irish Marine Institute, with two discussion sessions provided. Of the 30 total presentations delivered at the 2009 conference and exhibition, six were from the government and modeling community, six were related to GIS applications and the environment, four presentations related to addressing system issues, seven were provided by various GIS application vendors, and seven were presented by students, also with discussion sessions provided. Attendees at this conference were likely interested in gaining insights into current innovative approaches for using existing GIS technologies as well as what applications were under development for the future (GIS Ireland 2009 Conference and Exhibition Program, pp. 1-3).

Some of the benefits that could be gained from attending such a clearinghouse for up-to-the-minute information of this type would include potential applications for the attendees' own industries that might not otherwise be apparent, networking with others working with GIS technologies for future collaborative efforts, and the fact that the conference was being held in the historic Guinness Storehouse with a tour of the facility and an open bar being provided by the event's sponsors. Interestingly, there were no representatives of the radio identification frequency identification (RFID) industry in attendance, and the military was also noticeably absent.

Representative sampling of eight presentations.

An overview of eight of the presentations delivered at the GIS Ireland 2009 Conference, including speakers' affiliation, topic(s) covered, summary of the presentation and the speakers' discerned purpose are provided in Table 1 below

Table 1

Representative Sampling of Eight GIS Ireland 2009 Conference Presentations

Speaker/Affiliation

Summary

Purpose

Dr. Chaosheng Zhang, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

"Use of GIS to aid identification of potential contaminated land"

Speaker described likely sites of contaminated land (i.e., old mining sites, oil storage tanks, landfills etc.) but emphasized that many sites remain unidentified. Dr. Zhang described how various algorithms using GIS imaging systems can be used to identify potentially contaminated sites in order to take remediation steps to protect surrounding communities. Speaker noted that various approaches yield comparable results but with some differences that should be taken into account.

The purpose of this presentation was to provide a description concerning how statistical data derived from GIS imaging approaches can be translated into meaningful data reflecting potentially contaminated land in urban areas so that remediation steps can be taken to prevent harm to humans and animals and to allow the land to be reused. Several examples using urban areas in Ireland were provided for this purpose. The speaker made a good case for the use of GIS for these applications.

Rob Walker

Past Chair, Association for Geographic Information (AIG)

"Spatial data infrastructures

-- A UK perspective"

Speaker provided an overview of the different types of geographic datasets that are used as a framework for integrating GIS data and what part various governmental entities can play in using this data to its maximum advantage. Speaker emphasized the need for collaborative data-sharing and the need for standards development and how AGI could contribute to this process.

Presentation highlights suggest that this was a marketing effort on the part of AGI to encourage governmental entities to contract with AGI to help them better use the GIS technologies under discussion. The presentation highlights do not reflect the quality of the actual presentation so it is difficult to determine how effective the speaker was in achieving this goal.

Steven Ramage, 1 Spatial

"Don't waste a crisis"

This presentation covered mandates from the EU concerning the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (NSPIRE) directives requiring common Implementing Rules (IR) be adopted in a number of specific areas (i.e., Metadata, Data Specifications, Network Services, Data and Service Sharing and Monitoring and Reporting) and how 1 Spatial can help governmental entities satisfy the legal requirements involved in the INSPIRE initiative. The highlights of the presentation suggest this was a light-hearted effort but provided a comprehensive assessment of the key points.

The primary purpose of this presentation was to educate the conference attendees concerning the INSPIR directives and what they involved and to promote the services offered by 1 Spatial. The emphasis of the presentation was to make the most of the resources already in place and how 1 Spatial can contribute to this process.

Magda Biesiada,

Mary Kelly,

Stewart Fotheringham, and Martin Charlton, Irish Research Council for the Humanities & Social Sciences

"Spatial Variations in Population Dynamics in Ireland 1841-1851"

Speakers describe the need for additional research concerning the Great Famine based on a dearth of studies on a national scale and the few studies that have been conducted have inadequate spatial resolution. The researchers made a good case concerning how the observed patterns can be used to identify new sources of data and can be extended to current censuses.

The purpose of the presentation was two-fold: (a) What does the detailed national picture look like (Electoral Division level)? And (b) What were the causes of the spatial variations in the effects of the Famine? Using GIS spatial analysis imaging techniques, these researchers recreated census maps of Ireland for the period 1841 to 1851 to identify shifts in population density levels.

Eamon Walsh, CTO, eSpatial

"Increase operational efficiency with GIS as Software as a Service (SaaS)"

Speaker emphasized the need for more cost-effective approaches to using geospatial data by the public and private sectors and recommended the use of eSpatial's "On Demand" software application for this purpose. Presentation covered the benefits from this approach and cited the various ways On Demand can be used to integrate data across platforms. Presentation appears to have been persuasive.

The purpose of this presentation was to sell attendees on the advantages of eSpatial's On Demand software application and its scalability to suit their specific needs so they would not have to pay for services they did not need.

Dara Keogh and Dominic Fahey, GeoDirectory

"Irish National Addressing System"

Speakers provided an overview of address system schemes and emphasized the need for improved methods of identifying addresses uniquely and unambiguously. Pursuant to the EU's INSPIRE initiative, all addresses must be assigned a geographic location address that includes, thoroughfare name, address area name, postal descriptor and administrator unit name. The speakers were effective in noting that legacy address holders, though, may not use assigned addresses and speakers cited the need for procedures that can handle the transition period more effectively.

The purpose of this presentation was to highlight the advantages of GeoDirectory's database services in satisfying the mandates of the EU's INSPIRE to develop standardized address schemes for all geographic locations in Ireland.

Peter Wise, Irish GIS and Spatial Services

"Not only

Landscape Archaeology,

but also free GIS and datasets"

Presentation covered advantages of using GIS spatial databases for the public and private sectors in landscape planning, mapping, and interpretation. Several Irish-specific examples of imagery were provided and offered free CDs to government entities and free open source software for corporations. Soft-sell approach combined with useful graphic made this an effective presentation.

The purpose of this presentation was to illustrate how Irish GIS and Spatial Services' databases could be used by the public and private sector to improve their urban planning efforts.

Tanja Radu, Simon Gallagher, Brian Byrne, Seamus Conveney, Steve McCarron and Dermot Diamond representing CLARITY, Dublin City University, National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM), and the National Centre for Geocomputation, NUIM

"Rapid in-field soil pollution mapping using portable x-ray fluorescence analyzers"

Speakers alternatively provided an overview of how x-ray fluorescence analyzers can be used for pollution mapping purposes and a description of the research to date. A description of the numerous advantages of using these technologies was followed by several Irish-specific examples of their successful application in conducting in-field analyses. The speakers provided a brief but comprehensive analysis.

Although the primary purpose of this presentation was to provide current information concerning x-ray fluorescence analyzers and their uses, the presentation was delivered on slides with the CLAIRITY corporate logo.

Overview of three sponsoring organizations.

ESRI Ireland.

Company profile. According to their corporate Web site at http://www.esri-ireland.ie/aboutesri%5Fireland/, "ESRI Ireland specialises in the provision, implementation and support of ESRI-based GIS systems." The company maintains offices in Dublin and Belfast and is the exclusive partner of ESRI Inc. In Ireland.

What product or service were they selling? The corporate profile states, "ESRI Ireland is responsible for designing and building some of the largest and most advanced GIS systems in Ireland. Employing just under 40 GIS Professionals, we have a client base of over 120 organisations across 17 different business sectors with thousands of end users" (ESRI Company profile, 2009, p. 2).

How were they selling it? No presentations were provided by this company but sponsors were provided the opportunity to participate in the exhibition that was part of the GIS Ireland 2009 Conference.