Our environment

by Ilse Genovese

An earthquake in Haiti. A volcano in Iceland impacting air travel in northern Europe. An oil spill 50 miles southeast of the coast of Louisiana. A spate of events which have dominated the news cycle, on and off, the first quarter of 2010. more >>

Following it to the letter: eLOMA

by Matthew Reed

For years, America’s surveyors have supported the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) administration of the National Flood Insurance Program by issuing Elevation Certificates which help determine insurance rates and premiums. A recent program allows surveyors to build on this existing practice by following the Elevation Certificate to the letter—submitting the certificate as part of the Electronic Letter of Map Amendment (eLOMA).
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Beyond mere existence

by N.W.J. Hazelton

“In them at last the ultimate men arrive
Whose boast is not: ‘We live’
but ‘we survive’…” A.D. Hope

In a previous article I suggested that the reason surveying, as a profession, exists is to guarantee the connection between tokens based on spatial measurement, and the spatial reality that those tokens represent. This is a foundation from which to start consideration of surveying, rather than an end. We want to do more than just survive or exist; we want to live and grow! more>>

"Inherently governmental function": Definition

by Laurence Socci

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing a proposed policy letter to the White House and Federal agencies on circumstances when work must be reserved for performance by federal government employees.
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NOAA's tsunami warming system

by David Brown

NOAA’s responsibilities include detecting and then warning of tsunamis such as the one created in late February by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA’s ninth administrator, talked to The Washington Post on the agency’s progress in monitoring tsunamis. more>>

Does GIS really matter?

by Jeff Thurston

You may have heard peo­ple say over and over again: “every­thing is some place” and “you can orga­nize your world.”  You won­der why some of your friend’s eyes glass over when they start talk­ing about spa­tial infor­ma­tion and GIS in connection with “place,” and you think to your­self: “What’s this all about?” Does GIS really mat­ter?
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DIY GIScience: Neogeography

by Eric Wolf

A perfect storm has been brewing in the world of GIS; a torrent of freely available spatial data released by governments in huge quantities and easily created by users. All of these data are being mashed-up into millions of maps. This article will give you a basic understanding of the terms and some current happenings in the brave new world of geographic information. more >>

Notes from the field: Cambodia

by Frank Lenik

Whenever I travel, I think about stopping into a local surveyor’s office and asking how his business is. I want to look over his maps and see what his drawing style is like. I want to ask what his favorite survey monument is. I even dream of going out into the field with his crew to see what equipment they’re using and what their methods are compared to the way we work back home. So strong is this urge to “connect” ..... more>>

The land of the pharaohs

by David Holland

I recently returned from an excellent trip to Egypt organized by Professor Mike Besch, director of the Surveying and Mapping Program at the University of Akron, Ohio. Nine people, mostly surveyors, took part in a magical journey which took us along the Nile to ancient Egypt’s most sacred artifacts and surveying history. more>>

Some pitfalls of pitiful meetings ... and how to fix them

by Dottie DeHart

If your team members (or you!) hear ‘Meeting at 3:00’ and think, Here comes another waste of my time, then it’s time for a meetings overhaul at your organization. Meetings can be important team-building and idea-generating opportunities, if they are done well. The key, writes Kimberly Douglas in her book The Firefly Effect: Build Teams That Capture Creativity and Catapult Results, is knowing how to do them the right way. more>>