A geographical Information System is a form of technology that operates by capturing information analyzes it and then uses it to locate various regions across the globe. The GIS technology is used in land surveying, map-reading, remote sensing, marketing of various products, resource supervision environmental impact assessment, and cartography among others. The GIS technology uses software, hardware, and information to capture, administer, examine and exhibit various types of geographical information.
The United States passed a bill of seventy-two billion shillings to expand its broadband internet services, this bill was passed as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Harp, 1). Part of the money was to be used in assessing the broadband coverage in each of the states in the United State, a web application known as BroadbandStat was developed for this activity. This application was also used to integrate information gathered from various sources such as information about the internet service providers and survey assessments.
It was also used to determine regions where the expansion of broadband services will promote development. A number of the States in the United States are already using the BroadbandStat to systematize their broadband services and in designing social maps that are accessible on the internet (Harp, 2).
According to scholars, the assembly of information from the main broadband providers is important in ensuring that the whole nation and each of the states is covered. They also felt that the GIS project will enhance an understanding and appreciation of the constraints faced by the service providers, especially in the lowly populated areas. Internet access was deemed important as it would enable individuals to know about the broadband access in their regions, they would also be in a position to determine where the broadband is found within various states as well as the specific streets along which it is found. Apart from that, the project would also give the visitors to various states, information concerning various states’ populations, broadband and internet acquisition, and access and the rates of computer ownership (Harp, 3).
The project was going to be of great importance to the United States in that, apart from the above applications, it was also going to be a very crucial tool for the business people since it would assist them in making the best selection for the appropriate sites for relocation, it would also enable the clients to such companies to be able to easily locate them. It would also be important for individuals buying homes as well as for the state and various departments within the government as it would help them for the planning of various programs and establishment of various projects.
The GIS project was therefore meant to envisage the broadband availability in various states and the government as a whole as mentioned in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Harp, 4). The project not only maps the broadband coverage but also directs the initiation of various broadband projects since through it; the federal government would be able to determine the regions that are poorly served by the internet. An advantage of BroadbandStat was its web capability that encouraged openness since the public was allowed access to all the information about the project. BroadbandStat is also important in determining the types of broadband, their speeds of operation, and availability in various areas, analyze the barriers to broadband coverage in various regions and evaluating the possible effects of the intended broadband projects.
A map is usually a representation of the earth’s surface and so they are normally designed together with a scale that defines the relationship between a given distance on the map and the actual distance on the ground. One of these scales that are used in the preparation of the maps is the representative fraction or the RF scale and it indicates the number of units on the earth’s surface that are equal to a given number of units on the map. It’s normally represented as a fraction or as a ratio, for instance, 1/ 100,000 or 1: 100, 000. An RF scale of 1: 50,000 means that1 Cm on the map represent 50,000 Cm (0.5 Km) on the ground. This, therefore, means that a distance of two centimeters on such a map will be equal to a distance of 100,000 Cm (1 Km) on the ground.
The RF scale is calculated by dividing the map distance with the ground distance, for instance, a scale that is expressed as 1 Cm representing 1 Km is calculated by first converting the ground distance into centimeters so that the two figures can be of the same S.I units. After that, the measurement taken from the map will then be represented as a ratio of the ground distance. In this case, the scale for such a map will be 1: 100,000. For a map shown to have a distance of 5 Cm on it representing 50km on the ground, the RF scale is calculated by first converting the ground distance into centimeters and that will give a measurement of 5,000,000 Cm.
The map distance will then be represented as a quotient or division of the ground distance to get the RF scale. The RF scale of this map will therefore be 5: 5,000,000, this figure can further be simplified to give a scale of 1: 1000,000 or 1/1000, 000.
As a result of most societies embracing technology, Geographical Information System is likely to undergo a serious revolution since GIS components will be installed in information gadgets and services that people use, even though this trend is considered beneficial for the development of various societies, it does present a lot of challenges just like any other form of the technology. There are predictions that the progress of GIS is likely to shift from being multipurpose equipment used by societies to being specific to given numerous applications, users, and purposes. Due to recent developments, the focus is shifting from the use of GIS mainly as a tool for management, analysis, and communication of information, for instance, attention has been shifted from data collection to its analysis.
Some of the possible future uses of GIS are in the determination of population density in various regions across the globe, this technology had already been tried in Rome but there are chances that there is a likelihood of the application being adopted by several countries shortly. There are also prospects of GIS technology being used in the planning of transportation services across various regions, there are also chances that GIS will be adopted by several to track traffic flow in various countries and if possible manage the traffic jams in various countries. Apart from those, there is a likelihood that GIS will be used by individuals in buying property such homes, in such a case, the GIS will help in determining the location of their homes of choice.
In my future work, I will use GIS to create three-dimensional diagrams by merging CAD and GIS, I will also use GIS to create an element of time in four-dimensional diagrams by using agent-based modeling or cellular automata. In the five, six, and seven dimensions diagrams, I shall use GIS to create an element of pressure, contact, and resonance, as well as smell into diagrams and as a result making the diagrams, appear as a reality.
Creating a GIS database is always easier said than done since a lot of data is needed for this purpose. The information can be collected from sources related to the purpose that the GIS is meant to serve. For instance, in creating a GIS database to assess the internet coverage, availability, and speed in a given area, the major source of information will be the service providers as well as the people subscribed to such services.
In collecting information for a given GIS database, therefore, some of the secondary sources of data could be the internet which could be containing relevant information related to the research being done. Another important source of information is the textbooks, the textbooks normally contain very important information and can serve as a very reliable source of information in creating a GIS database. The governments normally have viable information concerning every issue, it may be important, therefore, to source some relevant and reliable information from the government offices.
At the moment, there are speculations concerning GIS being driven mainly by the public shortly, this is as a result of the need by several people to be in control of their surroundings and the services that are provided to them. With this in mind, it would rather be suicidal creating a GIS database without consulting the public. Public opinion is very important and should always be on top of the list when the GIS database is being created. Consultation of the public is important as it helps in making the project acceptable in the public eye. There have been at times when an already established project fails to take off successfully as a result of the public’s lack of support. Consultation of the public allows for necessary adjustments to have the GIS project be in line with the public interest.
Geographical Information System keeps information in two different files such that those that are related are stored in the same file to allow the GIS to search and display a given folder according to the stored information concerning the given file (Wisconsin State’s cartographer’s office, 1). The GIS normally handles various types of questions based on the search information entered by the users of GIS services, the users are therefore expected to create logical queries for them to get the information that they are looking for.
Another type of query is the spatial queries (Wisconsin State’s cartographer’s office, 2) that show the relationship between the various features found in a map, terms used to create the spatial queries are at times combined to get answers for the spatial queries. Words that show proximity are also employed in this case to determine the relationship of the various features on the map based on distance. There are also Boolean operators in GIS analysis, they are also known as set queries and they refer to queries that are presented in groups or sets and include union, intersect, minus and difference.
Another type of GIs analysis is known as the network analysis (Wisconsin State’s cartographer’s office, 3) that is normally employed in organizations that have their communication, transportation, and service provision networked. It is also used in business to determine the distribution of a given commodity as well as determine the appropriate areas for the supply of given commodities. The major types of network analysis are network routing, tracing, and allocation. I plan to use the GIS operators to come up with the appropriate queries that will allow for successful searches.
ArcGIS is a type of software that is used in the creation of a GIS and it normally employs the use of both object-oriented and ordinary file-based data (Indiana University, 1) in working with the geographical information; this feature makes ArcGIS different from other software like ESRI. Some of the applications that make up this software are ArcMap, Arc Catalog, and ArcToolbox. ArcMap is normally used to create comprehensive maps to be used with the ArcGIS desktop software. The ArcMap and ArcCatalog have normally paired programs and together they form the basis for ArcGIS (Indiana University, 1). The ArcMap is normally used to handle all the tasks about the maps such as map drawing, analysis, and editing of maps. The software is normally used to create a geographic data view and geographic data view.
ArcCatalog on the other hand permits the arrangement and access to various forms of GIS information such as maps and various forms of data. The program normally consists of instruments for accessing the internet to view the geographical information posted on the internet (Indiana University, 2). IT is also used to observe and manage metadata as well as defining various forms of information based on geographical information.
I learned to create a GIS system using the information I learned about ArcMap and ArcCatalog. With the ArcMap, I was able to create maps, analyze them and edit the information they contained. The information I got on the ArcCatalog was also very important to me since it endowed me with the necessary tips on browsing the web to gain access to important geographical information. ArcCatalog also enabled me to manage and observe metadata. I can define various issues based on geographical information using these two programs. This information will enable me to come up with a comprehensive final project.
A geographical Information System is a form of technology that captures information that is then analyzed and then used in the location of various regions across the globe. GIS has been used in agriculture, business marketing, land surveying, and cartography among others. ArcGIS is a type of software that is used in the creation of a GIS and it normally employs the use of both object-oriented and ordinary file-based data in working with the geographical information.
Works Cited
Harp, Susan. BroadbandStat goes live online. Esri. 2010. Web.
Indiana University. What is ArcGIS Desktop? Iu.edu. 2009. Web.
Wisconsin State’s cartographer’s office. GIS Analysis.Sco.WIsc. 2001. Web.