Spatially Connected

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is seeking a Research & Development Intern.  This is an unpaid position which may be completed for school credit. It offers the successful candidate a unique opportunity to be involved in the creative development and delivery of new programming at OMSI.  This position is available immediately and will remain open until filled.

Internship Summary:

The NASA Data Visualization and Demonstration Developer will assist OMSI education staff in the development and delivery of demonstrations based on satellite-acquired data using our Science On a Sphere (SOS) projection display. The demonstrations should frame NASA data to tell interesting stories in a visually engaging setting that demonstrate how NASA satellite data is collected.  More info on SOS can be found here:http://sos.noaa.gov/

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Interns will work together in groups of two or three and engage in the following activities:

·         Develop and present demonstrations using spherical display systems (SOS)

·         Showcase NASA datasets and research to the public.

·         Interact with a wide age range of visitors to help them explore and learn from exhibits and lab activities.

·         Share accurate science and museum information with guests.

·         Be dependable and punctual, and be willing to commit to a schedule.


Knowledge/Skills:

·         Excellent written and oral communication skills.

·         Extremely organized, detail oriented, and a team player.

·         Excellent work ethic and ability to work independently.

·         Experience and proficiency in Microsoft Office.

·         Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and HTML a plus.


Education and Work Experience:

·         Must be a student at an Oregon university and should be working toward or have completed a Bachelor’s degree, with coursework or experience in the sciences, education, marketing, communications or related fields.

·         Experience working with the public and/or young children highly desirable.


Time Commitment:

Minimum of 10 hours per week for three months. 

To apply for this position, applicants should send a resume, cover letter, and OMSI's internship application (available at www.omsi.edu/internships) to Carol Cruzan at ccruzan@omsi.edu.  If you have questions about the position, please contact Carol at 503-797-4693.

This is a paid Internship ($15-$17/hour) in the Engineering Services Department.  Applications are due by 4:30pm on April 26, 2012.  

Click here for the application form. 

Description               
Tualatin Valley Water District believes that each employee makes a significant contribution to our success.  That contribution should not be limited by the assigned responsibilities.  Therefore, this job description is designed to outline primary duties, qualifications and job scope, but not limit the incumbent nor the organization to just the work identified.  It is our expectation that each employee will offer his/her services wherever and whenever necessary to ensure the success of our endeavors.
Position Duration:  Mid June to mid September
Hours per week:  Approximately 40 hours per week
Overall Purpose of the Job:  The overall purpose of the position is to perform basic Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping functions in support of the Engineering Department. Such functions may include:  

·       Assist with input and editing of GIS data.

·       Assist with spatial analysis.

·       Assist with map preparation.

·       Assist with Global Positioning System (GPS) data collection and input in to GIS.

·       Assist other GIS users (field and office staff) within the organization.

·       Other projects and duties as required.

Knowledge Required:

• Basic understanding of ESRI GIS software with some practical experience is required.
• Basic understanding of ESRI topology rules and topology editing is desirable.
• Basic understanding of GPS with some practical experience is desirable.
• Basic understanding of Computer Aided Design (CAD) is desirable.
• Good mathematical skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel – both data entry and reporting format skills.
• Ability to communicate clearly with TVWD staff and other entities both verbally and in writing.

Working Conditions:

• Prolonged periods of sitting or standing.
• Daily focus and reading of information on a computer screen.
• Must have regular and predictable attendance.
• Verbal communications on a daily basis both in person and on the telephone.
• Work may include field time in inclement weather.
• Ability to perform physical tasks that are moderately demanding.
• Respond and work, without advanced notice, in times of adverse weather, natural disaster, emergency, or other unusual events as determined by the District

The ASPRS Webinar Workshop Series

ATTENTION STUDENTS
Preparation for ASPRS Provisional Certification
                                                                                                                        offered in two 2-hour segments on April 16th and 17 th, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012 – 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern Time

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 – 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern Time          

The webinar is being given in the evening over two successive days. 
Price: $15.00

ASPRS students have asked for a “Preparation for ASPRS Provisional Certification” webinar designed to be a preparation course for those planning on taking any of the ASPRS Provisional Certification Exams.  It will cover the purpose and form of the exams, identifies key topical areas, and lists resources individuals should review to prepare for both the Professional and Technologist Certification exams. 

An applicant seeking Provisional Certification must be an active student preparing to graduate with educational training in the spatial sciences from an approved institution of higher education, and must follow the Basic Requirements as previously outlined for Certified Photogrammetrist, Mapping Scientist, or Technologist; the exception being the required on-job experience.
For complete information on the Preparation for ASPRS Provisional Certification Webinar Workshop, go to

http://www.asprs.org/Webinar-Series/List-of-Webinars-Offered.html
The Registration Deadline is April 13, 2012.

Click here for the online registration form.

Don’t wait; sign up today.
NOTE: ASPRS Webinars are intended for the sole use and benefit of those registered to take the Workshop.  That means that Each Person who attends a Webinar is required to register.  ASPRS Sustaining Member companies who have multiple employees who want to take the webinar at the same time should contact Kim Tilley at kimt@asprs.org for information on quantity discounts.  Attending a webinar without registering is an ethical violation.

This is a general email sent to all ASPRS members.  If you have registered for this webinar, please disregard the notice or send it on to someone who might be interested in attending the Webinar.

Jimmy Kagan will be giving a talk about natural resources data, visualizations and decision-making next Friday, April 13th, at 12-1pm, in Cramer Hall 413. 

Jimmy Kagan is the Director of the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center, where since 1985 he has overseen the development of the heritage databases, developed statewide and regional vegetation maps and classifications, and completed ecological and botanical inventories. He also directs the Institute for Natural Resources – Portland at Portland State University. 


Free refreshments and all are welcome!

POSITION: GIS/Healthcare Analytics Internship

SALARY: $13-15 Hourly

TIMEFRAME: mid May – mid August 2012

HOURS: 30-40 hours per week

DESCRIPTION: Kaiser Permanente’s Utility for Care Data Analysis team is seeking a highly motivated student to help develop spatial analysis and reporting capabilities that support clinical, utilization, and community benefit decisions at varying levels of geography. We are looking for dynamic individuals who are interested in working within a health care environment with an emphasis on analytics.

Department Function:

KP’s Utility for Care Data Analysis (UCDA) was created in 2005 to ensure that analysts and researchers throughout Kaiser Permanente (KP) are able to fully realize the analytical potential of KP HealthConnect™ (KPHC) and other KP enterprise-level information systems to further KP’s mission: improving the health of our members and the communities we serve. We accomplish this by:

·      Identifying and eliminating barriers that prevent analysts and researchers from effectively using data from KPHC and KP's other enterprise-level information systems

·      Supporting collaboration among analysts and researchers within and across KP Regions

·      Consolidating information and expertise to anticipate KP's future analytical requirements

·      Partnering with KP-IT to ensure that KP’s information systems will support those requirements

·      Conducting interregional reporting and analysis as requested by both Medical Group and Health Plan leadership

Projects and Responsibilities:

·      Community Health Needs Assessment – Generate reports to describe demographics,

·      socioeconomics, health needs, and health resources for communities that KP serves.

·      Proof of Concept Mapping Environment – Manage spatial data and configure web maps to communicate business-relevant content effectively.

·      Proof of Concept GIS Server Environment – Configure web services and develop spatial analytics to support GIS analysts across KP.

Basic Qualifications:

·      Currently pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in GIS, geography, urban and regional planning, social sciences or computer science; 3.0 GPA or above.

·      Practical experience and/or coursework in GIS applications for population-based reporting and analysis

·      High comfort level with technology and experience with technical aspects of spatial data management

·      Effective verbal and written communication skills.

·      Analytical and detail oriented.

Preferred Qualifications:

·      Advanced knowledge of ArcGIS applications, including ModelBuilder/Geoprocessing for data management and spatial analytics, ArcGIS Server, and ArcGIS Online

·      Experience configuring web maps

·      Demonstrated cartographic skills

·      Experience in analytical environments such as SAS, SPSS, or R.

·      Working knowledge of MS Office Suite and relational databases

·      Proven technical research, writing, and editing skills to generate project summaries, draft documents, conduct topic specific research


Contact: Katie Clift
Utility for Care Data Analysis
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Program Offices
500 NE Multnomah St, Portland, OR 97232
kathryn.m.clift@kp.org | 503-381-3630

Dear Geographer

Geography education in Oregon needs your help.

Dr. Gwenda Rice (Western Oregon University) and I are going to Washington, DC in April to meet with our Senators and Representatives to urge them to support a bill—called the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act—that would authorize $15 million annually for teacher-training and materials in geographic education.  Did you know that Geography is the ONLY federally-recognized core subject that has not received dedicated federal funding since No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002? Not one dime. Yet, every other core subject receives support.

It will help our cause immensely if the Members of Congress that we meet with have already heard from their constituents about the importance of geography education, and about the existence of the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act.

We urge you to join us in a chorus of support for action by Congress. You don’t have to go to DC to help.

You can go to SpeakUpForGeography.org and send pre-written letters directly to your Senators and Representative. It takes only a minute to show support for K-12 geography education in our schools. By the time we visit Capitol Hill on April 19 our Members of Congress will know that we are speaking for a large and accomplished group of teachers, curriculum coordinators, university professors, and others who are making a difference here in the state.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to help us put geography “back on the map” with federal support. We are proud to represent the Oregon Geographic Alliance to our state leaders and are hopeful that we can correct the troubling oversight that leaves Geography alone without federal funding.

Please feel free to forward this message to others as well, and to contact either of us for further information.

Best wishes,

Oregon Geographic Alliance Coordinators
Teresa Bulman (bulmant@pdx.edu)
Gwenda Rice (ricesare@comcast.net)

Deer Creek GIS provides onsite mapping equipment and personnel for emergency response and recovery across the American West.

Deer Creek GIS is accepting applications for Mobile GIS Trailer Managers and Qualified GISS specialists for the 2012 season. These are call-when-needed positions, with no guarantee of assignments or minimum term of employment. However, if we do have assignments, you may work up 112 hours per week.


Go here for the full job description and application details:  http://www.deercreekgis.com/employment/

The North American Cartographic Information Society announces its student competitions for 2012. Students of all levels are encouraged to consider entering their work in one of our three competitions.

1. Student Dynamic Mapping Competition
The North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) recognizes the importance of dynamic mapping in cartography. We are sponsoring the 14th Annual Student Dynamic Map Competition to promote cartographic excellence and innovation in this versatile medium.

There are two competition categories: narrative maps and interactive maps: 

• A narrative map presents information in a way that communicates a story, cause, or message.
• An interactive map provides tools that may be used for navigation, location-based services, or exploratory geovisualization. 

A first prize of $500 will be awarded to the best narrative map and the best interactive map. At the discretion of the judges, additional noteworthy maps may receive an honorable mention award. All first place and honorable mention maps will receive award certificates.

Any student enrolled in a certificate program, undergraduate, or graduate/post-graduate program in any country who has not previously won first prize in either of the categories from this contest may enter. Entries must be submitted by Friday 14 September 2012. Details of the competition and examples of past winners can be seen at:http://www.nacis.org/index.cfm?x=4.
  

2. NACIS Student Poster Competition
There is an opportunity for students working in print to participate, too, in the NACIS Student Poster Competition.

Posters are an effective way of sharing cartographic work in progress, showcasing community involvement, and demonstrating experiments with new technologies. Posters with a cartographic theme are wanted for this contest! All student posters submitted to the competition will be displayed at NACIS 2012. There is no entry fee. We appreciate advance registration so we can reserve display space for your poster. However, posters should be brought to the annual meeting by the student or another attendee or the student could arrange to ship the poster to the conference hotel (ATTN: NACIS POSTER SESSION) to arrive before Wednesday, October 17, 2012.

There will be one winner, who will be awarded $500. One runner-up will receive an honorable mention award.  NACIS meeting attendees will vote on entries and the winners will be announced at the conference. Other non-cash award honorable mentions may be given at the discretion of the Student Poster Competition Chair and the Poster Session Chair. All prize-winning and honorable mention posters will receive award certificates.

Any student enrolled in a certificate, undergraduate, or graduate program from a North American educational institution is encouraged to submit an entry. The poster must have been produced no earlier than the 2011-2012 academic year. Posters are to be no larger than 36" x 48". See http://www.nacis.org/index.cfm?x=18 for full details.

 

3. Peer-reviewed Student Paper Competition.
Finally, there is an opportunity for students to be recognized for their academic work that takes the form of a journal article.

Any peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication in CP (2012 issues) whose first author is a student is automatically eligible, with the student author of the winning paper being awarded $1,350. Student papers will be judged annually by members of the CP Editorial Board and the CP editor. There is still time to get your paper through the review process this year! CP is now open access, with fast publication of accepted papers. Reviews of submitted papers are returned to authors within 4-6 weeks of submission.

See http://www.cartographicperspectives.org/index.php/journal for information about how to submit a paper to CP.

Here is a beautiful map of wind.  check it out!
http://hint.fm/wind/