Mapbox Blog: Square’s New Map Looks Great on Receipts - Have you ever received a receipt with a map on it? Should all receipts have maps? Why or why not?
ProjectionWizard: Esri's Bojan Savric announced a new version of this tool; details in this thread.
United States Geological Survey (press release): USGS Maps Will Help You Explore the Great Outdoors - Updated maps include trail data submitted by the states.
Nat Geo UK: Kids can’t explore the world right now. Have them map it instead. - "Here are some ideas for creating maps that will get your kid on a new path of exploration."
UCLA Anderson Review: A Tool for Uncovering Voter Suppression - A group of economists recently added cell phone geospatial data to the voter suppression debate. UCLA and University of Chicago researchers found that in "the 2016 presidential election, the researchers found, voters in predominantly black neighborhoods were 74% likelier than those from white neighborhoods to spend more than a half hour at their polling place."
United States Geological Survey (press release): USGS Maps Will Help You Explore the Great Outdoors - Updated maps include trail data submitted by the states.
Nat Geo UK: Kids can’t explore the world right now. Have them map it instead. - "Here are some ideas for creating maps that will get your kid on a new path of exploration."
UCLA Anderson Review: A Tool for Uncovering Voter Suppression - A group of economists recently added cell phone geospatial data to the voter suppression debate. UCLA and University of Chicago researchers found that in "the 2016 presidential election, the researchers found, voters in predominantly black neighborhoods were 74% likelier than those from white neighborhoods to spend more than a half hour at their polling place."
eSpatially New York: Google Earth in the Classrooms - Sam Wear shares some tips on using Google Earth in K-12 education.
UK Geospatial Commission: The newly updated Geospatial Glossary has geo terms with definitions from the likes of W3C, Wikipedia and OGC.
UK Geospatial Commission: The newly updated Geospatial Glossary has geo terms with definitions from the likes of W3C, Wikipedia and OGC.
Medium: The Geography of Despair (or All These Rubber Bullets) - Aretina R. Hamilton, a Black Geographer, addresses racism in geography.
Meanwhile in our Industry
CNBC: How to tell your friends exactly where you are using a hidden feature in Google Maps on your phone - I think "alternative" addressing scheme are something all geography students should explore. (Directions Magazine first covered them in 2004; I wrote about them in 2013, months before What3Words launched.) This headline is a bit misleading since Google's Plus codes have been around for quite a while via an API; the news is that they are now "less hidden."
Meanwhile in Education
Roll Call: Colleges weigh how to confront COVID-19 as they plan to reopen - How four year institutions plan to offer courses for this fall. I found this map and data from the Daily Pennsylvanian and made a dashboard, which I'm updating as new data becomes available, roughly daily.
Programs and Courses
Anchorage Daily News: University of Alaska regents vote to cut or reduce over 40 programs, set merger aside for closer look - "The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted to cut or reduce more than 40 academic programs Friday, a day after voting to do an in-depth review of a possible merger of the University of Alaska Southeast with the University of Alaska Fairbanks." Geography degrees were motions #1 and #2 on the list (PDF). This Twitter thread from Brian Brettschneider, @Climatologist49 provides more context. Via @m0gould.
Dayton Daily News: WSU GIS certificate program help students boost earning potential - The one year 18 credit hour certificate from Wright State provides an "advantage in the job market.”
Thomas University: TU signs agreement for SRTC grads to enter Natural Resource and Conservation Management degree program - The articulation agreement "will allow SRTC’s Land, Forest, Wildlife Management (LFW) graduates to seamlessly transition to the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource and Conservation Management program at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia."
University of Wyoming News: UW Trustees Plan Teleconference Meeting Wednesday - Among the topics of yesterday's meeting was to be discussion of "a proposal for a new program in geospatial information science and technology, including two undergraduate certificates." I've not seen any further information; it's possible the discussion of plans for re-opening overshadowed this topic.
On and Off Campus
North Coast Journal (blog): Birth Announcement: It's an HSU Geography Magazine! - The first issue of Humboldt Geographic is now online via ISSUU. Twenty undergraduate students taught by professors Matthew Derrick and Nick Perdue put together the 80 page full color publication. A print version is expected in the fall.
People
University of Bristol: Professor Ronald John Johnston OBE, FAcSS, FBA (1941-2020) - "Ron Johnston, who has died aged 79 after a short illness, was one of the most influential geographers of his generation."
Southern Miss Now: USM STEM Majors Awarded NASA/Mississippi Space Grant Consortium Scholarship - There is just one geography major among the winners.
CNBC: How to tell your friends exactly where you are using a hidden feature in Google Maps on your phone - I think "alternative" addressing scheme are something all geography students should explore. (Directions Magazine first covered them in 2004; I wrote about them in 2013, months before What3Words launched.) This headline is a bit misleading since Google's Plus codes have been around for quite a while via an API; the news is that they are now "less hidden."
Meanwhile in Education
Roll Call: Colleges weigh how to confront COVID-19 as they plan to reopen - How four year institutions plan to offer courses for this fall. I found this map and data from the Daily Pennsylvanian and made a dashboard, which I'm updating as new data becomes available, roughly daily.
Programs and Courses
Anchorage Daily News: University of Alaska regents vote to cut or reduce over 40 programs, set merger aside for closer look - "The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted to cut or reduce more than 40 academic programs Friday, a day after voting to do an in-depth review of a possible merger of the University of Alaska Southeast with the University of Alaska Fairbanks." Geography degrees were motions #1 and #2 on the list (PDF). This Twitter thread from Brian Brettschneider, @Climatologist49 provides more context. Via @m0gould.
Dayton Daily News: WSU GIS certificate program help students boost earning potential - The one year 18 credit hour certificate from Wright State provides an "advantage in the job market.”
Thomas University: TU signs agreement for SRTC grads to enter Natural Resource and Conservation Management degree program - The articulation agreement "will allow SRTC’s Land, Forest, Wildlife Management (LFW) graduates to seamlessly transition to the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource and Conservation Management program at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia."
University of Wyoming News: UW Trustees Plan Teleconference Meeting Wednesday - Among the topics of yesterday's meeting was to be discussion of "a proposal for a new program in geospatial information science and technology, including two undergraduate certificates." I've not seen any further information; it's possible the discussion of plans for re-opening overshadowed this topic.
On and Off Campus
North Coast Journal (blog): Birth Announcement: It's an HSU Geography Magazine! - The first issue of Humboldt Geographic is now online via ISSUU. Twenty undergraduate students taught by professors Matthew Derrick and Nick Perdue put together the 80 page full color publication. A print version is expected in the fall.
People
University of Bristol: Professor Ronald John Johnston OBE, FAcSS, FBA (1941-2020) - "Ron Johnston, who has died aged 79 after a short illness, was one of the most influential geographers of his generation."
Southern Miss Now: USM STEM Majors Awarded NASA/Mississippi Space Grant Consortium Scholarship - There is just one geography major among the winners.
UNFPA (UN Population Fund): Why Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is important in curbing the spread of COVID-19 - an interview - "Umikaltuma Ibrahim Mohamed has worked on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for eight-and-a-half years in Somalia."
COVID-19 Research, Teaching and Mapping
SEDAC Global COVID-19 Viewer: "New layers and functionality added to the COVID-19 Map Viewer from NASA SEDAC help users better understand the magnitude of impacts to different sized population areas across space and over time. Easily view rates of COVID19 cases or mortality per 100k people; age pyramids and population numbers by population area; trend data on cases at the country, state (province), or county level where available, and more." Via Elisabeth Sydor on NEARC-L.
The Daily Collegian Online: Penn State researchers map how vulnerable PA populations are impacted by coronavirus - Researchers from Penn State’s Center for Economic and Community Development in the College of Agricultural Sciences have developed a new online interactive tool to help facilitate discussion on how to address Pennsylvania’s more vulnerable populations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
LA Sentinel: Charles R. Drew University’s COVID-19 Testing Site Offers Timely Community Services - "The GIS team led by Dr. Paul Robinson, discovered that as recently as March, COVID-19 cases were predominantly centered in the more affluent areas of Los Angeles County." I'd never heard of this minority-serving institution, which is recognized as a Historically Black Graduate Institution (HBGI) and is a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
UC Davis: 17 Researchers Win COVID-19 Seed Grants - At least one project includes spatial modeling: “Estimating the Local Spread of COVID-19 Around Long-Term Care Facilities in California Using Social Interaction Networks With Spatial Information.”
Penn State: Strengthening connections in a physically distanced world - "Jennifer Baka, assistant professor of geography and associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute ... sees the coronavirus pandemic as a means of reconnecting with students and colleagues." I've seen other reports of instructors new to distance learning who found new ways to engage and support students, including one who hated the idea of returning to the classroom without the anonymous "poll feature" in Zoom. Here's a low tech solution I've used.
UC Santa Cruz (press release) - Royal Geographical Society publishes special COVID-19 issue - Matt Sparke, co-organizer of Global and Community Health program, highlights scholarship on the pandemic.
University of Louisville: UofL researcher using internet searches to map the spread of COVID-19 - Dr. Thomas Higgins and colleagues at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Indiana University and Kentuckiana ENT found a correlation between searches for symptoms of the disease and new confirmed cases and deaths. The correlations spanned the scale of countries to a specific February Champions league soccer match in Italy.
GeoNet: Messaging for ArcGIS Online users leaving the university (students, faculty, staff) - The University of Michigan shared the text it uses to address those leaving the university's ArcGIS Online organization.
UC Santa Cruz (press release) - Royal Geographical Society publishes special COVID-19 issue - Matt Sparke, co-organizer of Global and Community Health program, highlights scholarship on the pandemic.
University of Louisville: UofL researcher using internet searches to map the spread of COVID-19 - Dr. Thomas Higgins and colleagues at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Indiana University and Kentuckiana ENT found a correlation between searches for symptoms of the disease and new confirmed cases and deaths. The correlations spanned the scale of countries to a specific February Champions league soccer match in Italy.
Esri
GeoNet: Fun with GIS 270: ArcGIS School Bundle 2020 - Charlie Fitzpatrick confirms existing bundle holders will have their licenses extended to 2025(!), details what new software will and can be added, and suggests exploring a single sign-on solution for students.
GeoNet: Keynote Address and ArcGIS Online Analysis Workshop for Geo Ed 2020 Conference - Joseph Kerski offers his keynote, an ArcGIS StoryMap Charting a GIS Education Course for 2030, along with materials from the workshop.
GeoNet: Returning to Campus Safely: Plan, Prepare, & Respond to COVID-19 with GIS - A community web meeting via Zoom will be held 6/23/2020 – 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST.
GeoNet: Fun with GIS 270: ArcGIS School Bundle 2020 - Charlie Fitzpatrick confirms existing bundle holders will have their licenses extended to 2025(!), details what new software will and can be added, and suggests exploring a single sign-on solution for students.
GeoNet: Keynote Address and ArcGIS Online Analysis Workshop for Geo Ed 2020 Conference - Joseph Kerski offers his keynote, an ArcGIS StoryMap Charting a GIS Education Course for 2030, along with materials from the workshop.
GeoNet: Returning to Campus Safely: Plan, Prepare, & Respond to COVID-19 with GIS - A community web meeting via Zoom will be held 6/23/2020 – 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST.
GeoNet: Messaging for ArcGIS Online users leaving the university (students, faculty, staff) - The University of Michigan shared the text it uses to address those leaving the university's ArcGIS Online organization.