GIS4102 - GIS PROGRAMMING: Participation Assignment #2 ~ GIS for Monitoring Animal Diseases

GIS has been shown to be of benefit in the field of veterinary science. In her 2001 paper, "Geographical Information System (GIS) as a Tool in Surveillance and Monitoring of Animal Diseases", published in Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, Madelaine Norstrøm overviewed the possibilities and potential uses of GIS with respect to animal diseases.

Along with a general description of GIS, Norstrøm noted that tables of information could be joined with geographical data utilizing a common identifier (ID). She mentioned that numbers are preferable for IDs to reduce the chance of misspellings with character variables. The easily understood format of a map can be used to report disease information (incidence, prevalence, mortality, and morbidity) at the farm, region or national level. Density maps can be used in movie format to show the spread of disease. Real time outbreak notification is possible as is updated information for farm personnel and reports for authorities and the media. This use would be especially beneficial during an emergency situation.

Western Fjord Cattle
Photo Credit:  Anna Rehnberg
http://sciencenordic.com/endangered-norwegian-livestock-hanging

Using GIS, the locations of the case farm and at-risk farms can be identified in the event of an infectious disease outbreak. Buffer zones can be created around these as well as other risk areas such as markets, roads, and slaughter houses. With this information, veterinary personnel can develop a plan of action. Norstrøm stressed the importance of performing a cluster analysis related to time and space to minimize misinterpretation of visual point patterns on maps. The integration of simulation models within a GIS utilizes risk factors for the spread of disease.

Norstrøm continued with an explanation of what data is available and where to obtain it. She mentioned that the goal is to have maps continuously displaying each disease's status. Norstrøm concluded with two specific examples of GIS use for specific swine and cattle diseases.

GIS4043: Participation Assignment #2, Week 3

The group project recently completed was designed to expose students to the ways in which GIS is used in different kinds of industries. The group to which I belonged focused on the use of GIS in government. In smaller groups, some members produced a list of available GIS jobs in various governments while others wrote a summary of the group's objectives which was then added to the UWF GIS Group #2 ~ Government's Map Gallery created by the group leader. To the Map Gallery each group member added a map which shows the location of the case study which that member chose to summarize.

The map I contributed to the government group's Map Gallery shows the location of the city of Alexandria, Virginia.  Alexandria is the site of the case study "Alexandria, Virginia Gets Serious about Park and Play Space Improvements" which I summarized for an individual assignment. The case study revolved around the goal of combating childhood obesity by determining where play spaces needed to be added or improved to ensure that every young child in Alexandria would have access to an adequate play area.

This group project enabled students to have the experience of working together toward a common goal by dividing a project into parts.