GEOG 415 – Special Topics

(Spatial Databases)

3 Credits

Spring 2009

Instructor: Dr. Arthur J. Lembo, Jr.

Office: Henson Hall 157H

Office Hours: M,W,F 8:00-10:00am; (also by appointment)

Phone: 410-677-0140

E-mail: ajlembo@salisbury.edu

Class Meetings: T – 3:15; Henson Hall 153

Class Blog: http://geog415.blogspot.com/

Text: Selected Internet readings on spatial databases (more to come):

PostGIS

PostGRES Help Manual

Course Description: This course will operate as a seminar based course that will focus on building affordable enterprise-wide spatial databases. With the economic downturn, many organizations find it difficult to afford and operate GIS technology. Additionally, many small villages and towns, saddled with unfunded mandates from the State and Federal Government, do not have the economic resources to build effective GIS technology. Therefore, for this course, students will implement an enterprise GIS using the open source PostGRES/GIS as the spatial data server, with ArcGIS, Manifold GIS, and Quantum GIS as the client applications. Students will focus on database design and management of user roles, and the development of end user applications. Currently, two municipalities have agreed to operate as a test-bed for our work: one in Maryland and one in New York State. Additionally, two vendors have agreed to allow us to test and provide feedback to their GIS products.

Students will document the process for creating and using the enterprise GIS, noting both the benefits and limitations of this approach.

The ultimate goal of this class is to create a paper submission to the 2009 Urban and Regional Information System Association Conference (URISA) in Anaheim, CA.

Grades: The course grade is distributed among the final report (50%), class participation and attendance (20%), and class presentations (30%). Because this is a seminar based course, the students will be expected to perform a significant amount of work outside of the class meeting times, performing tasks such as installing the spatial database, loading data, performing analysis tests, evaluating performance, in addition to creating the final report.

Letter Grade
A	90.00 – 100%
B	80.00 – 89.99%
C	70.00 – 79.99%
D	60.00 – 69.99%
F	0.00 – 59.99%

Attendance: Attending class is critical.  Students may not miss more than 1 class meeting without a written excuse. 

Classroom Environment: Students are expected to contribute to an environment appropriate for learning that considers and respects the needs and rights of others.  Any academic misconduct will be confronted and handled accordingly.  Please silence all electronic devices while in class.  Do not arrive late and do not leave early. The faculty instructor will be available to assist students as they work with spatial databases, however, the students themselves will be the experts in each spatial database.

Academic Integrity: Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course.  Students should pay special attention to the expectations discussed in the 2005-2006 Student Handbook and 2005-2007 University Catalog.  Violating these rules will result in significant grade penalties up to and including a failing grade for the course.  Extreme cases of academic misconduct can result in expulsion from the University.

Writing Across the Curriculum: All writing assignments, both formal and informal, are in support of Salisbury University’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program.

Important University Dates for Spring

Last day to drop/add –  February 1

Last day to withdraw from course to receive a “W” – April 4

Changes to Syllabus: This syllabus may be modified or changed by the instructor as necessary. Students will be notified of the changes in class.

Date	Topic	Assignment
Week 1	Introduction to class; Goals and expectations; Tour of course resources Team assignments (2 students per database)*	Assignment 1: Chapter 3 – PostGIS; Chapter 4 - PostGIS. ESRI E-GIS.
Week 2	Develop URISA Abstract/Outline Discussion of PostGIS reading assignment	Assignment 2: Read UNA, Ridgely data layers
Week 3	Discussion of Ridgely UNA and data.	Assignment 3: Enterprise GIS training video (PostGRES is installed on DUBLIN, BELGRADE, VILINIUS, COPENHAGEN)
Week 4	No meeting, just keep working through the videos.	Assignment 4: Enterprise GIS training video
Week 5	Discussion of enterprise GIS videos, and sample implementation.	Assignment 5: Refine database design for client application (layers, constraints, user permissions, etc.)
Week 6		Assignment 6: Load spatial and attribute data into PostGRES. Set up rules in database.
Week 7	No meeting, keep working through implementation.	Keep working on Assignment 6
Week 8	No class	No class
Week 9	Lembo at AAG – we’ll try a Skype conference call in the lab.	Assignment 7: Test connections with client software (Manifold, ArcGIS, Quantum)
Week 10	Define application development: one query, one editing	Assignment 8: Build applications
Week 11	Discussion and assistance by Lembo for applications	Keep working on Assignment 8
Week 12	Write sections of paper	Write sections of paper
Week 13	Write sections of paper	Write sections of paper
Week 14	Paper discussion	Complete paper for submission
Week 15	Final Powerpoint presentation; Paper discussion
* the instructor will assign 4 people to each team. One team will work on Ridgely, the other team will work on Manlius.