Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We at Latitude Resource hope that you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy holidays and Prosperous 2014! Enjoy the break and come back rested for all the challenges 2014 will bring!

Please note our offices will be closed between 20 December 2013 and 5 January 2014, but we will be checking emails periodically for any urgent queries.

All the best

The Latitude Resource team

A different approach to map illustration

Check out this article - City Maps That Orient You Better Than Google Can

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2013/12/02/circular_city_maps_archie_archambault_designs_minimalist_city_maps_printed.html

Here is a example map of Manhattan, New York by Archie Archambault:

Tracking icebergs via Remote Sensing

This is a great example of Remote Sensing at work where satellite imagery and aerial photography is used to track a massive iceberg that recently broke away from Antarctica - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24912233

Good reasons why you weren't hired

Read this article in Careers 24 with regards to the reasons why you might not have been hired - 

The 7 reasons the article highlights are:

1. Attitude
2. Qualifications
3. Questionable History
4. Improper Dress
5. Nervousness
6. Misaligned Objectives
7. More suitable candidates

Please read the article for more detail - http://www.careers24.com/article/7-Good-Reasons-You-Werent-Hired/

CSIR GIS Internship, Stellenbosch

CSIR Built Environment unit has a vacant position for an Internship: GIS Application in the Planning Support Systems competence area. The incumbent will be expected to contribute to research work in the fields of urban and regional planning and regional development with a specific focus on GIS-based spatial analysis and planning support.

Key responsibilities:

• Undertake on the job GIS Accessibility training.
• Maintain GIS databases.
• Undertake GIS mapping.
• Establish and update reference databases for projects outputs.
• Produce tables and writing basic reports.
• Conduct literature searches.
• Conduct desktop research.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree with specialisation in GIS and subjects related to geography, town and regional planning, development planning or related fields.
• Must be proficient in the use of GIS and database. Proficiency in ArcGIS will be advantageous.
• Good interpersonal and team skills.
• Ability to work independently, as well as in an interdisciplinary team.
• Must be self motivated.
• Problem-solving and solution-seeking orientation.
• Must have good communication, presentation and writing skills.
• An interest in spatial analysis and map-making will be a recommendation.
• Must have working knowledge of MS Office Package.

Closing date: 08 November 2013

Apply here - https://candidate.csir.co.za/psp/hr91prd_cgw/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?Page=HRS_CE_JOB_DTL&Action=A&JobOpeningId=303269&SiteId=1&PostingSeq=1

Where/How to find Geospatial/Geomatics Bursaries

If you are seeking Geospatial/Geomatics related bursaries, please see the brief description of where and how to find bursaries from industry professional bodies and government organisations:

"Plato as the Geomatics professional body co-ordinate all bursary applications on behalf of the institutes ie. IMSSA, SAGI and GISSA. IMSSA and SAGI contribute funds for bursaries towards undergraduate studies and GISSA (Geomatics Development Fund) towards bursaries for post graduate studies.

Various Government Departments and municipalities specially in the big metropolitan(s) takes interns and also make funds available for bursaries. 

Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) is one of the biggest supporters of bursaries towards the geomatics programmes. Bursaries only apply for studies at accredited universities and universities of technology.

Persons applying for bursaries can send their applications to PLATO, or the DRDLR, other government departments and large municipalities. Universities normally also have a list of institutions providing bursaries. Calls for bursaries are normally widely advertised.

Provincial Departments as well as the National Department of COGTA and Treasury has started to support GISc development and capacity building in rural Municipalities in recognition of the scarce skills and need to retain resources in the rural areas to assist with the IDP(s) and NDP(s) for infrastructure development announced by Government."

Here are the links to the mentioned organisations:

http://www.plato.org.za/

http://www.gissa.org.za/

http://www.sagi.co.za/

http://www.ims.org.za/

http://www.dla.gov.za/

http://www.ngi.gov.za/

http://www.cogta.gov.za/

Teach yourself GIS for FREE

Do you want to get involved in GIS, but can not afford to attend the very expensive degree, diploma or corporate software training programs? You can use the massive amount of free information on the internet to kick start your training for FREE.

I would definitely recommend any aspired GIS professionals to try and obtain a formal GIS qualification via the various degree, diploma, certificate programs in the long run, but you can learn quit a bit from the free online resources without spending large amounts of money.

I spent a hour or so searching the internet for free GIS related resources and came up with the following:

Introduction to GIS
http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/maps/gis/tutorials.html


ESRI Software This is the most widely used GIS software in SA and the world. The software is very expensive, but you can download a two month trial for free. It will be very good to have some exposure to this software though. They have free as well as paid for training courses.

• Training - http://training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=search.results&cannedsearch=2
• Software trail - http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgis-for-desktop/free-trial
• Support - http://support.esri.com/en/
• Forum - http://forums.arcgis.com/

QGIS Software
This is free & opensourse software, so you can download and use it for training or professional work.

• Software - http://www.qgis.co.za/en/site/
• Training - http://www.qgis.co.za/en/docs/index.html

Do an internet search for "opensource GIS software" and you will find many more options.

Learn GIS for free
Here are two links that could assist in finding free GIS courses:

• http://www.gislounge.com/learn-gis-for-free/
• http://freegiscenter.blogspot.com/2010/05/free-gis-tutorials-exercises.html

Data
Here you can find free data to use whilst training/learning or even for professional commercial work:

• Collect at your nearest NGI office - http://www.ngi.gov.za/
• Free online data - http://www.geocomm.com/

Apart from the few links I posted here, there is a large amount of free resources available on the internet and there is no reason why you should not be able to teach you quite a bit about the subject/software/data without having to pay for anything.

Good luck!

Department of Rural Development GIS Bursaries

The following two GIS related bursaries are advertised on the GISSA website.

1) The Geo-informatics Development Fund invites applications for research funding, attendance at recognised conferences in the fields of cartography and geographic information science and activities that support the advancement of the science of cartography and geographic information. 

Due date for applications:

a)    Research work: 30 September for the following academic year.

b)    Conference attendance: 30 April and 31 October of each year.

2) The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is currently offering bursaries to qualifying applicants who are South African citizens and wish to commence with tertiary studies during the 2014 academic year. Fields of study include BSc/BA in Geo-Informatics/ Geographic Information Science and Postgraduate studies (Honours/Masters in Geo-Informatics/Geographic Information Science)

Due date for applications: 30 September 2013.

Visit http://www.gissa.org.za/education/bursaries for more information on how to apply for the above mentioned bursaries.

Excellent illustration of geographical representation of data

40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World, recently publish on Twistedsifter - http://twistedsifter.com/2013/08/maps-that-will-help-you-make-sense-of-the-world/

Some of the map titles:

• Where Google Street View is Available
• Countries That Do Not Use the Metric System
• Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders
• McDonald’s Across the World
• Paid Maternal Leave Around the World
• Map of Time Zones in Antarctica
• The World’s Busiest Air Routes in 2012
• Etc.

Latest South African Journal of Geomatics

The latest South African Journal of Geomatics can be found online at http://www.sajg.org.za/index.php/sajg

This version contains the following papers:

Compulsory Acquisition and Urban Land Delivery in Customary Areas in Ghana, by Emmanuel Offei Akrofi, Jennifer Whittal

The Evaluation of High Resolution Imagery for Monitoring of Bracken Fern, by Kaveer Singh, Angus Forbes, Mulemwa Akombelwa

Comparing Three Spaceborne Optical Sensors by Fine Scale Pixel-based Urban Land Cover Classification Products, by André Breytenbach, Corné Eloff, Erika Pretorius

Municipal Boundary Demarcation in South Africa: Processes and Effects on Governance in Traditional Rural Areas, by Cleotilda Nxumalo, Jennifer Whittal

Good e-Governance and Cadastral Innovation: In Pursuit of a Definition of e-Cadastral Systems, by Simon Hull, Jennifer Whittal

A Technique for Optimal Selection of Segmentation Scale Parameters for Object-oriented Classification of Urban Scenes, by Guy Blanchard Ikokou, Julian Smit

Google Streetview Trekker Projects

Google recently started producing Streetview images for off-road tracks like hiking trails, ski slopes, mountain biking tracks, etc. If you want to get involved in helping to map for South Africa, check out the details as published by Google here - http://goo.gl/SJjB8

"Thanks for your interest in helping us capture panoramic images from all types of terrain and landscapes using our Street View Trekker! We’ve kicked off a limited pilot program enabling third parties to borrow our Trekker equipment and take it to amazing places around the world that they know and love.
If you represent an organization such as a tourism board, non-profit, government agency, university or research group that would like to take photos with the Trekker for future inclusion on Google Maps, please fill out this form. Tell us more about your proposed locations and upcoming trips, and we’ll get back to you if/when there’s an opportunity for us to partner with you on a Trekker collection. Thanks!"

A great example of what they have done to date is illustrated by the Google Map and Streetview screenshots of a ski resort in Colorado.

Why not get involved to capture Streetview for Table Mountain, Agrabies Falls, etc.

Tilting the GIS job hunting odds

I recently came across this article posted on GIS Lounge, a great USA based online GIS magazine - http://www.gislounge.com/tilting-the-gis-job-hunting-odds/. This short article provides the GIS job seeker with some great job seeking/interview advice.

Article intro: "A common complaint I hear is how difficult it can be to find a job in GIS.  The search for a job in GIS can be challenging so the following are things to consider to make sure you are prepared for a successful career in GIS."

• Bring the goods - Get a qualification, do a course, get work experience ..........
• Make sure your resume (CV) sells you - Short, relevant and to the point ..........Don't forget to spell check.
• Clean out your Internet skeletons - Make sure your online presence shows off the "right" you ..........
• Do a peer review - Get your CV reviewed and prepare for interviews ..........
• Be innovative in your search - Search internet job sites, company website, government magazines, newspapers, etc ..........
• Be Flexible - Be flexible in terms where and what your first GIS job is, just get your career going ..........

Latitude Resource at GeoRabble, Cape Town

Chlodwik from Latitude Resource presented at the first GeoRabble Cape Town event held last week Wednesday at Mowbray Golf Club.

His topic, Is GIS a profession or a tool?, delivered within the GeoRabble rules of no longer than 10 mins, highlighted the different uses of geo tools, technologies & skills across a variety of industry sectors and how industry specific knowledge is affecting our industry. He urged people to keep an inclusive and not exclusive mind set when it comes to how, who & where GIS skills & tools are utilised. Having an inclusive mind set and staying aware of what is happening outside your own geo realm, will help you to keep moving with industry & technological advances.

The other topics included:

• 3D Modelling by Chris Tanner - He provided the audience with an amazing bird’s eye view on the level of detail and accuracy that can be achieved in 3D models created by combining aerial photography and LiDAR data.
• Low-cost 3D mapping of an urban environment using Structure from Motion by Sebastien Wenger - He gave us a passionate insight into his GIS Hons degree research project of the exciting technology of "Structure from Motion".
• Moore's affect in GIS by Mike Steyn - He entertained the audience with a summarised view into the past, current and future development in GIS. This thought provoking presentation highlighted the rapid growth in technology in general and how the geo world is following this trend.

The event in general was a great success and we look forward to attending more of these in the future. Thanks GeoRabble!

GeoRabble, Cape Town - Wednesday 17 July

The exciting new geo community forum, http://georabble.org/about/, will be held for the first time in Cape Town on Wednesday evening at 18h00. 

The format of the event will consist of five geo inspired speakers presenting various topics for 10 mins each, followed by open discussions, networking, food and drinks. 

The agenda for the night:

18h00 - Welcome

18h05 - Introductions

18h10 - Talk 1 - Chris Tanner: 3D Modelling

18h20 - Talk 2 - Sebastien Wenger: Low-cost 3D mapping of an urban environment using Structure from Motion

18h30 - Talk 3 - Wilhelm Herbst: Optimizing asset management with mobile GPS

18h40 - Talk 4 - Mike Steyn: The Moore's affect in GIS

18h50 - Talk 5 - Chlodwik Rossouw: Is GIS a profession or a tool?

19h00 - Open floor discussions, drinks, food & networking

I am really looking forward to this exciting event!

GIS Technician - Knysna

I came across this vacancy at Knysna Municipality recently.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS OF THE POST:
 Spatial data management
 Quality assurance of cadastral and sectional title data
 Data maintenance
 Manage GIS Licenses i.e. Esri License Manager
 Provide telephonic 1st line support to all the GIS users
 Log and track all GIS queries
 Monitor and maintain GIS users
 Data analysis, manipulation and spatial reporting i.e. creating maps
 Support GIS within the organisation
 Train GIS users
 Generate and maintain GIS procedures and policies
 Generate weekly/monthly monitoring reports

Please see the link below for details and how to apply - http://www.knysna.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/GIS-Technicial-IT-Software-Analyst.pdf

GeoRabble Launch Venues Confirmed

The GeoRabble Gauteng & Cape Town event venues have been confirmed for University of Pretoria and Mowbray Golf Club respectively. Please see link for further details on what you can expect and how to register.

http://georabble.org/south-africa/

Georabble South Africa

Very exciting news, Georabble will launch in SA in July of this year. The first meetings will take in Gauteng on July the 10th and Cape Town on the 17th of July. 

What is Georabble?

"GeoRabble is about celebrating the every day challenges and triumphs of working with location. Everything from the mundane to the glamorous, whatever gets your GeoRocks off.

We are a group of geo-obsessed people who want to celebrate the real work done by other geo-obsessed people, unfiltered by professional bodies, government and private company agendas and industry politics.

Anything to do with GeoTech, GeoDev, GeoBusiness, GeoTrends, GeoFutures, – you name it, as long as you’re passionate and want to share your challenges, triumphs, frustrations and pride in the work that you do.

GeoRabble is here to connect, inspire and really have some fun with what is the coolest tech around – and if you don’t believe that, then GeoRabble is not for you.

GeoRabble Rules

The purpose of GeoRabble is to have fun, share and inspire. There are a few simple rules:

• Celebrate each others’ triumphs
• Respect each others’ choice – no technology bigotry
• No sales pitches – this includes services, software, data etc.
• No company logos or ‘about us’ slides
• Keep it short – 10 minutes per talk"

Go to http://georabble.org/ to find out more and keep an eye open for your local event!

Portuguese speaking GIS Consultant - Cape Town & Africa

Urgently looking for a Portuguese speaking GIS Consultant to fill a dual technical and sales role based in Cape Town, with extensive travelling in Africa required.

Specification:
A national Remote Sensing & GIS business is looking to employ a Geospatial Consultant to join their team based in Cape Town. The ideal candidate will have a broad range of experience in GIS & Remote Sensing software, technologies and processes.

Requirements

• Cartography, GIS or Geomatics related tertiary qualification is mandatory
• Business development, sales or account management experience is essential.
• Practical experience in the GIS and/or the Remote Sensing industry is essential.
• Exposure to Intergraph, Erdas, Geomedia technologies will be a major advantage.
• Experience in compiling proposals, quotes and tenders are highly desirable.
• Competencies
• Excellent verbal, written and client facing communication skills
• Sales and Customer relation orientated personality
• Energetic and driven team player
• Other
• Travelling to other parts of Africa will be required.
• Salary – Base salary plus commission.

Where in France do the South Africans come from?

I recently came across this map representing the areas in France where the French Huguenot Settlers lived before moving to South Africa in the 17th century. Since I am partly from French decent, I found it really interesting!

You will see the well known Afrikaner surnames like: Jacobs, du Preez, Delport, Mouton, du Toit, Nortje, Senekal, Viljoen, Naude, Nel, le Rouz, Marais, Viviers, Cronje, Fourie, Malherbe, Celliers, Pienaar, Retief, Rousseau (Rossouw), Bruwer, du Plesis, Bruwer, de la Bat, de Villiers, Gouws, Meyer, Lombard, Jordaan, du Rand, etc.

South African Journal of Geomatics, Vol 2, No 2 (2013)

The latest South African Journal of Geomatics is out - http://www.sajg.org.za/index.php/sajg/index

The articles are:

• Detection, Quantification and Monitoring of Prosopis in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa using Remote Sensing and GIS

• Differential Interferometry Techniques on L-Band Data Employed for the Monitoring of Surface Subsidence Due to Mining

• South African National Land-Cover Change Map

• Evaluating Terra MODIS Satellite Sensor Data Products for Maize Yield Estimation in South Africa

• Assessing the distribution of wetlands over wet and dry periods and land-use change on the Maputaland Coastal Plain, north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

• The Law Governing Acquisition and Use of Earth Observation Data in South Africa: A Need For Legal Harmonisation

• Groundwater Vulnerability Map for South Africa

• Maps, Libraries and the “GIS Librarian”: an Informal Review of International Cartographic Libraries

• New Ideas for Communities of Practice: Networks of Networks

Urgent: Graduate/Junior GIS Resources x3, Cape Town

We have three graduate/junior GIS data cleansing positions available for an international client based in the Cape Town CBD. Understanding what GIS is and experience in Microsoft Excel mandatory.

This will be a short term 1 month contract (maybe longer) to start immediately. If interested, please send your CV to cv@latitude-resource.co.za.

The King's Map - 222 Years Old

"A unique map of South Africa produced 222 years ago for King Louis XVI, and never before exhibited, will form the centre-piece of the exhibition, The King’s Map, Francois le Vaillant in Southern Africa: 1781 -1784. The exhibition, on show at the Iziko South African Museum until 26 May 2013, forms part of the prestigious ‘French Season’ - the multifaceted bilateral collaboration between France and South Africa."

Link - http://www.iziko.org.za/news/entry/the-kings-map

Real Time World Statistics

The www.worldometers.info website is a fascinating representation of real time world statistics.

About
"Worldometers is run by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format to a wide audience around the world. We have no political, governmental, or corporate affiliation."

Here follows a few screenshots captured from the site at about 14h10 South African Time (GMT + 2). Go to the site and see the counters increase!

Tracking Great Whites via Google Maps

Check how Google Maps is used to track Great White sharks around the globe - http://sharks-ocearch.verite.com/

Google Glass Preview Video

Check out this video regarding the new Google Glass - http://youtu.be/v1uyQZNg2vE

If you have any good ideas, why don't you share it with Google at #ifihadglass. Although this is only for US based people, why not give it a go anyway.

Imagine what this will do for the geospatial world and location based services. 

Spatial experts added to NZ Immigration's skills shortage list

I was just sent this article recently published in www.geospatialworld.net with regards to the shortage skills of geospatial professionals in New Zealand.

"New Zealand: An approach to immigration authorities to help ease a perceived shortage of New Zealand residents with digital geospatial knowledge has succeeded. The classification “other spatial scientist” has been added to Immigration New Zealand’s Long-Term Skills Shortage List (LTSSL).

This means an immigrant who has a “bachelor degree specialising in geography or computer science and a minimum of two years’ relevant post-qualification work experience in GIS applications” will find it easier to qualify for a work or residence visa..................................."

Here is the full article: http://www.geospatialworld.net/News/View.aspx?ID=26380_Article

GIS Occupation rates are growing

The following link was sent to me from the University of Southern California, USA who is advertising their on-line GIS Graduate Certificate and Masters in Science qualifications.

Check out the link - http://www.geocomm.com/special/usc20130108.html

What I did find very interesting in this article is the following growth stats that the US Bureau of Labour Statistics is projecting for GIS Occupations between 2010 and 2020. The percentages are anything between 7% and an astonishing 54%.

Although the South African GIS market can not be directly compared with the USA, we can still expect similar growth the technology driven GIS industry here since we are definitely following the trends of the USA and Europe.

Looking forward to 2013!

Latitude Resource would like to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2013!

Our offices was closed between the 14th of December and the 4th of January for the Christmas holidays, but we are now back and ready to take on 2013.

We currently have a list of vacancies that spilled over from 2012 and am looking forward to add various new permanent and contract opportunities to this list during the year. Please keep an eye on our website for any suitable opportunities - http://www.latitude-resource.co.za/vacancies

We are looking forward to launch our new website during this month which is not just updated in terms of style we we have added new functionality that will allow you to register and update your details via our new on-line recruitment software. We will notify you via this blog as well as email as soon as the new site has been launched.

Please note that we have also added another email account for all applications, so please use cv@latitude-resource.co.za when sending us updated CV's or any new jop applications.

Good luck with the job hunting!