GIS in Asset and Utility Monitoring Management

GIS in Asset and Utility Monitoring Management CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE A detailed literature survey pertaining to the application of GIS in Asset and Utility Monitoring, Management is presented in this chapter. GIS combines location data with both quantitative and qualitative information about the location, letting you visualize, analyze, and report information through maps and charts. Using the technology, we can answer questions, conduct what-if scenarios, and visualize results. GIS is often first identified as a system to manage infrastructure assets and natural resources outside of buildings, but this is only part of the story. Buildings, campuses, military bases, and industrial plants, to name a few, also have geography and can be mapped. It is easier to analyze and manage facility and asset data stored in GIS, making design, construction, and maintenance more efficient and profitable.(ESRI 2010) Ajwaliya and Patel (2014) has done Design and Development of GIS Based Utility Management System covering 39 acre residential area of staff quarters, DOS housing colony, Vikramnagar, Space Applications Centre (SAC). They identified that GIS can be used in many ways to improve the planning, maintenance and management standards. Developed GIS model has been designed to manage utilities for vikramnagar residential colony. Strength of GIS is integrating data and preparing it for analysis or modeling apart from tying together data from various sources makes it an important tool for the planning and decision making. User can display legend of all layers displayed on the Map. P.Smith et. al. (2005) developed Electrical Distribution Model during his research on Electrical Distribution Modeling: An Integration of Engineering Analysis and Geographic Information Systems found that the integration of GIS and power system analysis efforts provides added functionality to the management of utility systems. As competition increases and as information technologies advance, a utility’s data becomes more and more valuable as a corporate resource. As a result, sharing information becomes very important to the efficiency of an organization. Though his research a small-scale integration, he highlights the ability of GIS to initiate full integration of electric utility information. The technique of integration and the role of GIS within the envelope of the entire information system can take many forms. Blachut et al. (1979) remarked that, The availability of detailed and up-to-date cartographic representations of underground utility lines (as water supply, sewage system, electrical grid, gas network, district heating network, telecommunications and wiring network, oil pipelines) is very useful for network facility management, both for private companies and for local administrations. References from Books: Blachut, T.J., Chrzanowski A. Saastamoinen J.H. 1979. Urban Surveying and Mapping: 221-234. Springer-Verlag, New York (USA). Metje et al. (2007) noted that To obtain a sufficiently accurate and complete representation of the underground, a dedicated and extended survey is required. Non-invasive surveying can be performed with traditional topographic methods or by GPS positioning, by measuring the positions of the surface elements of the networks, like manholes, catch basins, transformers, hydrants, exchange boxes, etc., and subsequently inferring the presence and the approximate planar location of the buried lines. Another possibility is the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) technique. References from Journals: Metje, N., Atkins, P.R., Brennan, M.J., Chapman, D.N., Lim, H.M., Machell, J., Muggleton, J.M., Pennock, S.R., Ratcliffe, J., Redfern, M.A., Rogers, C.D.F., Saul, A.J., Shan, Q., Swingler, S.G. Thomas, A.M. 2007. Mapping the Underworld. State of the Art Review. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 22(5-6): 568-586. N.cazzaniga et al. (2012) implemented a geographical DB for the storage of data of underground structures and infrastructures. The structure of the DB has been designed based on an approach oriented to the study of the whole process of designing and laying new elements of a utility line. The results were compliant with the requirements of Italian national regulations. This approach allows a good traceability of all collected and archived data, giving the possibility to reconstruct the complete processing chain from the preliminary design of the utility lines to their laying. The Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA) migrated some of its electric CAD operations into GIS and maintains a dual CAD and GIS system. FPUA serve more than 24,000 electric, 15,000 water, 12,000 wastewater, and 4,700 natural gas customers in Fort Pierce and portions of St. Lucie County, Florida. With the GIS in place, FPUA is working to bring the natural gas and fiber-optic telecommunication service databases into the GIS as well as to integrate them with the water service and wastewater collection GIS.(ESRI 2005) The city of Painesville, Ohio’s utility services include water, electric, storm water, and sewer services. The city has set up a system for government regulation compliance by using GIS. The windfall of meeting the government requirement is that Painesville’s GIS also supports asset management for electric operations, system maintenance and capital improvement planning.(ESRI 2005) Reliable digital data acquisition, robustness, and ease of use were the requirements stipulated by Swisscom AG when it set out to acquire new GNSS instruments to determine the positions of telecommunication infrastructure in the companys country wide fixed-line network. The first requirement was for the measuring sys- tem to provide reliable digital data acquisition to allow data transfer to be extensively automated. Furthermore, the system had to be robust, easy to transport, and able to be used by staff who had no detailed knowledge of surveying. The new satellite- supported surveying system Leica Viva GNSS fulfilled all these requirements – in addition to the GNSS and communications technology, the client was also impressed by the systems’ newly designed, easy to use software, Leica SmartWorx Viva.(Schnichels n.d.) In the past few years the State of Qatar, a peninsula on the Arabian Gulf, has experienced extensive infrastructure development. More than twenty years ago the results of a user needs assessment carried out by the government clearly indicated an enormous need for a fully integrated nationwide GIS. The government then established the Centre for GIS (CGIS) as a department of the Ministry of Municipality Urban Planning. It is based in the capital Doha and became the official mapping agency of the State of Qatar. Since the end of October 2009, many public and private survey and mapping communities have been benefiting from a nationwide Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network.(Saal 2009) Mary Howard (2014), County GIS Manager has quoted â€Å"we have found excellent return on investment for staffing time during collections as well as the importance of having a reliable end-product.† while collecting data in heavily wooded terrain using Trimble and Floodlight technology. for project consisting of installing a broadband 220 miles of buried fiber cable and 5 wireless relay towers. According to County GIS Manager Mary Howard, a fiber mapping crew used an underground-line-locating device to detect the buried fiber and mark its location. Then a GIS technician recorded the location using the handheld GeoXH unit running Esri ArcPad with Trimble GPSCorrectâ„ ¢ data collection software.(Mary Howard 2014) Jamil et al. (2012) has tried to evaluate main driver in utility mapping, utility agencies, land surveyors and the land surveying profession to meet the demand and challenges in executing the underground utility mapping in Malaysia. JUPEM has developed a national underground utility database called PADU to act as a repository of reliable and accurate underground utility data comprising power and telecommunication cables, gas, water and sewerage pipes provided by the utility agencies in a systematic GIS approach. The data submitted by the various utility agencies are subjected to various checks and verification processes before they are accepted into PADU. However, these checks reveal data of low quality, inaccurate and insufficient to be used as a reference for excavation works. Issues pertaining to data quality, lack of skill and knowledge and the requirement of legislation on underground utility mapping are some of the challenges faced with regards to underground utility mapping in Malaysia. Various initiatives are now being undertaken to overcome these challenges. 1

African American Literature Essay

African American literature has a strong deeply rooted background in the history of America, thus giving the writers categorized in this genre a strong message to convey in any story they chose to tell. From tragic life moments to happy life moments, the writers have the ability to tell their story in a variety of methods. This canon of literature serves as a diary for the African American community. All of the literary works that compile this genre reflect the many twists and turns a collective group of persons must endure while struggling to achieve a place in history. The following discussion of three historically significant African American stories reflects the struggles one race of persons had to endure on their journey throughout various time periods in America. The Short Stories In the short story, My White Folks Treated us Good by Mariah Hines the author describes in first person account of a situation when African American slaves were treated well in comparison to the stories of abuse, rape, and neglect most persons are accustom to reading from this era. The slaves never went hungry, always had clothes to wear, were able to work under their own accord, always treated with respect, and were told to take Sundays off while also being encouraged to attend church on Sundays. The slaves were in fact treated so well that when they were free to leave, they choose to remain at their former master’s farm and continued working for him. Hines concluded the Master continued to support his former slaves. Hines stated â€Å"Master helped us much as he could. Some of us he gave a cow or mule or anything he could spare to help us (p. 34). † Moving forward in time, the short story Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston describes a situation of domestic abuse in a long term relationship between a wife, Delia Jones, and her husband, Sykes Jones. Sykes enjoyed torturing Delia, he would find ways to make her job as a washwoman more difficult by kicking the clothes across the room or by scaring her with ways related to her fear of snakes. Sykes enjoyed fighting; he in fact enjoyed it so much so that he intentionally picked fights with Delia. This type of torture strained their marriage to the point of near silence on a daily basis. Sykes thought it to be a good idea to bring a rattlesnake into their home. The rattlesnake got lose in the home, Delia was able to get outside the home but Sykes remained in the home and was attacked in their bedroom. Sykes yelled to Delia for help and comfort, but she was unable to come to him related to fear. Delia finally walked to the door, but due to the nature of his injuries and the distance to the doctor she understood he would not make it through this attack, therefore she allowed him to pass in their backyard. â€Å"She could scarcely reach the chinaberry tree, where she waited in the growing heat while inside she knew the cold river was creeping up and up to extinguish that eye which much known by now that she knew (p. 108). † This story shows how those who choose to abuse others always pay for those actions in the end. Alice Walker wrote the story Nineteen Fifty-Five, about a young white singer, Traynor, who purchased a song from a young African American woman, Gracie Mae, and went on to become famous after recording and releasing his own version. His version of Gracie Mae’s song continued to eat away at Gracie Mae for the rest of her life. It did not have the same meaning, nor was it loved by his fans for the same reasons she hoped it would be. The fans loved Traynor, not the song. Traynor continued to keep in contact with Gracie Mae throughout his time in the army, touring, marriages, and divorces. Then towards after many years, contact stopped and Traynor was found dead after 15 wives and a troubled road in the end. Gracie Mae lived vicariously through Traynor and his portrayal of her song. Gracie Mae herself lived quite happily through the birth of many children, the divorce and/or death of three husbands, the showering of gifts from Traynor, and his ultimate death. Gracie Mae did have a connection to Traynor that flowed deeper than her song. â€Å"One night I dreamed Traynor has split up with his fifteenth wife p. 297). † Due to the stereotypes and prejudices of this time period Gracie Mae and Traynor were never able to express the emotional connection they felt between each other. Common Literary Conventions Literary conventions and themes were similar in the stories; connotations, culture, undertones, and main characters were alike. The three stories were written in first person and portrayed a personal struggle endured by each main character. The main character was always female, strong, and independent in different way. The stories span three different periods of time, yet still reflecting similar struggles in very different settings. These conventions are important when connecting the messages of these stories. Each has a story of struggle, some are internal while others are outward, and each woman must find inner strength to change or cope with their situations. Beginning with My White Folks Treated us Good, this story was historically important in relation to conveying the happiness that could be found in such a dire situation as slavery. Hines showed not all slavery conditions were adverse or abusive; there was still the possibility of enjoying life, and gaining independence by getting the break needed, such as the freeing of all slaves, to make one’s own life better. In Sweat, Hurstson was able write a story about a woman able to persevere in a dreadful situation of both mental and physical abuse. During this time in history, women were not able to be independent and outspoken due to a fear of judgment or increased abuse. Delia was given the chance to be free from the abuses of Sykes and took that chance by allowing him to die from his injuries, thus resulting in her freedom. Following in the same suit, Nineteen Fifty-Five expressed the internal struggle of a woman’s desire to be understood and independent. Gracie Mae wanted to sing her own song and live her own life, without connection to a version of her song that did not represent the original intent. Gracie Mae was happy with her life, but was never free from what the release of her song brought to her life. Conclusion Culturally, these stories are important to all American’s. The historical significance of these stories and the emphasis on equality places a connotation of acceptance and availability of equal opportunity to all persons regardless of color, social class, age, race, gender, or personal situation. African Americans are able to tell their personal stories of struggles and triumphs through literature. This literature is a valuable tool for all persons wanting to educate themselves about significant times in American history. References Young, A. (1996). African American Literature: A brief Introduction and Anthology. New York, New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.

The Effects Of Oil Spill In The Marine Ecosystem

These components affect living organisms in many ways. Some of the soluble components and emulsions are poisonous, particularly to small organisms that do not have protective coverings or shells- Fish larvae, single celled algae and many kinds of plankton are vulnerable and these are the basic foundation of the marine food chain. In shallow water these toxic substances may directly kill algae, coral and sea grasses.These components may also be passed in the food chain or directly ingested or absorbed through the gills of fish and other larger marine organisms. The effect may be to kill the animal or contaminate its tissues. A thick film of oil on the sea surface may reduce sunlight penetration and reduce photosynthesis. Small particles and emulsions may be ingested or block the feeding mechanisms of invertebrates such as oysters, starfish, sponges and corals. These particles also may have toxic components, so the effects can be physical, chemical or both. The most dramatic impact of oil spills is the coating of larger animals with oil. Animals that breathe at the surface like dolphins, sea turtles and manatees may inhale oil and toxic vapors. Sticky oil may also coat their bodies. Coating with oil is particularly devastating to birds. Even a thin coat of oil compromises the waterproof quality of feathers, causing the bird to become water logged and loose heat. Animals, like some sea turtles, that feed at or near the surface may ingest tar balls and particles that then physically blocks their intestines and may be toxic as well.At the shoreline, shallow waters and coastal estuaries and marshes, the impact of the layer of oil, floating and suspended emulsion and particles can be devastating, coating plants and benthic animals like corals, crabs and shell fish, preventing photosynthesis and breathing and blocking filter feeding mechanisms. These materials become mixed into shoreline sediments and remain in the system for years. ‘Dispersants’ are deter gent like substances that can be applied to an oil slick and accelerate the emulsification, break-up into particles and dispersion of the thick oil. This limits the spread and the distance that a slick moves.However it is important to recognize that the oil does not go away- its all still there, just in the form of smaller particles and emulsion that is less mobile. In addition, dispersants may also be toxic or have deleterious effects on the natural environment, particularly on small single celled organisms. System recovery.Despite these gloomy predictions, the effects of oil spills are not permanent and complete. Marine systems show remarkable resiliency and as the oil becomes sequestered in less active forms (tarballs, buried oil etc.) and is broken down by sunlight and bacterial action, the systems recover. Survivors reproduce and recolonize habitats. Some creatures adapt to tar and oil covered substrates and some crabs and mollusks actually eat the tar and the bacteria and fung i growing upon it, and aid its degredation. The oil in its several forms is dispersed, diluted and broken down until only small pockets and particles remain.Marine systems are by their very nature open- that is connected by the sea, wind and currents to distant uncontaminated regions. Many marine organisms have mobile life phases(floating eggs, larvae) that recolonize and re-establish populations. Some of the creatures affected by a spill also routinely suffer catastrophic mortality from other causes (e.g. some colonial nesting seabirds) and are well adapted to recover. Large mobile animals like sharks, sea turtles, large fish and whales that moved away from the spill move back. Although there may be significant mortality of some of these animals, overall the impact on their populations is usually not permanent.In the well studied cases in the Arabian gulf, Alaska (Exxon Valdez) and English Channel (Torrey Canyon), the appearance of the system returned close to normal within a few y ears. Although there was still oil and tar present in the sediments, and continuing effects among the organisms there was visible recovery of major parts of the system (seagrass beds, rocky intertidal habitats, coral reefs).With the passage of time, approximately a decade or so, and rebalancing of ecosystem and the creatures living in it, the system continues to function and returns to productivity, fisheries recover and many of the organisms are restored to their previous abundance. While such widespread intense disruption may causes changes in the balance of nature- which species are present and how numerous they are- nature itself survives. Although such catastrophic events are very damaging and economically expensive at a human scale, on an ecological time scale they are passing disruptions and on an evolutionary timescale, barely perceptible.Ecosystem effectsClean up efforts have included unprecedented amounts of chemical dispersants,  which are used to break up oil slicks. A lthough detailed effects of the chemical dispersants on wildlife and ecosystems are not well studied, the chemicals used are toxic to a variety of organisms, and they have never been previously used on this wide a scale. Because dispersants break oil up into tiny droplets, marine biologists fear that fish larvae, zooplankton and filter feeders (such as oysters), will be at risk from eating the large quantities of â€Å"non-visible† oil.Chemical dispersants are likely to impact deep-water animals downstream of the well. Oil will likely reduce the amount and health of all prey species, reducing the food available for marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles. Plankton is the foundation for nearly all life in the Gulf of Mexico (and the ocean), and they will most likely be affected. Contaminants from the spill and the dispersants are likely to concentrate in the upper food chain, affecting whales, dolphins, birds and sharks. FishesScientists have observed fish species moving into near-shore areas with less oil contamination, indicating that they may be fleeing significant habitat impacts in deeper waters. The Gulf is a breeding ground for bluefin tuna, and the oil spill coincides with egg production. Larvae of tuna and other fishes eat anything they see in the water, including oil droplets. Studies on a variety of fish larvae suggests that ingestion of both oil droplets and dispersants causes adverse effects, including mutations, physiological problems and increased mortality.BirdsSeabirds get covered with oil while diving into oily waters to fish. The birds may ingest oil when they eat prey that is covered in or has ingested oil. Once birds are covered with oil, they have difficulty flying, or are completely unable to fly, making feeding and getting away from predators impossible. Many species of birds, including the brown pelican (just taken off the endangered list) face threats from the oil spill on the coastal islands and wetlands of the Gulf that they use as rookeries. Birds’ eggs are getting covered in oil, and the birds are deserting their oiled habitat, leaving their eggs behind.Oil pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems in themarine  environment. Episodic pollution events, such as catastrophic oilspills; in particular, threaten water quality and habitat with a suddenness andseverity rarely matched by other pollutants. Catastrophic spills typicallyresult from transportation accidents such as collisions or groundings of oiltankers.Most oil pollution stems from non-catastrophic events, however, and occursmost frequently during cargo transfer operations. In fact, of the 3.5 Milliontons of oil that ends up in the ocean every year worldwide, only a small percent is a consequence of tanker spills. About 70 percent of oil Pollution isdue to chronic pollution from municipal and industrial wastes or run off,dumping of waste oil, release of oily bilge water, and from other-than-tanker transportation.Whatâ⠂¬â„¢s an oil spill?Oil spills happen when people make mistakes or are careless and cause anoil tanker to leak oil into the ocean. There are a few more ways an oil spillcan occur. Equipment breaking down may cause an oil spill. If theequipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land. Whenthey start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causingit to leak oil

The Between Positive And Positive Freedom On The Relations...

Freedom is a difficult doctrine to definite in politics (Berlin, 1969). Philosophy emphasized entirely determined by the public, particularly in sociology and economics (Swift, 2007). Liberty can clarify the distinction between negative and positive liberty, the following part of this essay covers two issues (Berlin, 1969). Meanwhile, the second purpose in this essay is to explore the implication of negative and positive freedom on the relationship between the individual and the states which will utilize different real instance in the world. Modern liberalism tends to advocate as positive freedom which prefers to sacrifice personal interest toward general will (Berlin, 1969). General will is meant that the public strives to one purpose†¦show more content†¦Something may bring harm impact on political activities, the generation of Hitler s Germany which takes over in positive freedom as autocracy (Loflin, 2014). On the hand, majority rule has been decided by minority participation during the democratic process like Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the administration which has decided from 1,200 people to represents 7 million citizens (Leg Co, 2014). Some critic claims that the minority may not in accordance with the real interest of human. Moreover, some people disputed that people may suffer from oppression in the positive liberty. Actually, if the state would not stand at a boundary of positive freedom obviously that may lose the object toward the common good and make the individual tends to be a subordinate role , no matter the state would be a dominant on this relationship. Second, the negative concept of freedom is most commonly assumed in liberal defenses of the constitutional liberties typical of liberal-democratic societies, for example, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, and prevention of paternalist or moralist state intervention (Swift, 2007). The government aims the citizens should achieve self-sufficient and self-realization, also would not rely on the state (Tansey, 1995). Negative freedom (Formal freedom) can describe two diversities term (Barry, 2000). Firstly, law has been the main restriction of human freedom (Barry, 2000). Undoubtedly, freedom advocates self-determinate as the