Paste The purpose of this research paper is to research current findings in Applied Technology field and discuss Geographic Information Systems and how it will be applied to my daily life both professionally and personally. My technical degree is Geographic Information Systems received from Hinds Community College. Geographic Information Systems is defined as a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data. GIS technicians work under the supervision of many different fields of workers; for example: engineers, managers, cartographers, and surveyors. They work to store, organize, retrieve, and analyze data for planning and decision-making. The GIS field is beginning to grow more with the rapid development of the new GIS technology. Geographic Information Systems allow us to visualize, analyze, and interpret data in order to understand relationships, patterns, and trends geographically.
GIS displays different types of information that can be compared, and it continues to improve the decision-making process for many companies. The process of data can include demographic information of a population within a certain region to topographical information, such as water sources, soil, climate, and vegetation. GIS is a fairly new field with applications that can be used for a very wide variety of different industries. With the nationwide push for jobs that improve the environment, demand for geographers is expected to increase over the next coming years. The future of GIS is looking brighter and brighter for us.
The first component of the Applied Technology is the business component. I found an article on www.geospatialworld.net, ‘GIS in Business Processes,’ Geographic Information Systems is becoming a part of mainstream business operations around the world in many different organizations in both the private and public sectors. They continue to bring GIS into their daily operations. The paper shows a point of view regarding the place and the importance of GIS in Business Processes, with different easy to understand examples and covering some of the most important trends in the point of view of extending some business intelligence with GIS. Many organizations are starting to look into the use of Geographic Information Systems in the decision making processes by generating maps that use information from the databases. The GIS world is confronted with three major problems which include: what is the best way to use GIS techniques today to reach the best future practices, where will new ideas come from, and what is the best way to understand the new GIS possibilities because of the new technology development in the world today.
This was an interesting article to me because it showed some of the ways the business world is connected to the GIS world. GIS is continually growing in this face paced world that we live in. Business skills will enhance the GIS because business is constantly growing and changing. Many times when a business is beginning in the engineering process, you can use GIS in the population rate, mapping, street view, knowing where the best location for a business to start is, and many more aspects of a business.
The next component of the Applied Technology program is Computer Component. GIS is a system of computer software, hardware and data and the personnel that make it possible to enter manipulate, analyze, and present information that is tied to a location on the earth’s surfaces. The computer component of this degree is extremely important. The courses that are taken for this portion of the Applied Technology are important to carry on into your professional and personal life. The courses focus on Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. That is something that everyone should know how to use. There is so much that can be done on these software programs. Everything can be done on computers now. My daughter is in the first grade and takes tests on computers. The technology world is drastically changing and growing. GIS also has to have computers to be able to function properly. Computers are essential in the GIS field because you must have the computers to work through the GIS process. I am sure that many years ago, they used pen and paper to do this kind of thing, but in this day and time, a computer is essential for quicker and more efficient use.
The article that I found ‘A knowledge-based component library for high-level computer vision tasks,’ Computer vision is a field that shows methods for getting, researching, and understanding visual information. In computer vision, ways to solve problems are application method. Knowledge modeling is used in hopes of being able to receive and use knowledge to solve different kinds of problems. This paper showed video surveillance being used as an example of knowledge modeling. They use the developed components as the region of interest. The region of interest is a frequently used concept in the image processing and computer vision fields.
This article was interesting. It applies to both of my degrees by showing the importance of computers and also pointing out some of the different things that computers can do. Computer vision is really cool and it is so neat that you can do things like that from a computer.
In today’s time, computers are also something that one should be careful with. Hackers are everywhere and are finding new ways every day to break into something and steal it. That is why computer vision and surveillance are also important in the computer world. Technology changes and grows so fast that sometimes it is hard to stay caught up. Surveillance is something that is both essential and important in the world. Technology is amazing at the things that one can do and you can learn new things almost daily. It will not be long until computers over take the world. Everything will be done on a computer.
As a professional, I can use the computer component to help me, because I am actually an IT guy. I fix the computers and software issues at my job. The computer world is fast changing and constantly having problems that I must fix. I have also learned as an IT guy how important security really is. If one has social media accounts, just notice how many get hacked on a daily basis. Protect your information. This day and time you can never be too safe!
I believe computer skill will enhance the world of GIS because computer skills are essential in the GIS field. GIS is computer software and it is constantly adding new data that one must keep up with. Computers enhance the world of GIS because everything is done on a computer for GIS and that makes the information more accurate and it takes a lot less time. Just think if you had to map on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil. It would take forever. Now they make software that you can go back and double check your work with the press of a button. That makes life so much simpler! I seriously cannot imagine life before computers, I do not think I could make it.
The next component is Industrial Engineering Technology. The article that I found, ‘Benefits of educational games as an introductory activity in industrial engineering education’ written by Lynceo Falavigna Braghirolli. The article is about a study that was done to show the use of educational games as a beginning activity in the first year of undergraduate degree programs in industrial engineering. It shows the use of games to present difficult situations without discouraging the players and it allows the new students to look into important elements of the professional field. The game is used for student learning and motivation. It was evaluated by using a questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire showed the activity motivated students to participate and to better understand the course content. The study also shows that educational games are accepted by the first-year students. The study showed the opportunity to present different ways to work problems in a unified manner, the possibility of offering different examples shared by both the students and the professors, and ways for students to interact and still learn while having fun.
This article was interesting to me to know that some of the teachers in this field used games to teach the information. For me, this was probably the hardest component for my Applied Technology degree. The information was a lot to take in and sometimes extremely difficult to understand. There is so much that goes into the IET portion of this degree. It was so many formulas and things that needed to be learned. I liked to read that this study showed that first year students enjoyed this way of learning. Depending on the type of learner that a person is, many people learn better while having fun. Even adults, when things are fun, it makes it easy and fun to learn and not even realize you are learning while doing things. It makes it easy to learn a new task.
This article is relevant to me as a professional because it opens my eyes that sometimes things that seem hard can be easy when you just look at it from another angle. Have fun with what you are doing. I know as a professional, you cannot always make up a game to learn something, but there are other ways to have fun while figuring out a hard task. This goes for both professional and personal. As a father, I can use this to know that when my children do not understand something, I can make it fun and it will be easier for them to understand. I enjoy their reactions when they realize they can do something new!
The final component is Human Capital Development. The article, ‘Human Capital Development and Its Impact on Firm Performance: Evidence from Developmental Economics.’ Human capital is getting much more attention with the growing globalization and also the increase of the job markets. This is believed to be due from the downturn in the economy. Human capital development is extremely important in the world. Firms must have necessary resources in developing human capital that will help in making workers performance better. This paper examines the extent to which human capitals have direct impacts on firm performance from various critical perspectives. Firm performance is viewed in terms of financial and non-financial performance. The paper shows a model that goes over and explains the relationship between human capital and firm performance.
According to Investopedia.com, ‘Human capital is defined as a measure of the economic value of an employee's skill set. This measure builds on the basic production input of labor measure where all labor is thought to be equal.’ Human capital is a very important part of our degree plan. The Human Capital development classes taught a lot about the skills, knowledge, and other thing that can help us in making us successful employees and have a better knowledge and understanding of what we are expected in our job. I did not realize the importance of human capital. It uses what you know and applies it to the money that you make. The job can be done by anyone but it looks better to have a degree and experience of some of these courses to get the job done right. Many times employers look at education before they worry about the experience.
This article shows relevance to my degree because it shows how the economy affects human capital. The article shows that human capital is important because people want to make the money they deserve. Many times the economy today makes it hard to live. Everything cost so much these days and prices are constantly going up. You can hardly grocery shop for a family without spending at least $150. It is sad that everything is so pricy. Human capital and the money that people make also affect their job performance. If they are working towards something, they are more likely to get the job done faster and more efficiently. Human capital is extremely important in everyone’s life because you have to make money to have a living.
In conclusion, GIS and Applied Technology will enhance the GIS world in many ways. These degrees go hand in hand. I learned so much during my degree that I can take on to my professional and personal life and use it every day. The four components of the Applied Technology degree consisted of: Business, Computer, Industrial Engineering Technology, and Human Capital Development. All of these components can be used every day of a professional career. I enjoyed this degree and look forward to using it every day and bettering myself as a professional