• Introducing ArcGIS Business Analyst 9.2 LAB KIT Paks
• BusinessDecision Academic: Simplified Access to Business Data
• New Video Tutorials Available for ArcGIS 9.2
• Stay Informed with ESRI Podcasts
• New Books from ESRI Press
• Featured Site: The National Historical Geographic Information System

Introducing ArcGIS Business Analyst 9.2 LAB KIT Paks

ArcGIS Business Analyst 9.2 LAB KIT Paks are now available with data for a single state of your choice. That's right—you can get ArcGIS Business Analyst with data for your state. These LAB KIT Paks provide up to 25 licenses of ArcGIS Business Analyst for use in a single computer lab for teaching purposes. Contact us for more information.

BusinessDecision Academic: Simplified Access to Business Data

While some students, faculty, and staff need to understand and use native GIS technology, many others just want to access the data quickly and easily. ESRI's partner CIVICTechnologies is meeting this need by expanding service to academic libraries with BusinessDecision Academic. Based on ESRI consumer household data, market segmentation data, population forecasts, and demographic data and using ESRI mapping technology, BusinessDecision Academic provides an intuitive interface so that anyone can create maps, reports, and spreadsheets without having to be trained in using GIS.

BusinessDecision Academic supports research and class projects including development of business, strategic, and marketing plans and demographic analysis for fields such as public health, urban planning, and public affairs. Using BusinessDecision Academic, researchers can evaluate potential sites for new stores, clinics, or service centers; analyze trade areas; evaluate market penetration; perform competitive analyses, and more.

For more information on BusinessDecision Academic, contact Marc Futterman or Julie Peterson at 888-606-7600.

New Video Tutorials Available for ArcGIS 9.2

ArcGIS Desktop now includes a series of video tutorials to help you learn to use the software more effectively. The video tutorials complement the tutorial booklets, which provide step-by-step instructions for a series of short exercises. Access the tutorials from the Getting Started section of ArcGIS Desktop Help. Currently, 17 video tutorials are available, covering both the basics of ArcMap and more specialized topics for ArcGIS extensions.

Stay Informed with ESRI Podcasts

ESRI podcasts are a complimentary and easy way to get the latest news and information from ESRI. Podcasts are audio files that you can download and either listen to on your computer or take with you on your MP3 player.

The Instructional Series currently offers more than 30 podcasts focused on topics such as tips to improve your workflow, tricks for optimizing your geodatabase, and updates on new software features. The Speaker Series currently offers more than 20 podcasts from ESRI staff featuring GIS technology insights from product and industry experts plus dozens more from ESRI business partners and users.

Subscribe to the ESRI podcast RSS feed or download individual podcasts.

New Books from ESRI Press

Understanding Place: GIS and Mapping Across the Curriculum
Each case study in this volume describes how an experienced instructor has used GIS in the service of his or her own teaching within the traditions of a classical undergraduate education. The first section of the book addresses overall teaching goals; it describes the role of maps and GIS in teaching important skills: thinking with visual evidence, thinking spatially, creating narratives, reasoning with quantities, and collaborating with communities. Chapters in the first section of this book delineate how these critical thinking skills can be conveyed and practiced through classwork and assignments using GIS.

Smart Land-Use Analysis: The LUCIS Model
Smart Land-Use Analysis presents the land-use conflict identification strategy (LUCIS), a proven method for using GIS technology to analyze land-use suitability, stakeholder preferences, and conflicts between competing land interests. This volume gives readers everything they need to understand and apply the LUCIS model to their own regions.

Concepts are illustrated by a real-world case study, with ArcGIS assignments provided at various points along the way to reinforce the concepts and provide hands-on experience with LUCIS techniques. The supplemental DVD includes the assignment and case study data and all the geoprocessing models required to implement LUCIS.

Mapping for Congress: Supporting Public Policy with GIS
This book illustrates how GIS is used to provide policy makers and citizens with information about public policy issues in the form of a map. The book profiles the work of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division's Congressional Cartography Program, detailing how Library of Congress GIS professionals are able to help members of Congress and congressional staff understand public policy issues in a geographic context. Also included are more than 30 maps highlighting national trends and providing insight into how these patterns might influence current and future public policy.

Featured Site: The National Historical Geographic Information System

The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides, at no cost, aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2000. There are two options for mapping NHGIS data: download boundary files for use in GIS software or create maps using Social Explorer, an online mapping application. The geographic boundary files include states and counties from 1790 to the present and census tracts from 1910 to the present.