Journal of Surveying Engineering

The National Geodetic Survey plans to implement a nationwide telecommunications network to allow on‐line access to an integrated geodetic data base currently under development. The network will use one of the commercially available X.25 packet‐switched telecommunications services, and the data base will use a back‐end data base machine. This paper provides an overview of the data base concept, the network concept, a user session scenario, and outlines long range plans for including interactive computer graphics and local area networking capabilities.

The information systems of the Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, are highly sophisticated and support many disciplines. One of I these disciplines deals with the management of volumes of land‐related data that is being collected. This overview will examine data collection systems, their products and users, as well as automated land and mineral records systems.

The telecommunications industry is undergoing tremendous change due to the court ordered breakup of the monopoly once enjoyed by American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T). This action has resulted in a plethora of new services and products in all of the communications fields, including traditional voice and data. The new products are making extensive use of computer technology. At the same time, costs of telecommunications services have risen dramatically over the past three years. This article reviews some of the major actions that the Geological Survey has taken in response to these changes.

The use by lawyers of specialized national computer databases in legal research, a task basic to the practice of law, is described. First, traditional legal research tools and methods are described; then the computer‐assisted research technique is explained. The two methods are then compared by example and a general critique of both is presented. The conclusion is that the two approaches complement each other and enhance the profession's ability to serve clients effectively.

In all aspects of precise timekeeeping the efficient and timely acquisition of an increasing amount of data is becoming of vital importance. To effectively handle these data, the U.S. Naval Observatory Time Service Division utilizes modern techniques of telecommunication. By processing the data through international computer networks, such as the General Electric MARK III, by offering a computerized Automatic Data Service, and by setting up remote automatic data acquisition systems, the Naval Observatory is not only ensuring the rapid exchange of data, but is freeing personnel for important analysis and research.

Communications applications for computers include information retrieval, electronic mail, and computer conferencing. Computer conferencing is the use of the computer as a tool to facilitate communication among groups of individuals. The utility of computer conferencing is not restricted to the sciences, but may extend to any group that needs to communicate over long distances, or where regular communication is needed on a day‐to‐day basis among individuals with conflicting schedules. The article describes the implementation and results of a successful computer conference for lawyers and others who are interested in the relationship between law and computers. The success of a computer conference depends on the presence of an active organizer, the adaptation of the conferencing software to meet the needs of the particular discipline, the contents of the initial discussions in the conference, and an active recruitment strategy.

BITNET is an inter‐university network that can facilitate the communication‐among researchers at colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada, and some sites in Europe. This network gives users the capability of sending messages, text mail files, computer programs, data, and documents to each other. It also provides a service machine, a user directory indexed by keyword, gateways to other networks, and access to KERMIT, a file transfer program. BITNET is easy to use and has many applications for the researcher with colleagues at other institutions.

Local area networks will have a profound effect on the manner in which business is conducted. They will enable businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions to provide a wide variety of services by establishing communication links between many users that are capable of transmitting voice and video, as well as digital data. Some of the basic technologies are examined along with their advantages and disadvantages. Broadband cable systems have considerably greater capabilities than other forms of networks. Fiber optic systems are promising for the future.

To make satisfactory use of their machines, computer users must be able to send and receive files of data to and from other computer systems. Standard rules currently exist governing the hardware aspect of computer communication, but there is no generally agreed upon set of rules for the file transfer software. KERMIT, designed and maintained by Columbia University, consists of a software protocol for file transfer together with a set of implementations for various computers. KERMIT is of particular interest in situations where a variety of computers of different sizes must communicate using the telephone lines.

Space related data is gathered in different places and by different services. Considerable duplication of effort to maintain the same data is obvious. The use of a distributed database management system to manage such data collections is proposed. Information and data collection have special characteristics which must be taken into account. They are expensive to update, but can easily be duplicated or transported from one place to another. Different users may produce or use the data and data may be an important asset for a user group. A distributed database may be adapted to such situations and most adequately suit managerial considerations. Users may maintain control over data of importance to them but nevertheless let other users gain access to it.