Hi Group,
I'm a new user to the Open Source GIS community and I am writing now to see
if I will be able to complete my research tasks using the Open Source
software.  I am writing my dissertation on modelling the health outcomes of
a disaster event.

For my event, I have a outcome incidence count that is a list of addresses
for each case.  I need to geocode to create a point layer.  I also a
population denominator that is a polygon file that I need to manipulate to
account for population dynamics. From these, I will calculate the rate of
the outcome for the polygons, and this rate will be my dependant variable.

For my independent variables I have one set of layers that are in raster
format, and another set that are polygons. I need to aggregate these data
sources to the above describe polygon layer for my dependent variable and
then find an appropriate spatial regression method.

My Arcview demonstration license expired last week, so I gotta figure out if
I can to do these steps with the open source software during the short time
that I have available (a few weeks.) I have some experience with R and QGIS,
and have found the basic tasks to be fairly straightforward.  I have GRASS
installed, but haven't figured out how to get started with it.
Will I be able to complete the tasks described above using the the Open
Source GIS without a bunch of time consuming complications?  Or, should I
fork over some cash to extend my Arcview license?
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Ezra Boyd
PhD Candidate
LSU Dept. of Geography and Anthropology

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