Integrating GIS and spatial data analysis: problems and possibilities

Abstract

This article is an agreed summary of a workshop held in Sheffield between 18-20 March 1991. The focus here is on three of the themes of the workshop: the mutual benefits of closer links between geographical information systems (GIS) and the methods of spatial data analysis (SDA); the specific areas of SDA that should be linked with GIS; how the linkage should be made in practice. Directions for future research are also reviewed. The emphasis throughout is on statistical SDA and principally from the perspective of human rather than physical geography.     

The National Science Foundation National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

Abstract

The National Science Foundation will soon establish a National Center devoted to geographical research and education based on geographical information systems (GIS). The Center will be located at a university chosen on the basis of competitive proposals that will be evaluated primarily on the quality of their research agendas. The winning institution will be expected to involve government agencies and private firms in Center operations and programmes, and it will be expected to serve the national GIS community. The Center arose from a suggestion made by a member of the GIS research community. A large-scale database initiative and a Foundation commitment to Science and Technology Centers provided an institutional environment hospitable to the Center. There are similarities and differences in the approach taken toward GIS research, policy and applications in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the United States (US). Those similarities and differences offer promising topics for collaborative research on GIS itself and on GIS as an information technology affecting the discipline of geography. Cross-national UK-US research would be a productive step toward the globalization of GIS and GIS research.     

Editorial review

Abstract

This paper comprises the thoughts and perceptions of an interested outsider, an accountant and economist by training, who has recently chaired a Committee of Enquiry into the handling of geographical information. It focuses on the real barriers to getting more practical use from geographical information systems (GIS), most of which have research implications—but not of a technical nature. To an outsider GIS appears as a solution, or more strictly a tool, in search of a problem. Of course, there are numerous problems for GIS to tackle, but the difficulty is that those who have the problems are often either unaware of GIS and the questions they can deal with or, more seriously, are unaware that they have problems and of the questions they should be asking. GIS as a tool is about aiding managers to carry out their jobs more efficiently and effectively, and, more particularly, about better decision-making     

AIDS to Successful Photography

Abstract

The National Geographic Society's Geography Education Program continues to work on improving geography in the nation's schools. A successful network of geography education Alliances is in place across the United States. These state-based Alliances emphasize grass-roots involvement by teachers and other geography educators. Features of the Geography Education Program include inservice teacher training at Alliance-sponsored summer institutes, institutes held at the Society's headquarters in Washington, and specialized institutes devoted to a specific topic such as technology in education, or water issues. In the near future, the Society's projects include urban outreach, technology training and application, development of preservice programs, and the implementation and dissemination of world-class standards in geography.     

Editorial

Abstract

Project GeoSim is a multidisciplinary effort by members of Virginia Tech's Departments of Geography and Computer Science, College of Education, and Learning Resources Center to develop computer-aided education (CAE) software for introductory geography and related classes. GeoSim laboratory exercises draw on the five fundamental themes of geography for their subject matter. The programs emphasize interactive learning combining the information capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the techniques of computer simulation. The result is a series of geographic explorations that will make available some of the most exciting aspects of geography to a potential audience of 425,000 introductory geography students per year.     

Research related to geographical information systems at the Natural Environment Research Council's Unit for Thematic Information Systems

Abstract

The wide variety of research into aspects of geographical information systems (GIS) undertaken at the Natural Environment Research Council's Unit for Thematic Information Systems is described. This includes work on spatial data models, on the application of artificial intelligence to improve the quality of input of remotely-sensed data, on automation of map cataloguing, on improving display and on GIS modelling.     

The U.K. Regional Research Laboratory Initiative 1987–1991

Abstract

The Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom (U.K.) established the Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) Initiative in 1987 to improve facilities for data processing in the social sciences. The Trial Phase in 1987, which was modestly funded for 18 months, established four trial sites and a National Co-ordinator. The Main Phase of the Initiative, covering 8 laboratories at 10 locations, was launched in October 1988, following submission and selection of proposals. Although not originally planned as such, the initiative became a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) programme because the best proposals came from geographers and planners skilled in the processing of spatial data and because of interest stimulated by the influential Chorley Report. This article reviews the major aims of the Initiative and the progress reached after two years to September 1990. The initiative was highly effective in stimulating new research and development work that had regional, national and international dimensions. Nevertheless, with the exception of one RLL, funding has not been continued beyond 1991 and the initiative has been replaced by a network of University Departments working to continue the academic work with GIS in the U.K. for the next three years.     

A Pedagogic Framework to Link GIS to the Intellectual Core of Geography

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a new pedagogic framework for teaching GIS at the college and university level using Berry's geographic matrix. By synthesizing different schools of thought, this paper argues that GIS education essentially involves two aspects—how to teach about GIS and how to teach with GIS. Berry's geographic matrix can be used to tie these dual aspects of GIS education together neatly. As an abstract representation of geographical phenomena, the geographic matrix embeds all three entities of GIS—location, attribute, time—and thus can help GIS instructors teach about GIS. As a synthesis of geographical approaches, the geographic matrix can assist GIS instructors teach with GIS. This paper demonstrates that GIS is actually an implementation of Berry's geographic matrix. Furthermore, the 10 approaches to geographical analysis, originally proposed by Berry for the geographic matrix, can be executed routinely in a GIS environment. By incorporating Berry's geographic matrix into GIS education, teachers can enable students to surpass technical issues and to appreciate the conceptual and functional linkages between GIS and geography's intellectual core.     

The Trade and Industries of Western South America

Abstract

This research was based on an instructional module developed and used to investigate whether GIS can be used to enhance fourth grade students' geographic knowledge and map skills. Another goal was to identify challenges the teachers and the students face using GIS.

Findings from the study suggest that using GIS in the classroom helps students improve their geographic knowledge and maps skills. In addition, this study found that the students' geographic content knowledge tended to improve gradually and the knowledge transferred to the subsequent lessons, while certain map skills tended to develop in a more specific manner.     

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY IN JAPAN∗

A regret frequently expressed at International Geographical Congresses concerns the lack of summary information about the nature of geographic research in the host country. During a discussion of this point with members of the Association of Japanese Geographers, the idea of publishing a series of reports on various aspects of Japanese research surfaced. The concept was later enthusiastically supported by the United States National Committee for the International Geographical Union. This first report, “Historical Geography in Japan,” has been modified for the benefit of the English-speaking readers of THE PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER. Although the reports will be of particular interest to those planning to attend the 1980 IGC in Tokyo, they should prove of general interest as well.—H. Jesse Walker, Member, U.S. National Committee, IGU.     

The research agenda of the European Science Foundation's GISDATA scientific programme

Abstract

In January 1993 the European Science Foundation launched a four-year scientific programme on geographical information systems. The programme aims at overcoming the existing fragmentation of GIS research in Europe and addresses three key areas: European-wide data base design, data integration, and social and environmental applications. In each of these areas a number of priorities have been identified which provide the focus of the initiatives and collaborative ventures envisaged by the programme. This article describes the programme's research agenda and sets it in the context of the activities of the European Science Foundation.     

A GIS-based approach to multiple criteria group decision-making

Abstract

The multiple criteria group decision-making problem involves a set of feasible alternatives that are evaluated on the basis of multiple, conflicting and noncommensurate criteria by a group of individuals. This paper is concerned with developing a GIS-based approach to group decision-making under multiple criteria. The approach integrates, within a raster GIS environment, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Borda's choice rule. TOPSIS orders the feasible alternatives according to their closeness to the ideal solution. It is used to derive the individual preference orderings. Borda's method combines the individual preferences into a group preference or consensus/compromise ranking. The approach is implemented within the IDRISI GIS and illustrated on a hypothetical decision situation.     

Monitoring grasshopper and locust habitats in Sahelian Africa using GIS and remote sensing technology†

Abstract

Development programmes in Sahelian Africa are beginning to use geographic information system (GIS) technology. One of the GIS and remote sensing programmes introduced to the region in the late 1980s was the use of seasonal vegetation maps made from satellite data to support grasshopper and locust control. Following serious outbreaks of these pests in 1987, the programme addressed a critical need, by national and international crop protection organizations, to monitor site-specific dynamic vegetation conditions associated with grasshopper and locust breeding. The primary products used in assessing vegetation conditions were vegetation index (greenness) image maps derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite imagery. Vegetation index data were integrated in a GIS with digital cartographic data of individual Sahelian countries. These near-real-time image maps were used regularly in 10 countries for locating potential grasshopper and locust habitats. The programme to monitor vegetation conditions is currently being institutionalized in the Sahel.     

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: A Bibliometric Analysis of Environmental and Resource Sociology

Abstract

Environmental sociology and the sociology of natural resources have become two established research areas in the United States with distinct institutional origins, research themes, and theoretical roots, as well as associated professional networks, journals, and conferences. Existing discussions of the relationships between the two subdisciplines are largely based on personal reflections and exploratory analyses. However, there is still not a clear understanding of the overall picture of interdisciplinary sociological research on human–nature interactions. In this study we conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 8027 articles published in 30 selected academic journals during 1985–2017. Findings of this research provide a more complete view of the intellectual landscape of environmental and resource sociology. Overall, the study produces an empirically-based characterization of environmental sociology and the sociology of natural resources in terms of coauthorship and citation networks, and highlights the need for more sustained synthesis across different knowledge domains.     

We Are All Makers: The Method of Keyword Selection in Teaching and Learning Human Geography

Abstract

Geographers continue to engage in public debate “inside the Beltway” by participation within and through federal agencies and through the National Research Council. Several examples illustrate the level and kind of this engagement, which has been concentrated on environmental and spatial data and analysis themes. Most professional geographers have the opportunity to engage in this form of public debate through participation in the activities of the National Research Council. The level of this participation has been surprisingly strong, given the small size of the community of professional geographers, and has helped to shape both U.S. and international research agendas relevant to geographic research. Participation, however, is concentrated in a few programs and individuals, raising questions about the sustainability of geography's voice in this public activity.

     

Improvement of GIS graphics for analysis and decision-making

Abstract

Current geographical information systems (GIS) include functions to create cartographic output interactively or automatically. However, none of the systems presently incorporates mechanisms to ensure correct application of graphic functions. Many of today's users of GIS are not trained in the design and production of graphics and may create maps that confuse or mislead map users. Poorly-designed maps may obliterate the patterns in displayed information.

This article investigates ways to improve the quality of GIS graphical displays and increase their effectiveness for decision-making. Alternatives are presented for improving map design in GIS, ranging from non-technical efforts to enhancement of software functionality. Suggestions propose augmenting users' abilities to create maps in an automated environment, using an approach termed amplified intelligence: key decisions default explicitly to users, whose knowledge is amplified by a range of high-level tools to carry out map design operations automatically.     

30 years of IJGIS: the changing landscape of geographical information science and the road ahead

The International Journal of Geographic Information Science (IJGIS), established in 1987, is the first academic journal devoted solely to Geographical Information Science (GIS) research. This editorial highlights milestones of the journal development and its influences on the field. IJGIS research articles and special issues have been effective in publishing the state of the art and emerging research accomplishments. In light of the changing landscape of GIS, IJGIS welcome papers on meta-analysis studies, literature reviews, and research foresight. This editorial outlines the underlying thinking and expectations for these papers in future volumes. IJGIS aspires to publish research of high novelty and broad interest that pushes the boundary of fundamental and applied GIS. As an independent, multidisciplinary journal driven by the community of authors, reviewers, and readers, community support is key to realizing the aspiration of a major influence on GIS research.     

Prelude to Brazil: Leo Waibel's American Career as a Displaced Scholar

Beyond Germany, Leo Waibel (1888–1951) built a distinguished reputation for his work in Africa and the Americas. Today he is remembered especially in Brazil, where he boosted the development of geography as a research discipline in the years 1946–1950. During his tenure of the chair in geography at Bonn (1929–1937), Waibel's main research preoccupation became the role of the tropics in the world economy. In early 1937, he sought research leave to make an extended field trip to Brazil. Stripped on political grounds in the same year of his chair, Waibel came to the United States, where he became the only geographer to receive help from the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars. He would eventually serve as one of the very limited core staff on President Franklin Roosevelt's “M” Project on migration and settlement. This paper reconstructs the context of his work in the United States, clarifying especially the nature of his collaborations with Isaiah Bowman, widely regarded at the time as the leading geographer within the United States. Waibel's correspondence from the United States, and later from Brazil, reveals an international career marked by contradictions.