Geographic information science and
systems
Kuratko, P.A., Goodchild, M. F., Maguire, D. J. & Rhind, W. D. (2015) 4th edition
,Chapter 1: Geographic information science, systems, and
society
1.1 Introduction: what are GI science and systems, and why do they
matter?
Human activity is centered around the earth’s surface and keeping track of all this activity is
important, and knowing where it occurs can be the most convenient basis for tracking.
Geography shapes the range of options that we have to address things that happen, and once
they are made, decisions have geographic consequences. The focus of this book is on
geographic information, that is, information that records where as well as what and perhaps also
when. GI science can be defined as the general knowledge and important discoveries that have
made GI systems possible. GI science is also concerned with solving applied problems in a
world where business practices, or the realpolitik of government decision making, are important
considerations.
1.1.1 The importance of location
Virtually all aspects of human life involve location. If location and GI are important to the solution
of so many problems, what distinguishes those problems from each other? There are three
bases for classifying problems:
1. Scale or level of geographic detail is an essential property of any project
2. Intent or purpose of solving a problem
- Normative use (practical) ad positive uses (science)
- With a single collection of tools, GI systems are able to bridge the gap between
curiosity-driven science and practical problem solving
- Geodesign: design decisions at geographical scales, supported by GI systems
3. Time scale
- GI databases are often transactional, meaning they are constantly being updated
as new information arrives
1.1.2 Spatial is special
The adjective geographic refers to the Earth’s surface and near surfaces. Spatial refers to any
space, not only the space of the Earth’s surface. GI systems can be applied to all spatial data.
Another term used is geospatial - implying a subset of spatial applied specifically to the Earth’s
surface. Although there are subtle distinctions between the terms, for many practical purposes
they can be used interchangeably.
1.2 Data, information, evidence, knowledge and wisdom
Information systems help is to maange what we know, by making it easy to organize and store,
,access and retrieve, manipulate and synthesize, and apply to the solution of problems. A
ranking of the support infrastructure for decision making:
Decision making Ease of Definition
support infrastructure sharing
Wisdom Impossib Decisions made or advice given based on all the evidence
le and knowledge available
Knowledge Difficult Information to which value has been added by
interpretation based on a particular context, experience
and purpose
Codified knowledge is written down and transferred
relatively easy
Tacit knowledge is slow to acquire and difficult to transfer
Evidence Often A multiplicity of information from different sources, related
not easy to specific problems, and with a consistency that has
been validated
Information Easy Data serving some purpose or that has been given some
degree of interpretation
Easy to add value to it through processing and merger
with other information
Data Easy Numbers, text or symbols which are in some sense
neutral and almost context-free
GI systems do a better job of sharing data and information tha knowledge, which is more difficult
to detach from the knower.
1.3 GI science and systems
GI systems are computer based tools for collecting, storing, processing, analyzing, and
visualizing geographic information. They improve the efficiency and effectiveness of handling
information about objects and events located in geographic space. GI science is concerned with
the concepts, principles, and methods that are put into practice using the tools and techniques
of GI systems. It also provides a framework within which new evidence, knowledge and
ultimately wisdom about the Earth can be created, in ways that are efficient, effective, and safe
to use. The GI scientific methods must support:
- Transparency of assumptions and methods
- Best attempts to attain objectivity through a detached and independent perspective that
avoids or accommodates bias
- The ability of any other qualified scientists to reproduce the results of an analysis
- Methods of validations using the results of analysis (internal validation) and other
information sources (outside validation)
- Generalization from partial representations that are developed for analytical purposes to
the wider objective reality that they purport to represent
, Humans have accumulated vast knowledge about the world, both on its forms and its dynamic
processes. Geographers have a long-standing debate between idiographic geography
(description of forms) or nomothetic geography (discover general processes). Knowledge about
how the world works is more valuable than knowledge about how it looks. This is because
knowledge about how it works can be used to predict. Still, they are both essential, because
knowledge of general processes is useful in solving specific problems only if it can be combined
effectively with knowledge of form. GI solves this problem by combining the two and giving
practical value to both. Many geographic problems involve multiple goals and objectives, which
often cannot be expressed in commensurate terms.
1.4 The technology of problem solving
GI systems can be defined as a network, illustrated
to the right. The hardware is the device that the user
interacts with directly in carrying out a GI system
operation. Software programs represent the world by
running locally in the user’s machine or remotely in
the cloud. The next component is data, which
provides the foundations for digital representation of
selected aspects of some area of the Earth’s surface.
Major GI applications also require management that
establishes procedures. Finally, the GI system is
useless without the people who design, program, and
maintain it, supply it with data, and interpret its
results.
1.5 The disciplinary setting of GI science
and systems (GISS)
1.5.1 The historical perspective
The first GI system was the Canada Geographic Information System, designed in the mid-1960s
as a computerized map measuring system. Early GI system developers recognized that the
same basic needs were present in many different application areas, from resource management
to the census. Remote sensing also played a part in the development of GI systems, as a
source of technology as well as a source of data. Many technical developments in GI systems
originated in the Cold War. The modern history of GI systems dates from the early 1980s, when
the price of sufficiently powerful computers fell below a critical threshold.
1.5.2 The business perspective
The business activities of many established companies are based on the collection of
geographically referenced data or activities that build on GI science. These activities have
mushroomed due to Open Data and the internet.
