Fall, 1997 GR3.206 Tuesdays--7:00-9:45 p.m.
Dr Ronald Briggs GR 3.126 972-883-6877 (o), 690-3442 (h)
http://www.utdallas.edu/~briggs/poec6381.html
e-mail:briggs@utdallas.edu
Office hours: Tues/Wed 6:30-7:00 pm Wed. 1:30-3:30 & by appointment
or drop-in
POEC 6381
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
This course introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and
their applications. These systems are becoming the core of local
(city, county) government operations, are being rapidly adopted
by state and federal governments to manage operations from highway
planning to environmental resource conservation, and are playing
a major role in businesses as diverse as market research, site
selection, real estate, civil engineering, and geophysical exploration.
Additionally, academic research in disciplines ranging from the
Social Sciences to Geoscience is using GIS to expand research
possibilities and productivity. In the vernacular, they are one
of the killer apps. of the nineties, with substantial potential
for further development and application.
GIS is a combination of software and hardware with capabilities
for manipulating, analyzing and displaying spatially-referenced
information--that is, information which is referenced by its location
on the earth's surface. By linking data to maps, a GIS can reveal
relationships not apparent with traditional item-referenced information
systems and data base management products, and by displaying information
in a graphic form can communicate complex spatial patterns succinctly.
This course will introduce the concepts needed to use GIS effectively
and correctly, and develop basic proficiency in GIS software usage.
Examples will primarily focus on urban and regional analysis,
though business, environmental and geological applications will
also be included.
The course will comprise both lecture and lab. The lab component
will focus on the use of ArcView (Version 3.0) software
in a Windows NT environment in the Green Lab (GR3.206). (The software
will not be available in the university's McDermott Microcomputer
lab.) Should you desire your own copy, it is available at a student
price of $250 (Version 3.0) from ESRI, Inc. (call 1-800-447-9778
to order). Alternatively, you may borrow a copy of the software
for use on your machine at home for this course only, providing
you agree to the terms of the loan.
This course is one of a series in the GIS Certification Program
at the University of Texas at Dallas; five courses are needed
to receive the certificate.
There are no formal prerequisites, however students will be expected to have competence in microcomputer use and familiarity with Microsoft Windows 95 and file management (directories, subdirectories, copying, etc). Evaluation will be based upon a midterm exam (25%), final exam (35%), and lab projects (40%). Although some class time will be allocated to lab instruction, additional computing work outside of scheduled classes, will be necessary for successful course completion.
Texts
DeMers, Michael Fundamentals of GIS (New York: John Wiley, 1997
ESRI, Using ArcView GIS-Version 3.0 Edition (Redlands,
CA: ESRI, Inc., 1996)
Other Books on ArcView
Hutchinson, Scott and Daniel, Larry Inside ARCVIEW (Santa Fe, NM: Onward Press, 1995)
Hohl, Pat and Mayo, Brad ArcView Exercise Book (Santa Fe, NM: Onward Press, 1996)
Razavi, Amir ArcView Developer's Guide (Santa Fe, NM: Onward Press, 1995)
(to purchase, call: 1-800-223-6397)
Supplementary Materials
Huxhold, William E. An Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems (New York, Oxford University Press, 1991)
Maguire, David J., Michael Goodchild and David W. Rhind Geographical Information Systems: Principles and Applications (Harlow, England: Longman, 1991)
Peuquet, Donna J. and Duane Marble Introductory Readings in Geographic Information Systems (London: Taylor and Francis, 1990)
Star, J. and John Estes Geographical Information Systems: An
Introduction (Prentice Hall 1990)
Course Schedule
Sept. 2 : Introduction to GIS
DeMers Chap 1
Cowen, David GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: what are the differences? from Peuquet and Marble, pp. 52-61
Black, James D. Fusing RDBMS and GIS GIS World July, 1996, p. 44-47
Huxhold, Chap 1, & Chap 2 thru p. 38
American Planning Association, Planning: Special Issue on Technology, July, 1995, 1-15
Obtain and test UTD computer accounts (PC-LAN, e-mail and UNIX)
Sept 9: Fundamentals of GIS and its Application
DeMers Chap 2 pp. 21-31
USGS: Geographical Information Systems (brochure handout).
Application Examples (read/scan, as convenient, prior to midterm):
Huxhold, Chap. 3: Application of Urban Geographic Information Systems.
National League of Cities Planning Smarter: GIS as a Tool for Policy Makers, 1993
Ventura, Stephen J. The Use of GIS Systems in Local Government Public Administration Review Sept./Oct. 1995 461-467
Geological Society of America, Development of Geographic Information Systems-Oriented Databases for Integrated Geological and Geophysical Applications, GSA Today, March 1996
Business Geographics, December, 1995: Merging Technologies: EIS and Business Geographics (p. 34-36) & Boosting Sales Performance with Statistics: A Healthcare Case Study (p. 37-39)
Calkins, H. and Eagles, M. Geographic Information Analysis and Human Capital Research. A Report to NSF and HUD on a Conference in Boulder, CO, July, 1995
Waddell, Paul and Shukla, V. Employment Dynamics, Spatial Restructuring and the Business Cycle Geographical Analysis, 1993 (Vol. 25, p. 35-52) (research study based on D/FW)
Sept 16, 23 Using GIS Software: Intro. to ARCVIEW
Using ArcView GIS, Chap. 2; also parts of Chap. 5,6,7,10
Sept 30 Terrestial Data Structures
Oct 7 DeMers Chap. 2, pp. 32-34; Chap 3, 50-67
Using ArcView GIS Chap. 9
Huxhold Chap 6
Map Projections (USGS brochure)
Oct 7 Project #1 due: Customer Characteristics and DayCare Location
Oct. 7 GIS Data Structures and Management
Oct 14 DeMers Chap 4, Chap. 7, Chap. 11, 287-311
Using ArcView GIS Chap 22
Huxhold, Chap 2 (p. 38-63) 4 & 5
Peuquet, Donna J. A Conceptual Framework and Comparison of Spatial Data Models, in Peuquet and Marble, pp. 250-285 (advanced)
Wiegand, Nancy and Adams, Teresa M. Using Object-Oriented Database Mangement for Feature-Based Geographic Information Systems URISA Journal Spring, 1994 pp. 21-36 (advanced)
Oct 21: Midterm Exam
Oct 28: Project #2 due: Texas Population Demographics
Oct 28 Data Sources and Acquisition
DeMers Chap 2, pp. 35-49, Chap 5,
USGS, US Geodata (brochure)
Keating, John B. The Geopositioning Selection Guide for Resource Management, Technical Note # 389, U.S. Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, September, 1993
Hurn, Jeff GPS: A Guide to the Next Utility Sunnyvale CA: Trimble Navigation, 1989
Hurn, Jeff Differential GPS Explained Sunnyvale, CA: Trimble Navigation, 1993
Manzer, Gary Maximizing Digital Orthophoto Use: A Technical Overview GIS World December, 1995 50-64
Thorpe, Aerial Photography and Satellite Imagery: Competing or Complementary? EOM June 1996 pp. 35-39
Fisher, P.F. Spatial Data Sources and Data Problems, in Maguire, Goodchild and Rhind, Chap 13 (Vol. 1, p.175)
Nov 4 Internet Data Extraction and Creation
Nov. 11: Data Preparation and Integration
DeMers Chap. 6, Chap 10
Using ArcView GIS Chap.18 thru 21
Flowerdew, R. Spatial Data Integration, in Maguire, Goodchild and Rhind, Chap 24 (Vol. 1, p. 375)
Nov 25 Project #4 due: Geocoding the Dallas County Tax File
Nov. 25 GIS Outputs and Application Examples
DeMers Chap 3, 67-81, Chap 14
Getting to Know, Chap. 20 (& review Chap. 21) (Version 2.1)
Making Better Maps, selections from Business Geographics
Hodler, T.W. Do Geographers Really Need to Know Cartography? Urban Geography, 1994 p. 409-410
Business Applications: market analysis, site selection, routing
Municipal Applications: land record management, citizen information
Environmental Applications: resource monitoring and geological modeling
Scan GIS World, Geo Info Systems, EOM (Earth Observation Magazine), Business Geographics, URISA Journal for examples.
Dec 2. GIS in the Real World-- Practitioners Speak
-- Student Show and Tell.
DeMers Chap. 15
Dec 9 : Project #5 due: Creating a Layer: Tracts for Dallas
Dec 9 : The Future of GIS and Some Dissenting Perspectives
Hazelton, N.W.J, Leahy, F.J. Integrating Dynamic Modelling and Geographic Information Systems, URISA Journal, Fall, 1992 47-58
Campbell, Heather A Social Interactionist Perspective on Computer Implementation, American Planning Association Journal Winter 1996, 99-107
Goss, Jon "We Know Who You Are and We Know Where You Live": The Instrumental Rationality of Geodemographic Systems, Economic Geography , April 1995 (Vol. 71 p. 171-198)
Sui, Danial Z. GIS and Urban Studies: Positivism, Post-Positivism, and Beyond Urban Geography, 1994 (vol. 15, p. 258-278)
Dec 16: Final Exam
Using ArcView GIS : its relationship with the
Lab. Projects
The Using ArcView GIS text is primarily intended to help you with the lab projects, which give you hands on experience with ArcView. How you use this text is a personal decision. You might like to work through the examples in this book before tackling the projects. Or you may prefer to jump in with projects, using the book as a reference. Below is a very general guide to the chapters as they relate to each Project.
Project 1: Daycare location: Chap. 2, parts of 5,6,7,10 (purpose: general introduction)
Project 2: Texas Demographics: Chap. 3,4,6,10 (purpose: map creation and layouts)
Project 3: Pipeline: Chap 11, 12, 13, 14 (purpose: drawing and data selection)
Project 4: Housing Sales: Chap 5,8 (purpose: geocoding, graphing)
Project 5: Census Tracts: Chap 8, 20,22 (pupose: spatial editing
and data preparation)