GEOGRAPHY 696
Spring 2002
Design for Geographic Information Systems
Dr. Derek Thompson
Wednesdays, 7 pm to 9 pm, LEF 1171
Office hours: 6:30 pm on Wednesdays, and by appointment
Office: ROOM 1125, LEFRAK HALL
Phone: 301-405-4063; facsimile: 301-314-9299; e-mail:
dt11@umail.umd.edu
This course covers some of the components involved in the logical
design and evaluation of geographic information system databases and
software toolboxes. Building upon foundations laid in the undergraduate
course, GEOG 473, Geographic Information Systems, covering analytical
uses of geographic information systems, it emphasizes concepts and
methodologies valuable for organizing spatial problems and spatial
databases. As such, it may be considered a graduate level introduction
to geographic information science.
After discussion of spatial analysis, spatial data models, and
Euclidean, fractal, and topological geometries, the course emphasizes
the use of semantic data modelling, especially entity-relationship
modelling for organizing spatial problems as a basis for mapping to
database systems. Many examples of data models are offered, and a
framework for evaluating database management systems is provided. The
course then goes on to treat the topics of query languages, data
quality and integrity, spatial referencing and indexing, hypermaps,
metadata, and spatial reasoning. The last of these embraces spatial
modelling and spatial statistics.
The course aims to provide an introduction to the emerging field of
geographic information science. It provides exposure to spatial
information system concepts valuable for knowing how to design a
geographic information system database, for evaluating commercial
vendor software, for evaluating different data models for spatial and
attribute data, and for providing a framework for spatial analysis
procedures. Material on the origins and trends for geographic
information systems is integrated into the course.
Class sessions are a mixture of lectures, discussions, and student
presentations. The course attempts to work through the entire book,
Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems, by Robert Laurini and
Derek Thompson (Academic Press, London, 1992). Students are also
expected to become familiar with other books on geographic information
systems, and know of major literature sources and professional
associations.
Entry to the course requires familiarity with spatial concepts
encountered in cartography and geography, and an extensive working
knowledge of the software system ARC/INFO. Such background is provided
at the University of Maryland Department of Geography, via the courses,
GEOG 373, Introduction to Computer Mapping, and GEOG 473, Geographic
Information Systems.
While the GEOG 696 course does not utilize the Arc/Info software
directly, several presentations and student tasks will be based on that
software system. In this way student experiential background with
Arc/Info can be reasonably used to bridge the gap between theory and
practice. Indeed, the course target may be thought of as answering the
question: Why is the ArcInfo software system the way it is?
Students are required to undertake three assignments and participate in
class discussions. The principal academic excercise, C (35%), submitted
at the end of the semester, is the preparation of a well prepared and
illustrated paper setting out recommendations for the conceptual and
practical design of a geographic information system for a particular
purpose.
Assignment A (35% of the grade) consists of a set of five short tasks
spread though the semester. These tasks are summarized below. Unless
otherwise noted each of the sdhort assignments will be graded on the
basis of the written material submitted. If oral presentations are
required, part of the grade will be based on the quality and scope of
your presentation.
A1. [5%.]. Examine the WWW site materials (www.ucgis.org) of the US
organization, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science.
What is this organization? What does it do? Especially what does it
have to say about research in geographic information science? How much
of the content of the Laurini/Thompson book matches the topics of the
research agenda?
Prepare written notes as a basis for contributing to general class
discussion. Submit your written notes to me. The written material
should be about 500 words.
A2. [5%.]. Examine one recent issue of the journal International
Journal for Geographical Information Science, and one issue of two of
the following journals: Journal of the URISA, Geographical Analysis,
Transactions in GIS, Cartography and Geographic Information Science.
Prepare a brief written report and oral report. In the oral report
summarize what you discovered (see below for guidelines). The written
report should be about 500 words.
Items to consider in creating a profile of the journals you examined:
For each journal issue describe the credentials/field/country of the
authors and summarize the orientations of the articles - theoretical,
empirical, practical, or whatever. Write down about five keywords to
describe each article. Make summaries to allow you to compare and
contrast each journal.
A3. [10%.]. Prepare material to convey the data models included in
the Arc/Info 7 geo-relational software architecture. What are the
types of data that can be worked with? What particular data
organization is used? How are spatial data handled? What about
thematic attributes?
To convey the details prepare a set of relational schema which would
set out the measurements and identifiers that appear to be part of this
Version 7 Arc/Info data model. Express as in this example:
LAND-USE (cover-id, poly-id, area, perimeter, X-start coordinate,
Y-start coordinate, X-end coordinate, Y-end coordinate, land-use code,
map symbol).
The LAND-USE is just one instance of polygon objects.
The schema implies that all the named attributes (spatial and thematic)
are to be stored; some, like area, may have to be computed before
storage, as opposed to being created some other way.
See a few pages in Laurini and Thompson Chapter 12 to get the idea.
Your effort is to concentrate on knowing the data details of the
Arc/Info system. To this end, use the on-line help in ArcInfo, but
especially examine the ESRI printed books on data models.
Prepare about three pages - set-out the data details using the schema,
and appropriate annotations to explain what you did. Submit the
written material, and give an oral report as part of a class review of
Arc/Info.
A4. [7.5%. ]. This will be a short entity-relation modelling task -
details later.
A5. [7.5%.]. is the preparation of a short paper on the way in which
ARC/INFO can be used to address a particular spatial problem, for
example point pattern analysis, implementation of the von Thunen model,
or political redistricting. Details later.
The Assignment B (30%) is a presentation of a semantic model for an
assigned topic, including mapping to a relational database management
system. The details of Assignment B, Turnpikes, is in a separate
handout.
Assignment C, 35% of the total, is a comprehensive paper integrating
many aspects of geographic information systems - representation,
informatics, spatial analysis. Details are provided in a separate
bulletin.
COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to change)
UNIT 1. SPATIAL SEMANTICS, SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND GIS. Three short
tasks for Assignment A. Reading: Laurini and Thompson, Chapters 1
through 8, supplementary material, including material about Arc/Info
data model and geospatial data, including parts of the book Modeling
Our World etc.)
Jan. 30 Orientation to course; geographic information science;
GIS software; literature sources.
Feb. 6 Spatial analysis and GIS; spatial analysis - spatial
concepts, spatial problems, spatial measurements,
spatial statistics. Class discussion (A1).
Feb. 13 Spatial data models. Report A2.
Feb. 20 ArcInfo spatial data and data models, including student
reports (A3).
UNIT 2. GEO-INFORMATICS. Assignment B and one short oral presentation
and a written paper (A4). Reading: Laurini and Thompson Chapters 9-15,
and supplementary material.
Feb. 27 GIS database design; semantic modelling, components of entity-
relationship modelling, examples. Database management
system primer.
Mar. 6 More entity-relationship model examples, linked to
spatial problem organization and data models. Student
presentations.
Mar. 13 Some database system functions. Student presentations
(A4).
Mar. 20 Relational algebra, queries; Spatial queries
Apr. 3 Spatial indexes, database integrity, hypermedia,
object-oriented data-bases.
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Part 3. SPATIAL ANALYSIS. Final part for Assignment A. Assignment C,
comprehensive paper. Reading: Laurini and Thompson, Chapters 16 and 17;
Lee and Wong book; ESRI Geodatabase book.
Apr. 10 Spatial analysis; Statistics primer; spatial statistics.
Apr. 17 Spatial statistics, spatial models.
Apr. 24 Spatial analysis and GISystems, spatial weights
matrices. Report A5.
May 1 Spatial reasoning; trends in GI systems and science.
May 8 Object-oriented sytems; ArcInfo 8. Student paper
presentation ( C)
MAY 15. Paper due.
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I expect you all bring to class each week your copy of Laurini and
Thompson, Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems. Other class
materials will not be needed every week, but should be brought when
requested. These include the ESRI books Modelling Our World, and
Building a Geodatabase, and the book by Lee and Wong on spatial
statistics via ArcView. Supplementary materials needed from time to
time will be placed in Lefrak Room 1136.
The University is implementing a new Honor Pledge this semester.
We have been asked to include the following language in each syllabus:
The University has a nationally recognized Honor Code,
administered by the Student Honor Council. The Student Honor
Council proposed and the University Senate approved an Honor
Pledge. The University of Maryland Honor Pledge reads:
“I pledge on my honor that I have not given or
received any unauthorized assistance on this
assignment/examination.”
Unless you are specifically advised to the contrary, the Pledge
statement should be handwritten and signed on the front cover of
all papers, projects, or other academic assignments submitted for
evaluation in this course. Students who fail to write and sign
the Pledge will be asked to confer with the instructor.
For more information on the new Honor Pledge, see page 21 of the
Spring 2002 Schedule of Classes.
Derek Thompson
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