| Term | Definition |
|---|
| geographic problems | problems that involve an aspect of location, either in information used to solve them or in the solutions themselves |
| operational decisions | required for smooth functioning of an organization |
| tactical decisions | medium-term decisions, such as where to cut trees in next year's forest harvesting plan |
| strategic decisions | required to give an organization long-term direction |
| transactional databases | constantly being updated as new information arrives |
| geographic | refers to the Earth's surface and near-surface |
| spatial | refers to any space, not just the Earth's surface |
| geospatial | implying a subset of spatial applied specifically to the Earth's surface and near-surface |
| scale | level of detail |
| What distinguishes one geographical problem from another? | scale, intent, purpose, temporal scale |
| data | consists of numbers, text or symbols which are in some sense neutral and almost context-free |
| Why does GIS matter? | tracking location of important events, everything happens, happens somewhere, knowing where something happens is important, geographic problems |
| normative use | GIS apps which focus on design |
| positive use | GIS apps which focus on advancing science |
| meta-analysis | comparative analysis of the results of many previous studies |
| GIS software | can buy from a vendor to carry out certain well-defined functions |
| codifiable knowledge | knowledge that can be written down and easy to to transfer to others |
| tacit knowledge | knowledge slow to acquire and much more difficult to transfer (ie apprenticeship) |
| knowledge | information available in a book or on the Internet or on a map when it is read and understood |
| difference between knowledge and information | knowledge entails a knower, information exists independently, but knowledge is intimately related to people |
| evidence | a half way house between information and knowledge, a multiplicity of information from different sources, related to specific problems and with a consistency that has been validated |
| wisdom | context of decisions based on evidence and knowledge available but given with some understanding of likely consequences. |
| information | data serving some purpose or data that have been given some degree of interpretation. |
| idiographic geography | focuses on the description of form and emphasizes the unique characteristics of places |
| nomothetic geography | seeks to discover general processes |
| GIS database | represents specific information |
| rule sets | rules and regulations imposed for certain areas |
| multicriteria decision making | (MCDM) used to solve multiple objectives |
| tangible objective | objectives that can be measured on some well-defined scale |
| intangible objective | objective that are difficult or impossible to measure |
| objective | a goal that a problem solver wishes to achieve |
| GIS data | digital representations of various aspects of the geographic world, in the form of datasets |
| GIS community | community of people who use and advocate the use of GIS tools for various purposes |
| doing GIS | activity of using a GIS to solve problems or advance science |
| GIS | computerized tool for solving geographic problems |
| Canada Geographic Information System | CGIS - mid-1960s, first real GIS, Canada Land Inventory was massive effort to identify the nation's land resources and their existing & potential uses. Most useful was map measuring |
| DIME | Dual Independent Map Encolding, used to conduct 1970 Census, with digital records of US streets |
| Global Positioning System | uniform system for measuring location |
| GIS Service | offers distributed users access to centralized GIS capabilities |
| g-business | all the myriad applications carried out in enterprises that have a strong geographical component |
| g-commerce | electronic commerce that include location as an essential element |
Combine with other sets
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