Geography Study Materials and Hand-outs

Components of GIS A working Geographic Information System    seamlessly integrates five key components- 1. Hardware:- •            Computer •            Digitizer •            Scanner •            Printer/Plotter 2. Software:- GIS software provides the functions and tools needed to store, analyze, and display geographic information. The Key components of GIS Software are:- Tools for entering and manipulating geographic information such as addresses or political boundaries A database management system (DBMS)  Tools that create intelligent digital maps you can analyze, query for more information, or print for presentation  An easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) Major GIS software ARCGIS ( ArcView 10.1) ArcView: ESRI, the producer of ArcView, has been an industry leader in the production of GIS software and in the support of GIS education. Access ready-to-use ArcGIS for Desktop Basic (formerly known as ArcView), which allows one to view

Discuss briefly the history of GIS between 1960 to 2000 1963:   Computing comes of age (Establishment of the Urban and Regional Information System Association URISA and the first GIS Conference in Ottowa, Canada in 1963).    1964: Canada GIS-Roger Tomlinson “Father of GIS”    1964: Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis    1970s GIS software evolves rapidly (more GIS companies appeared e.g. Intergraph, ESRI, Governmental departments introduced GIS e.g. The US Bureau of the Census)    1980s GIS software advances significantly (more budget and human resources allocated for GIS, by the end of 1980s more than 4000 GIS/CAD software are introduced)    Digital data becomes available (TIGER, World Data Bank, DIME)   1990s (integration of Raster and Vector based systems, Multi-media GIS, software become more user friendly)      2000:    Web-based GIS

Common Applications of GIS Crime mapping:- It is used on police crime maps. Collection of data regarding incidences and arrests on geographical areas which in turn helped increase police patrols to reduce crimes For Example :-   In the case where there is a kidnapping and the perpetrators (committers) of crime call to demand something then this technology can be used to locate the individual exactly where he or she is calling from. Media and Press: Journalists and editors use GIS in a number of ways: Creating valuable graphic images that help tell compelling stories.   Researching in depth information for articles.            Example:- Mapping the Medals In Olympic Census:- Integration of GIS technology in Census Mapping GIS introduced in Indian Census in 1992. Such software, as, ArcInfo, ArcView and ArcGIS have been extensively used. Real Estate:- Residential Real Estate:- A single map lets your customer compare multiple properties and their res

Top Benefits of GIS WHY IS GIS UNIQUE..? GIS handles SPATIAL information - information referenced by its location in space. GIS makes connections between activities based on spatial proximity.  GIS stores related geographic features in separate collections of files called map layers  Map layers can be reused easily and assembled into any number of map compositions and overlaid for analysis Top Benefits of GIS GIS benefits organizations of all sizes and in almost every industry. There is a growing awareness of the economic and strategic value of GIS. Better Decision Making: GIS is the go-to technology for making better decisions about location. Common examples include real estate site selection, route selection. Making correct decisions about location is critical to the success of an organization. Improved Communication: GIS-based maps and visualizations greatly assist in understanding situations and in storytelling. They are a type of language that imp

GIS Spatial Data Model Traditionally spatial data has been stored and presented in the form of a map. Three basic types of spatial data models have evolved for storing geographic data digitally. These are referred to as: ü       Vector Data Model ü       Raster Data Model                   Vector Data ü        Map features o         Points, lines, polygons o         Feature attributes ü        Every feature has attributes o         (e.g. name, area, population) Raster Data Stored electronic image or picture taken as an aerial photograph or satellite image. Composed of a rectangular array of square cells, called pixels, with a number in each cell representing the solid color fill of that cell. A new hybrid method of storing data is that of identifying point clouds, which combine three-dimensional points with RGB information at each point, returning a "3D color image". GIS thematic maps then are becoming more and more re

CREATING GIS  Essentially, geographic information states what is where. So to create geographic information, we have to record these two elements somehow. They can be captured through many different types of observations, measurements and surveys. Data can be sourced from aerial photography, satellite images, field samples, land surveying, population censuses, global positioning systems (GPS) and government administrative records among others. How To Combine Geographic Information..? If we are combining a number of different geographic information themes together, they may be from different sources, in different formats and covering different study areas.Therefore, we need to use a system to deal with the disparate sources and organize them so that they can be combined. A Geographic Information System does just that It is a tool for the input of different geographical information themes so that they can be stored, organized, displayed and analyzed. It uses geography

CREATING GIS  Essentially, geographic information states what is where. So to create geographic information, we have to record these two elements somehow. They can be captured through many different types of observations, measurements and surveys. Data can be sourced from aerial photography, satellite images, field samples, land surveying, population censuses, global positioning systems (GPS) and government administrative records among others. How To Combine Geographic Information..? If we are combining a number of different geographic information themes together, they may be from different sources, in different formats and covering different study areas.Therefore, we need to use a system to deal with the disparate sources and organize them so that they can be combined. A Geographic Information System does just that It is a tool for the input of different geographical information themes so that they can be stored, organized, displayed and analyzed. It uses geography