GES3610

Geographic information systems (GIS) for geodemographic, marketing and local government applications

Associate Professor Jim Peterson and Associate Professor Kevin O'Connor

6 points - 3 hours per week on average (2 lectures, and 1 lecture plus a 3-hour practical in alternate weeks) - Second semester - Clayton

Objectives Upon completion of this subject students should be able to show that they understand the theory, utility, and growing potential of spatial analysis using digital spatial data bases with GIS for social science applications.

Synopsis This subject refers to a body of knowledge (spatial analysis) that until recently has been of limited use because, for most 'real-world' applications, the necessarily data-intensive activities involved in data acquisition, handling and analysis were limited by fundamental shortcomings in technique. Recent advances in computer science and engineering have enabled this gap between theory to practise to be closed. The result is a transition from analogue to digital data handling and the proliferation of data bases with geocodes such that GIS must soon become part of the training of geographers (and many other social scientists) and environmental scientists. In this subject the focus is on geocoded data bases that refer to the spatial heterogeniety in the social environment (eg census data for people and housing and local government facilities in the public sector and for marketing in the private sector). The GIS to be used in practical classes offers wide functionality and is typical of tools that will be encountered in the workplace. Issues of data quality, time series compatibility, statistical mapping and spatial analysis will be examined in theory, and applied in practical work.

Assessment Written (2500 words) assignment: 35% - Practical exam plus practical exercises: 40% - Examination (2 hours): 25%

Prescribed texts

Martin D Geographic information systems: Socioeconomic applications Routledge, 1995
Davis B GIS: a visual approach Onward Press, 1996
Chrisman N Exploring geographic information systems Wiley, 1996

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