GEOGRAPHY:
SPATIAL ANALYSIS, THEORY AND PRACTICE
NRE501, SECTION 043 (3 credits)
SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
http://www.umich.edu
Class Resource Page
http://www.snre.umich.edu/501/sandy1.htm
Professor Sandra Arlinghaus (Ph.D.)
Fall, 1997.
Wednesdays, 6-9 p.m.
Dana Building 1520 (class)
Office in Dana: 2044
Research office: 1130 Hill Street (Community Systems
Foundation)
Phone: 761-1357 (research office); 975-0246 (home, between 9 a.m.
and
9 p.m.)
e-mail: sarhaus@umich.edu (preferred method of communication)
Office Hours: Friday, 9a.m. to 3p.m.; extra: Thursday, 1p.m.
to
5p.m. and by appointment.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A spatial view of the environment is one that often
involves maps. As the context in which one views an environmental
issue is a critical matter, so too is the context in which one views a
map. Thus, the exciting state-of-the-art electronic mapping
capability
of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and of other mapping software,
is cast in the broader context of geography and mathematics--the
theoretical
foundations from which GIS is derived.
Isolationist views, from the environmental to the
political, cannot survive in the world of the geographically
literate.
Creative, scientific approaches to topics, using well-established but
untapped
tools are envoruaged, as are traditional approaches which clearly
exhibit
the spatial components of an environmental problem with suggested
directions
for action. Students learn mapping in the context of project
development.
In careful collaboration with the instructor, each student builds a
document
and presentation to enhance his/her research and teaching portfolio.
All software used is for the PC.
COURSE MATERIALS
- Web page and attached materials
- Electronic handouts on computer in 2044
- Reserve shelf in map library
- Diskettes: each student should purchase a supply of
high
density
3.5 inch diskettes.
- Each student is required to have an active e-mail account;
e-mail will
be a critical tool
- Each student should consider setting up a web page, early in
the
course
COURSE RESOURCES, AFTER THE FACT
Student work will be displayed on bulletin
boards, both actual and virtual, as appropriate. See the bulletin
board on the second floor of the Dana Building (outside 2044) to view
student
work from recent terms.
FORMAT
Casual lecture and discussion (your participation
is vital); a research format. Student success in this sort of
research-style
format depends heavily on students working on a regular and continuing
basis throughout the term.
EVALUATION:
Middle of term:
Hand in draft of project
as mid-term and give formal 5-7 minute oral presentation: 25% of grade.
Two weeks before end of term:
Presentation of most of
final project as a talk (formal 5-7 minute oral
presentation):
25% of grade.
Day of scheduled final, Final project is due by 5 p.m.:
Final project: 50%
of grade.
The formal oral presentations are designed to give students
experience
in a friendly setting of the kinds of constraints they will meet when
presenting
papers at professional meetings. The final project may be a term
paper, a chapter in a thesis, a substantial website, or other selected
in consultation with the instructor. Hard copy should be prepared
using Microsoft Word for Windows using 1 inch margins on all sides, 12
point type, double-spaced. Notes should be gathered as
endnotes.
Graphics may be cut into Word from a variety of packages.
Instructor
is quite willing to help individuals needing it with help in word
processor
use or website development.
Students will have the opportunity each time to discuss matters of
concern
and to get feedback on a regular basis as needed.
LECTURE TOPICS SELECTED FROM AMONG THE FOLLOWING, ACCORDING TO TIME
CONSTRAINTS AND STUDENT PROJECT NEEDS.
- Map appreciation--from T-square and Leroy lettering to
computers
and
GIS---hands-on display
- Latitude and longitude, derived from the sphere
- Great and small circles; shortest paths
- The four seasons; Earth and Sun
- Map scale; in concept and practice. From
representative
fraction
to fractal dimension
- Map projections; a geometric viewpoint
- Map projections; tradeoffs and making reasonable choices
- The Four-color theorem; maps on different geometric surfaces
- Developable surfaces
- Alternate viewpoint: Earth-sun relations in
non-Euclidean
geometry
- The concept of geodesic: from great circle to
Manhattan
geometry
- Shortest path problems
- Feigenbaum's graphical analysis
- The projection of data: fitting curves to real-world
data
sets
- Interpolation: cubic spline analysis and contouring
- Transformations: the problem of scale shift
- Connectivity: networks of various sorts in the
geographic
landscape
- Overlays: from the global (solstice and equinox) to
the
local
(drainage basin level)
- Fundamental spatial units
- Real-world examples of mapping in the context of project
development;
national scale
- Examples from Planning Commission; local scale
LECTURE MATERIALS
LECTURE 1
LECTURE 2
LECTURE 3
LECTURE 4
Overview of various
mapping packages
- CelAssembler, animated maps
- DeLorme Street Atlas 4, U.S. street maps in primarily a
display
mode
- DeLorme 3-D Explorer, flight over 3-D view of U.S. terrain
- Input of small amounts of data directly into Atlas GIS
- Use of ArcView to bring in ArcInfo coverages
- More use of PhotoShop
- Mention of software to come: TripMate, MapEdit
LECTURE 5
- MapEdit; creation of clickable maps
- Netscape Communicator; creation of web pages
- Hands-on lab work
LECTURE 6
LECTURE 7
- Four Color Theorem; implications for mapping. Page
1. Page
2. Page
3. Page
4. Page
5. Page
6. Page
7.
- Goode's
homolosine
projection: homolographic (Mollweide) and sinusoidal prjoections
- Material
concerning
"joining" and "linking" tables to maps in ArcView.
- Base maps, grid only, showing various projections. Behrmann,
Eckert
IV, Eckert
VI, Lat/Long,
Mercator,
Mercator
(bigger cylinder), Miller,
Mollweide,
Sinusoidal,
Robinson,
Tobler.
LECTURE 8; GIVEN BY STUDENTS IN CLASS, 10 MINUTES EACH.
LECTURE 9
- Fractal geometry and minimax principles; human use of
environment.
Reprint of selected material from article from the Geographical
Review,
published by the American Geographical Society; January, 1990.
Article
appears on pages 21-31 of that journal. Selected material: page
1; page
2; page
3; page
4; page
5.
- Visual Explorer 2.0; 3D maps. Sample of possible
"different" use
of that package, showing countries with varying heights, where height
is
determined from some dataset (not necessarily elevation).
LECTURE 10
LECTURE 11
LECTURE 12
- Real-world case studies from the international arena
- Real-world case studies from the local arena
LECTURE 13
1.
If you link to another site, inform that site by e-mail and offer to
disconnect
if your site becomes a high volume site...at their request.
2. Grabbing an image
a. request permission to use and behave according to answer to
request;
b. give cutoff date;
c. put in own directory to avoid bandwidth drain
d. cite source
3. Do not use an image if there are disclaimers on it;
4. U.S. Government materials; these do not generally require
written
requests for printed materials...so, apparently, use them...cite source
and so forth and send a request if it indicates that one should be sent.
5. Link to search engines...do not inform them. Cite
them:
"here's what Yahoo says about Leelanau...", copy link and paste...pass
along your search skills...can increase traffic on your site.
6. Enter course web page and individual web pages separately in
search
engines.
7. Assemble on 501 web page and list that in search engine.
8. Student UM accounts can be kept past graduation (contact
Alumni
Association)
9. Outside US copyright and related laws/ethics vary.
10.
Citations...be clear about where in the documents references are used.
11.
Concepts...tie to concepts...those listed above as well as a host of
other:
centrality, hierarchy, density, to name a few.
LECTURE 14
Student final presentations (13) in alphabetical
order according to uniqname.
Permitted Links:
cnrennie
Charles Rennie
compgeek
Robin Saha
kmaldre
Kristina
Maldre
sjbrines
Shannon Brines
sweenaa
Sweena
Aulakh
tonyadw
Tonya
West
SESSION 15
Feedback.
GIS PACKAGES AVAILABLE FOR USE:
- Atlas GIS, ESRI
- ArcView GIS, ESRI
- MapInfo GIS
- Excel in Office 97
MAPPING PACKAGES AVAILABLE FOR USE:
- DeLorme Street Atlas and related packages
- CelAssembler for making animated maps
- MapEdit for making clickable maps
- Visual Explorer from WoolleySoft for making 3D maps
OTHER PACKAGES OF PARTICULAR VALUE:
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Adobe Photoshop
- Microsoft Power Point
LABORATORY TOPICS SELECTED FROM AMONG THE FOLLOWING AND IN RESPONSE
TO STUDENT NEED
Reductionist approach:
- Use of a GIS using on-board data and maps
- Use of a GIS using imported data with on-board maps
- Use of a GIS using imported (or on-board) data with imported maps
Routine skills:
- Strategies for saving files
- Use of real-world databases and spreadsheets
- Use of Photoshop
- Use of PowerPoint
Mechanics of mapping:
- Single variable thematic maps
- Choosing reasonable ranges for mapping themes
- Default color selection and alteration of the default
- Two variable thematic maps
- Layers and problems in handling multiple layers
- Inverse and direct relationships displayed cartographically
- Alternate coloring; problems associated with making black and
white maps
- Analysis using buffers
- Maps in PhotoShop
- Animated maps
- Clickable maps
- 3D maps
MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
RELATED LINKS
RESERVE SHELF (Documents on reserve in the Map Library, 8th Floor,
Hatcher (graduate) library.
Selections from among (but not limited to):
Aldenderfer and Maschner, Anthropology, Space, and GIS
Kraak and Ormeling, Cartography: Visualization of Spatial
Data
Wood and Keller, Cartographic Design: Theoretical and
Practical
Perspectives
Martin, David. GIS: Socioeconomic Applications
Monmonier, M. How to Lie with Maps, 2nd Edition
Monmonier, M. Drawing the Line
Thrower, Maps and Civilization
Clarke, Keith. Analytical and Computer Cartography
Robinson et al. Elements of Cartography, 6th Edition
Goodchild, M. et al. Environmental Modeling with GIS
Goodchild, M. GIS--Principles and Applications
Star and Estes, GIS: An Introduction.
INSTRUCTOR'S SELECTED PREVIOUS LECTURE FILES OF RELATED USE
Simple curve fitting and other material. Text files only for
entire
series. Files with graphics available on computer in 2044 Dana
Building.