A revised definition of:
Geographic Information Systems
Proposed in Exploring GIS
GIS: The organized activity by which people
- measure aspects of geographic phenomena and processes;
- represent these measurements, usually in the form
of a computer database, to emphasize spatial themes, entities,
and relationships;
- operate upon these representations to produce more
measurements and to discover new relationships by integrating
disparate sources; and
- transform these representations to conform to other
frameworks of entities and relationships.
These activities reflect the larger context (institutions and
cultures) in which these people carry out their work. In turn,
the GIS may influence these structures.
An alternate short form:
Geographic Information System (GIS): Organized activity by
which people measure and represent geographic phenomena then
transform these representations into other forms while interacting
with social structures.
At the innermost ring, the process of geographic
measurement requires choices that can be organized as measurement
frameworks. Differences in these measurement frameworks best explain
the technical choices of representation for geographic information;
measurement and representation, in turn, strongly influence the
operations which can be performed with the information. Finally,
transformations can convert from one measurement framework to
another. Thus, each ring builds upon decisions made at the simpler
levels. (Chrisman 1997, p. 1)
These technical components do not operate in a vacuum. The measurements,
representations and transformations all serve the goals of institutions,
and these, in turn, serve larger social goals. But the information
system is not simply a passive player, responding dutifully to
social demands. The availability of information shapes social
expectations and the cultural expectations of professions and
disciplines shape the choices of measurement and representation.
The new technology triggers new demands as much as it fulfills
unmet demands. So, the social and institutional context of the
outer rings provides goals for the system, and it provides the
cultural meaning of the worldviews that motivate measurement and
representation. In the long run, the rings define a circular process
of interdependency, not a linear throughput.
Index from Here: | Back
to Social Practices presentation | I19
Position Paper | Back to 460 Lecture
2 | Chrisman index page
Version of 29 September 1998