An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

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An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

• Brian Mennecke
• Associate Professor
• 515-294-8100
• mennecke_at_iastate.edu

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A bit about me

• Associate Professor of MIS at ISU
• PhD in IS from Indiana University
• Speaker at conferences and symposia
• Chair of GIS paper sessions at Americas
  Conference for Information Systems and Hawaii
  International Conference for Systems Science
• Presenter with Jack Dangermond at Harvard
  Business School and other venues
• Past-President, GeoBusiness Association
• Edited recent book on mobile commerce and
  location based services
• Teach specialized GIS courses at ISU

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"If you will have a young man to put his travel
into a little room, and in short time to gather
much, this you must do ... let him carry with
him also some map or book describing the country
where he travelleth, which will be a good key to
his inquiry..." (Sir Frances Bacon, Essay 18,
Of Travel, 1625).
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What is a GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a
computer-based information system that provides
tools to collect, integrate, manage, analyze,
model, and display data that is referenced to an
accurate cartographic representation of objects
in space. (Mennecke, Dangermond, Santoro,
Darling, Crossland, 1995).
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Types of GIS Data

• Attribute Data
• Stored in dBase Tables (e.g., .DBF )
• Map Data
• Stored in Shape files (e.g., .SHP)
• Areas
• Lines
• Points

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Types of Maps

• A Range-Filled Thematic Map

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Types of Maps

• A Dot Density Thematic Map

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Cartographic Terminologyand Principles

• Types of Maps
• GIS Data
• Layering
• Coordinates
• Projections
• Scale

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GIS Layers Data
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Brief History of GIS

• Paper Maps have most likely been used since the
  invention of paper. In fact, the concept of
  portraying map images probably pre-dates writing
• A common application was in war
• Maps of the Battle of Yorktown drawn by the
  French Cartographer Louis-Alexandre Berthier
  contained hinged overlays to show troop movements
  
• For Society
• Dr. John Snow used a map showing the locations of
  death by cholera in central London in 1854 to
  track the source of the outbreak to a
  contaminated well

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Brief History of GIS

• Canadian GIS (circa 1965)
• Developed to analyze data collected by the Canada
  Land Inventory (CLI) and to produce statistics
  used for developing land management plans
• Harvard Laboratory For Computer Graphics And
  Spatial Analysis (circa 1964)
• Developed products such as SYMAP, CALFORM,
  ODYSSEY, etc. (none are commercial products, but
  all were useful in developing later GIS apps
• Developed many of the principles of GIS that are
  still used in software today

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Brief History of GIS

• US Census Bureau
• Developed mapping as a method of assigning census
  returns to their correct geographical location
• First digital map census completed in 1970
• DIME files for urban areas only
• DIME evolved into TIGER, the current standard
• Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and
  Referencing system

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Brief History of GIS

• ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute)
• Formed in 1969 based on techniques, ideas being
  developed at Harvard Lab (Jack Dangermond, the
  CEO of ESRI, attended Harvard to study landscape
  design because his family ran a landscaping
  business)
• In 1981 ESRI released ARC/INFO
• ARC/INFO integrated standard relational database
  management system software (INFO) to handle
  attribute tables with specialized software to
  handle geographic objects stored as arcs (ARC)
• In 1991 ArcView was introduced as a viewer for
  ARC/INFO. It has evolved into a stand alone
  client for data analysis

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Brief History of GIS

• Now there are many GIS venders
• AutoDesk Map
• MapInfo
• GeoMedia by Intergraph
• MapPoint by Microsoft
• GeoSolutions

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Why GIS for Business?

• GIS and related geographic technologies add value
  to existing corporate data by allowing businesses
  to utilize locational information
• Existing data can be mined for new information
• New data can be gathered with the goal of
  maximizing the benefits derived from locational
  information
• Geography is a natural schema for organizing a
  firms data
• Thus, GIS can be an integrating technology

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What does this mean for business?

• Firms need to be able to obtain and manage
  detailed information in order to...
• Manage business processes, particularly in the
  supply chain, in a more flexible manner
• Build in mechanisms for listening to customers
  and linking what you hear to location
• Reduce cycle times to respond more quickly by
  optimizing information about location
• Define and manage boundaries and
• Develop ways to add value for customers.

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GIS Enables Firms to VisualizeComponents of the
Value Chain

• Where are our supplies?
• Where are our facilities?
• Where are our customers?
• How do we bring these factors to the right place
  at the right time?
• How do we deliver our products to our current and
  future customers when and where they want it?

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The Bottom Line!

• Firms can use locational date to provide greater
  value to customers throughout the Value Chain
• Geography is an important part of this process!
• Where are we?
• Where are they?
• How do we get it there?
• The Bottom Line is that eventually a product or
  service must be delivered to someone who is
  located somewhere.

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Who Uses GIS?

• Traditional users (both prior to 90s and now)
• The Public Sector
• Federal agencies managing natural resources,
  defining political boundaries, insuring
  regulatory compliance
• The military operational, tactical, and
  strategic decision making
• Counties and Municipalities development,
  taxation, annexation, and emergency response

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Who Uses GIS?

• Traditional users (cont.)
• The Private Sector
• Utilities Facilities Management
• Natural Resource Industries (e.g., in Petroleum,
  Forestry, and Mining) Locating and identifying
  resources, complying with environmental
  regulations, and managing transportation
• Location-Dependent Firms (e.g., in insurance,
  transportation, real estate, and retail)
  analyzing location-specific risk, vehicle
  routing, property management, and site selection

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Who Uses GIS?

• Current Users Applications Almost everyone,
  everywhere (ask them, but they probably wont
  admit it!)
• Finance and banking
• e.g., BancOne, Wells
• Fargo, VISA
• Insurance
• e.g., Kemper, Wausau, Cigna
• Real estate
• e.g., National Association of Realtors

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Who Uses GIS?

• Current Users Applications (cont)
• Health care
• e.g., Merck Pharmaceuticals, Cigna,
• Restaurants
• e.g., McDonalds, Taco Bell, Red Lobster, Domino's
  Pizza, Arby's, KFC, Starbucks
• Manufacturing
• e.g., Levi Strauss, Am Izuzu, Coca-Cola, Champion
  International, OceanSpray, Monsanto, Johnson
  Johnson

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Who Uses GIS?

• Current Users Applications (cont)
• Telecommunications
• e.g., PacBell, US West, British Telecom, Northern
  Telecom, GET Mobilnet, Australian Telecom
• Transportation
• e.g., FedEx, UPS, Conrail, Union Pacific
• Retailing and marketing
• e.g., Sears, JCPenny, OfficeMax, Safeway Stores,
• Natural resources
• e.g., Mobil, ARCO, Chevron, Union Pacific
  Resources

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What Is GIS Used For?

• Identifying and Managing Products and Customers
• Finding Customers Demographic Analysis (e.g.,
  Geocentric Tracking of web site visits)
• Managing Customers Customer Tracking
• Retaining Customers Promotion Management

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What Is GIS Used For?

• Logistics and Supply Chain
• Truck routing and navigation
• Real-time product tracking
• Cycle time management
• Facilities management
• Fleet Management
• Field Force Management
• Internal location management

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What Is GIS Used For?

• Decision Support and Decision Making
• Territory management and analysis
• Site location analysis
• Spatial data warehouse and data mining
• Trade area analysis
• Resource allocation

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What Is GIS Used For?

• Location based services and mobile commerce
• Customer tracking and profiling
• Proximity alerts
• Location specific push marketing and promotions
• Location aware applications
• Emergency response and security

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GIS Applications
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Sprint

• Sprints Enterprise GIS (SEGIS) is a Intranet
  enabled technology used for a number of mission
  critical activities
• Sales and marketing Managers use GIS to easily
  perform customer demographic analyses, territory
  management, and sales tracking
• Network Facilities Management GIS is used to
  manage fiber optic networks, leased lines, and
  service facilities
• Strategic and Tactical Planning Executives can
  perform competitive analyses, project regional
  sales and population growth, and identify
  locations where resources are needed1 From
  Business Geographics, January, 1998

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An Example of an Analysis Site Selection Example
using GIS Technology Optimal site for an ethanol
plant in Iowa.
Goal Maximize Profitability Process G.I.S.
Analysis
IMPORTANT NOTE For education presentation only,
not intended for general distribution or
duplication.
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Factors to Consider in Siting an Ethanol Plant

• Access to roads
• Access to utilities
• Access to rail (to haul away DDGS)
• The price of corn (you would want to locate an
  ethanol plant where the price of corn is lowest)
• Livestock numbers (DDGS are the by-product stream
  from ethanol production and DDGS are used for
  livestock feed)

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Corn Prices
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Corn Availability
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Livestock Mix, Numbers and Concentrations
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Cattle and Calves
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Hog and Pig Density
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Railroads, Gas Pipelines, Cities, Borders and
Highways
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Railroads, Gas Pipelines and Corn Prices
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Geospatial Analysis Result 14 Focus Areas
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(No Transcript)
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Information Sources

• Trade and Academic Journals
• GEOWorld
• GeoInfo Systems
• International Journal of Geographic Information
  Science
• Internet
• Census GIS Resources http//www.census.gov/geo/www
  /
• TIGER Home Page http//www.census.gov/geo/www/tige
  r/
• GeoPlace http//www.geoplace.com/
• ESRi http//www.esri.com
• JavaLocationServices http//www.jlocationservices.
  com/

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Questions?