GEOG 492/592 (USP 592): GIS II – Applications

CRN: 44769/44778 (45062), 4 credits

Course Webpage: http://web.pdx.edu/~jduh/courses/geog492w08/

Instructor: Geoffrey Duh (jduh@pdx.edu)

Office: CH 424J  Ph: 503-725-3159  Office hours: Mon 1-3

TA: Beth Goralski (goralski@pdx.edu) (Be descriptive of your email subject line to get prompt response) (Additional Lab Instructions)

Lecture: Monday 17:30-21:10, CH413

Lab: Mon 10:15-12:05, Tue 16:00-17:50, Wed 14:00-15:50 in CH469

(Lab starts in the first week of the class)

Course emailing list: gis2@lists.pdx.edu

 

Pre-course survey: Go to the website below and follow the instructions to complete the questions by Jan 9.

 

Course Objectives

Students will learn how to use GIS to generate information for spatial-decision making and understand the limitations and pitfalls of using GIS in spatial analysis. The course includes the theory and methods involved in spatial analysis, GIS modeling, spatial interpolation, and geostatistical analysis. The practical component involves the use of ESRI’s GIS modules, including ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst. Both the theoretical and practical components of the course are important. Students will work in groups or individually on a final project in which they investigate a GIS application in depth based on the concepts and techniques learned in class.

 

Text and Readings

There is no required textbook used in class. Instead, students will read articles from peer-review journals. These articles are available in pdf format in the I:\Students\Instructors\Geoffrey_Duh\GIS2\Readings folder. There are several other ArcGIS books that will be used for both the theoretical and practical components of the course. The digital copies of these materials can be found in several subfolders in the I:\Students\Data\GIS\ArcGIS Documentation\ArcGIS9.1_documentation\ESRI_Library folder. A complete list of readings is attached at the end of the syllabus.

 

Grading

The instructor will grade graduate and undergraduate students based on separate distribution curves. The components of a student’s grade are listed in the table below.

 

Undergraduates

Graduate Students

Lab Assignments

30%

25%

Midterm

15%

15%

Journal Article Review

NA

10%

Class Participation

10%

10%

Final

15%

15%

Project

30%

25%

 

Attendance to this course is mandatory. If you miss more than two class periods then you will be penalized five percent of your final grade per absence. PLEASE DO NOT MISS CLASS. You are expected to take part in the discussions. If you are repeatedly late you will be given an absence.

 

Summary of Deliverables

Submitted individually:

1.      List of 4 quiz questions and answers from the readings for each week the student signs up - due by Sunday at 5 PM.

2.      If miss a class, prepare answers to questions from class before or right after.

3.      Mid-Term on Feb 4 (in class closed book)

4.      Take-home Final Exam due – March 17

5.      Lab's Due at 5:00 PM on the following dates:

Jan 28, Feb 4, Feb 11, Feb 18, Feb 25, and Mar 10

Submitted as a group (or individually if doing the project alone):

1.      Choose Journal Article that is approved. The title and a copy of the article need to be submitted to the instructor by noon Jan 22. (Graduate students only)

2.      Journal Article Review 2 page max summary and 4 discussion questions and their answers (submitted one day before the discussion). (Graduate students only)

3.      One-page project proposal due on Feb 4.

4.      Project Presentations – Starting in Week 10.

 

Class Participation (10%) (Quiz Questions Preparation Schedule)

The lecture component of this course consists of discussions of the readings and therefore you should have read the material before class. Students are expected to come to class ready to be active participants in the discussion. To facilitate an interactive discussion each student will choose ONE week to prepare a list of 4 quiz questions based on the assigned readings (journal articles only) for which they will receive a grade for class participation. Students who are responsible for the week’s quiz questions must email the questions and their answers to the instructor and email the questions only to the class emailing list (gis2@lists.pdx.edu) every Sunday by 5pm. These questions might be used in class as quizzes. It is important that everyone in the class take part in class discussions. Therefore, class attendance and participation are mandatory. If you miss class then you must hand in typed answers to all of the discussion questions for that day.

 

Exams (30%)

There will be one in-class, closed-book mid-term exam and one take-home final exam. Unscheduled in-class quizzes will be administered without notifications. Results of these quizzes will be counted toward class participation.

 

Journal Article Report (10% graduate students only)

Graduate students will be divided into groups by the instructor based on students’ research interests. Each group is required to select one article to read, review, and report to the class. The selected article could be related to the topics covered in this course or a topic approved by the instructor. Please follow this link for the instructions of searching journal articles. A group must give the title and a copy (hardcopy or softcopy) of the select article to the instructor by Jan 22. Within each group, graduate students will form teams of 2 to 3 students to prepare an article report. The report should take the form of a written summary and critique of the article (2 page max.) and 4 discussion questions and answers. The report must be electronically submitted to the instructor one day before the scheduled discussion day. All students (including undergraduates) are required to read the articles before coming to class. The discussion of journal articles will start in the 6th week. The class will be divided into small discussion groups each lead by a team of graduate students.

 

Lab Component (30% undergraduate, 25% graduate)

You will do practical GIS exercises on the computers. If you do not finish the labs during the assigned time periods the lab also has open hours. The practical exercises provide a way to acquire skills using ArcGIS and other GIS software packages and to apply the course concepts to real data. Lab exercises are due by 5pm on the Monday of the beginning of the next exercise. All exercises require a significant amount of time to finish. Make sure you pace your lab exercises appropriately to prevent from turning them in late. Please refer to the course schedule for specific due dates of the exercises.

 

Project Component (30% undergraduate, 25% graduate)

A GIS project is required for all students. Students can work individually or form project teams of 2 to 3 students. The project should investigate a particular research problem using the GIS software packages that we use in class. You should acquire spatial data and if necessary digitize the data and the project should involve some types of spatial analysis.  The deliverable is a printed and a digital copy of Powerpoint presentation that you will present to the class. There are two stages to the project (the dates they are due are listed on the course schedule):

  • Project proposal (due Feb 4 before class): Submit a one page project proposal. It should include a project title, a research question, a list of the spatial and attribute databases you will use, and a conceptual description of the methods you will use. Please make appointments with the instructor to discuss your proposal if you have any questions. Here is a list of criteria for reviewing a proposal.

·        Oral presentation: Includes the essential information described in the proposal, data sets used, the analyses performed, and display the maps and tabular output derived from the analyses (see presentation rubric).

 

Requests for Academic Accommodation

Students who have a learning disability that may affect their performance should contact the Disability Resource Center, Suite 435 Smith Memorial Student Union.  If you have a documented disability and are registered with the Disability Resource Center meet with the instructor as soon as possible so that accommodations can be made. 

 

Policy on Academic Honesty

Any type of academically and ethically dishonest work (plagiarism, copying someone else's work, etc.) may result in an automatic "F" for the assignment and, when appropriate, a report filed with the Office of Student Affairs.  The   PSU Bulletin includes the following statement on Academic Honesty:  "The Student Conduct Code, which applies to all students, prohibits all forms of academic cheating, fraud, and dishonesty.  These acts include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, buying and selling of course assignments and research papers, performing academic assignments including tests and examinations for other persons, unauthorized disclosure and receipt academic information, and other practices commonly understood to be academically dishonest."


Course Schedule

   

Week

Case Study

Technical Topics

Lab (Instructions)

1

Jan 7

Course Overview

Basic GIS Concepts Review (slides)

·     Lab 0: ArcView 3.x to ArcGIS (Optional. Do Lab 0 only if you are unfamiliar with ArcGIS)

·     Lab 1: Raster Modeling (Due by 5pm Jan 28)

2

Jan 14

Site/Suitability Analysis (Slides)

ArcGIS Data Models and Formats (Slides)

(Lab 1)

3

Jan 21

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Online lecture: ArcGIS Geodatabase and Topology (ESRI Virtual Campus: Working with Geodatabase Topology)

(Lab 1)

4

Jan 28

Multi-criteria Decision Making (Slides)

Planning a GIS Project (Slides)

·     Lab 2: Geodatabase Topology (Due by 5pm Feb 4)

5

Feb 4

Dasymetric mapping (Slides)
Project Proposal Due

ArcToolBox: Analysis Tools (Slides)

Mid-term exam

·     Lab 3: ArcGIS ModelBuilder (Due by 5pm Feb 11)

6

Feb 11

Spatial Pattern Analysis (Slides)

ArcToolBox: Data Management Tools (Slides)

·     Lab 4: Dasymetric Mapping (Due by 5pm Feb 18)

7

Feb 18

Statistical GIS Modeling (Slides)

ArcToolBox: Spatial Statistics Tools (Slides)

·     Lab 5: Pattern Analysis (Due by 5pm Feb 25)

8

Feb 25

GIS Simulation: Agent-Based Modeling (Slides)

Netlogo examples:

Interpolation and Geostatistics (Slides)

·     Lab 6: Interpolation and Geostatistical Modelling in ArcGIS (Due by 5pm Mar 10)

9

Mar 3

Spatial Optimization (Slides)

Geographic Districting Demo

 (Final exam Q distributed)

Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (Slides)

(Lab 6)

10

Mar 10

GIS&T Body of Knowledge (Slides)

Project Presentations

Students work on projects

Mar 17

Project Presentations
Final due by the scheduled exam time (Monday, 17:30 -21:10)

 

 

GIS II Topics and Readings

Journal articles are in I:\Students\Instructors\Geoffrey_Duh\GIS2\Readings. ArcGIS documentations are in the subfolders of I:\Students\Data\GIS\ArcGIS Documentation\ArcGIS9.1_documentation\ESRI_Library.

 

Week 2: Site/Suitability Analysis

·        Chakraborty, J. and Armstrong, M.P. (2001). Assessing the impact of airborne toxic release on populations with special needs. Professional Geographer, 53(1):119-131. (ChakrabortyArmstrong_2001.pdf)

·        Towers, G. 1997. GIS versus the community: Siting power in southern West Virginia. Applied Geography, 17 (2): 111-125. (Towers_1997.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - ArcGIS Data Models and Formats:

·        Pages 45-61. Getting Started with ArcGIS (ArcGIS_Desktop\ Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf).

 

Week 3: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

  • No reading for Monday

 

Technical Topic - ArcGIS Geodatabase and Topology

  • Pages 99-142. Building a Geodatabase (Managing_data_with_ArcGIS\Building_a_Geodatabase.pdf).

 

Week 4: Multi-criteria Decision Making

  • Gemitzi, A., Tsihrintzis, V. A., Voudrias, E., Petalas, C. and Stravodimos, G. 2007. Combining geographic information system, multicriteria evaluation techniques and fuzzy logic in siting MSW landfills. Environmental Geology. 51 (5): 797–811. (Gemitzi_etal_2007.pdf)
  • Fuller, D.O., Williamson. R., Jeffe, M., and James, D. 2003. Multi-criteria evaluation of safety and risks along transportation corridors on the Hopi Reservation. Applied Geography, 23 (2-3): 177-188. (Fuller_etal_2003.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - Planning a GIS Project

·        Pages 65-107. Getting Started with ArcGIS (ArcGIS_Desktop\ Getting_Started_with_ArcGIS.pdf).

 

Week 5: Dasymetric mapping

·        Holloway, S. R., Schumacher, J., and Redmond, R. L. 1997. Dasymetric Mapping Using Arc/Info. Cartographic Design Using ArcView and ARC/INFO. High Mountain Press, NM. (HollowaySchumacherRedmond_1997.pdf)

  • Langford, M. and Higgs, G. 2006. Measuring Potential Access to Primary Healthcare Services: The Influence of Alternative Spatial Representations of Population. The Professional Geographer, 58(3): 294–306. (Langford&Higgs_2006.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - ArcToolBox: Analysis Tools

·        Read ArcGIS Desktop Online Help for all tools in the Analysis Tools Toolbox. To read the help of a tool, double-click the tool to open it and click “Show Help >>” button to open the help panel. Select the Help icon on the top of the panel to open the tool’s online help.

 

Week 6: Spatial Pattern Analysis

  • Group discussion journal article
  • Dall’erba, S. 2005. Distribution of regional income and regional funds in Europe 1989–1999: An exploratory spatial data analysis. The Annals of Regional Science, 39: 121–148. (Dallerba_2005 Ann Reg Sci.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - ArcToolBox: Data Management Tools

·        Read ArcGIS Desktop Online Help for the generalization and feature toolsets in the Data Management Toolbox

 

Week 7: Statistical GIS Modeling

·        Lee, S. and Pradhan, P. 2007. Landslide hazard mapping at Selangor, Malaysia using frequency ratio and logistic regression models. Landslides, 4: 33–41. (LeePradhan_2007.pdf.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - ArcToolBox: Spatial Statistics Tools

·        Read ArcGIS Desktop Online Help for all tools in the Spatial Statistics Toolbox.

 

Week 8: GIS Simulation: Agent-Based Modeling

  • Group discussion journal article
  • Brown, D. G. 2004. Agent-based and analytical modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of greenbelts. Environmental Modelling & Software, 19: 1097–1109. (Brown_etal__2004.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - Interpolation and Geostatistics

·        Pages 49-79. Using ArcGIS Geostatisical Analyst (ArcGIS_Extensions \Using_Geostatistical_Analyst.pdf)

 

Week 9: Spatial Optimization

  • Schietzelt, T. H. and Densham, P. J. 2003. Location-allocation in GIS. In: Advanced Spatial Analysis: The CASA book of GIS. Editors: P. A. Longley, M. Batty. ESRI Press. (SchietzeltDensham_2003.pdf)

 

Technical Topic - Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis

  • Pages 81-112. Using ArcGIS Geostatisical Analyst (ArcGIS_Extensions \Using_Geostatistical_Analyst.pdf)