Unit 1 - GIS - 2019-1

UNIT 1 CAPABILITIES AND COMPONENTS OF GIS
1. 1 DEFINITION OF GIS
Are we applying geographical knowledge in our day to day activities?
• Human activities
–Where is the location of Ethiopia?
–What is there in Ethiopia?
–Why are there differences in the spatial distribution of geographic
phenomena and what impacts do they have?
Thus, geographic location is an important attribute of activities, policies, strategies,
and plans.
• GIS is a system for assisting in making decisions
regarding basic geographic questions such as: Where it
is? What is it? Why is it there? (Jones, 2008).
• What is GIS? Define it. Individual work (3
minutes)
1. It is a computerized system that facilitates the phases

of data entry, data analysis, and data presentation
especially incases when we are dealing with
georeferenced data.
2.
• There are several definitions given to GIS. They are:
– Geographic: Real world, spatial
– Information: Data analyzed which helps for decision making
– System: Computer technology that interlinks different components
• GIS is a computerized system or software package that facilitates the
phases of geo-referenced data entry, data analysis, and data presentation
(Longley, et. al. 2005: 16).
1.2 CAPABILITIES OF GIS
– Lack of accepted definitions
• Computer Assisted Cartography (CAC)
• Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD)
• GIS.
• The definition of GIS given by David Rhind, also reflects the

capabilities of GIS. According to Rhind, GIS is a computer system for
collecting, checking, integrating and analyzing information related to
the surface of the earth (De Mers, 2003: 8).
• This definition indicates that GIS deals with the surface of the earth
and lists the number of necessary groups of operations for any GIS.
GIS has the following sub-systems:
– A data input
– Data storage and retrieval subsystem
– Data manipulation and analysis subsystem
– A reporting subsystem
• Diagrammatically, the group of operations in GIS can be
represented as follows.
• Compare the map process (old GIS) and modern GIS
individually and then in pairs
• Why is GIS needed?
• identify and address environmental problems by providing crucial information on where
problems occur and who are affected by them.
• identify the source, location, and extent of adverse environmental impacts, and may help
us devise practical plans for monitoring, managing and mitigating environmental damage.
• tool in business, government, education, non-profit organizations, archeology, and
zoology.
• used to fight crime, protect endangered species, reduce pollution, cope with natural
disasters, analyze the AIDS epidemics and to improve public health (Bolstad, 2005:3).
• instrumental in addressing some of our most pressing societal problems.
• in day-to day management of many natural and man-made resources, including sewer,
water, power, and transportation networks
– Geospatial data are poorly maintained.
– Maps and statistics are out of date.
– Data and information are inaccurate.
– There is no data retrieval service.
– There is no data sharing.
1.3 Short History of GIS
• The first true GIS
– the Canadian GIS (CGIS) headed by Roger Tomlin (father of
GIS)
– enabled to make the first digital land use maps of Canada.
– developed new technology, including the drum scanner for
digital entry of data.
– originated from CAC
– Supported by development of computer technology
– CPU, printer/plotter, scanner, GPS, internet, and
satellites
– Separate and duplicated development of GIS
• CGIS in 1963
• Harvard Lab Computer Graphics and spatial
analysis in 1964
• ESRI in 1969
• Intergraph in 1969
• Land sat I in 1972
• Auto Cart in 1974
• GIS resources
– www.gis.com
– www.giscafe.com
– www.geocomm.com
– www.spatialnews.com
– www.directionsmag.com
– GIS.about.com
– http://www.agi.org.uk - Association for Geographic Information
– http://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileychi/longley/ - Companion website to
Geographical Information Systems and Science textbook
– http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/tf/13658816.html - The International
Journal of Geographical Information Science
– http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/gissc/ - The NCGIA core curriculum in
GIScience
– http://www.rgs.org - The RGS-IBG Geographical Information Science
Research Group
– http://www.ucgis.org - University Consortium for Geographic
Information Science
1.4 COMPONENTS OF GIS
There are six components of GIS anatomy. They are people, data,
software, hardware, procedures and network.
• What is the role of each component?
Network
– www.gisuser.com/component/option,com_mtree/.../Itemid,172/
– (WIST, the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool, is a client for
searching and ... Access A Wealth of Geospatial Data and an ESRI
SHP file Viewing Tool)...
– www.yell.com) for dissemination of information
– www.landseer.com.sg) for selling goods and services
– www.mapquest.com/solutions/main.adp) for direct generation
through subscription services
– www.terraserver.com/ -Satellite and aerial photos from
TerraServer.
– made available for personal use through the mobile and handheld
applications as location based services.
• pagers, mobile phones and personal digital assistants are making use of
GIservices.
• able to provide real time geographic services such as mapping, routing, and
geographic yellow pages.
– http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ ff for downloading landsat images
– r downloading lan
2. Hardware.
– Mainframe computer
– Mini computer:.
– Microcomputer:
– Workstation:
– Desktop computer:
– Laptop:
– Scanner
– GPS:
3. Software.
– Software
– Different softwares for GIS.
• Web-based GIS: QGIS
• Geobrowser: Google Earth
• Desktop GIS: ArcVIEW, ArcGIS
• GIS software vendors, such as:
– Intergraph Corp. (Huntsville, Alabama, USA;
www.ingr.com
– Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI;
Redlands, California, USA; www.esri.com).
– Autodesk, Inc. (San Rafael, California, USA;
www.autodesk.com).
– IDRISI (Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts,
USA, www.clarklabs.org).
Software: Google Earth
Google Earth must be installed in your computer Google Earth is freely
available. To download Google Earth go to:
http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html
The link will take you to this page:
click on the Agree and Download button, as shown in

the picture on the right in red.
In this same page, you will also find links to tutorials

and movies demonstrating Google Earth capabilities.
These are highlighted in green in the picture on the
right.
4. Database.
• an organized collection of data for one or more uses, typically
in digital form.
• hardcopy or soft copy.
• managed using database management systems, which store
database contents, allowing data creation and maintenance,
and search and other access.
Sources of database could be:
• Ethiopian Mapping Agency
• Other governmental organizations such as Statistical Bureaus are sources of socio-
economic data
• Private companies
• Space Imagining and its IKONOS satellite are a prominent instance.
• Tele Atlas (www.teleatlas.com and its North American subsidiary)
• Geographic Data Technology www.geographic.com)
• http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ f for downloading landsat images r downloading

• Digitized maps, aerial photographs, statistical tables and other related documents
5. People
– organize and enable the system to work.
– select pertinent information, to set necessary standards,
to design cost-efficient updating schemes, to analyze
GIS outputs for relevant purpose and plan the
implementation
6. Procedures `
– steps that should be followed in order to accomplish facilitates the
phases of geo-referenced data entry, data analysis, and data
presentation .
1.5 APPLICATIONS OF GIS
• limitless and the types and numbers of users are growing. Some of its
applications are:
• Deforestation
– Current Problem in Ethiopia
– Management of the forest resource
– Inventory of the forest resource,
– Evaluating of the forest resource
– Data gathering, compilation, evaluation, analysis, and modeling
– Manual production maps
– Predict how the availability and quality of these resources
– Develop a plan to manage this resource
• Fire departments
• The military could use GIS technology to determine appropriate
battle plans and to organize troop movements.
• Mobile phone companies
• Regional state governments
• Business companies
• Real estate companies
• Police departments
• Researchers
• Urban planning of Bahir Dar city
• Plan protection for Lake Tana.
• Saving endangered species.
• Academic disciplines such as geography, biology, geology,
landscape architecture, range science, and wildlife
management now have the capability to employ the
technology to develop and test hypothesis concerning
patterns of natural phenomena on the earth.
The questions that a GIS is required to answer are mainly as
follows :

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UNIT 1 CAPABILITIES AND COMPONENTS OF GIS

1. It is a computerized system that facilitates the phases

• The definition of GIS given by David Rhind, also reflects the

– http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ ff for downloading landsat images

The link will take you to this page:

click on the Agree and Download button, as shown in

In this same page, you will also find links to tutorials

• http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ f for downloading landsat images r downloading

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