Research in GIScienceLandscape ecology, health geography, crime analysis

Linkages

Geography

Patterns Places

Landscape Ecology Processes

Crime Analysis Processes

Health Geography Processes

People

Perspectives

Develop vs protect

Emergent processes

HMO vs patient

Scale

Social theory

CONTEXT

(Landscape) Ecology• Ecology is the study of the interrelationships

between organisms and their environment (Ricklefs 1979). The goal of ecological research is to understand how the environment, including biotic and abiotic patterns and processes, affects the abundance and distribution of organisms. This includes indirect effects such as the effect of an abiotic process (e.g., fire) on a biotic process (e.g., germination), which in turn affects the abundance and/or distribution of an organism.

• Processes considered are typically at a "local" scale, that is, at the same scale or smaller than the scale of the abundance / distribution pattern of interest.

(Landscape) Ecology

Landscape ecology• Landscape ecology, a subdiscipline of ecology, is

the study of how landscape structure affects the abundance and distribution of organisms. Landscape ecology has also been defined as the study of the effect of pattern on process (Turner 1989), where "pattern" refers specifically to landscape structure. The full definition of landscape ecology is, then, “the study of how landscape structure affects (the processes that determine) the abundance and distribution of organisms.”

• In statistical parlance, the "response" variables in landscape ecology are abundance /distribution /process variables, and the "predictors" are variables that describe landscape structure.

Differences in approach

Landscape ecology

http://geography.asu.edu/education/degrees/sc_05.htm

Health Geography

• The role of place, space and community in shaping health outcomes and health care delivery

• There are three main themes in the geography of health care (or medical geography): • disease ecology, • health care delivery, and • environment and health. 

Health Geography

• Disease ecology involves the study of infectious diseases (e.g., malaria, HIV/AIDS, infant diarrhea), including the spatial distributions of meteorological, biological and cultural phenomena associated with disease, as well as the social, political and economic barriers to positive change. 

• The study of health care delivery includes spatial patterns of health care provision and patient behaviour and includes issues like inequalities in health (health status and accessibility), and deinstitutionalisation of the mentally ill.

Health Geography• Environment and health is a relatively new

focus for health geographers which draws geography's long tradition in environmental hazards research together with health geography. Topics within this new tradition include environmental risk assessment, as well as the physical and psychosocial health impacts of environmental contamination.

http://geography.asu.edu/education/degrees/sc_05.htm

Crime analysis• A set of systematic, analytical processes directed

at providing timely and pertinent information relative to crime patterns and trend correlations to assist the operational and administrative personnel in planning the deployment of resources for the prevention and suppression of criminal activities, aiding the investigative process, and increasing apprehensions and the clearance of cases.

• Within this context, crime analysis supports a number of departmental functions including patrol deployment, special operations, and tactical units, investigations, planning and research, crime prevention, and administrative services (budgeting and program planning). (Steven Gottlieb et al., 1994, "Crime Analysis: From First Report To Final Arrest.“)

Crime analysis• Historically, the causes and origins of crime have been the

subject of investigation by a variety of disciplines. Some factors known to affect the volume and type of crime occurring from place to place are: • Population density and degree of urbanization, site locality and its

surrounding area. • Variations in the composition of the population, particularly youth

concentrations. • Stability of population with respect to residents' mobility,

commuting patterns, and transient factors. • Modes of transportation and the highway system. • Economic conditions, including median income, poverty level, and

job availability. • Cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious

characteristics. • Family conditions with respect to divorce and family

cohesiveness. • Climate.

• http://www.tempe.gov/cau/about_ca.htm

Theories in criminology

• Environmental criminology• Routine activity theory

• Social disorganization theory• Rational choice theory• Broken windows theory

Crime analysis

http://www.umbc.edu/geography/student_projects/digital_atlas/index.htm

Crime analysis

Course objectives

• In this course you will learn about these different subjects and, in particular, learn about the spatial analytical methods used in each. In doing so, you will be exposed to some of the software programs typically used in these fields (in conjunction with a GIS such as ArcMap).

• More particularly, while considering landscape

ecology we will examine the relation between process and pattern; while considering health geography we will examine how perspectives play a role in how we look for patterns / processes; and while considering crime analysis we will examine how the concepts (process and pattern, and perspectives) relate in a practical setting.

Why GIS?

Why GIS?

GIS

Data

Tools

Methods

Needs

Human goals & aspirations:Shelter, food, safety, health,curiosity, recreation

Data related to space:Maps, remote sensing, transects, collections

Computer technology:Hardware, software,networks

Scientific theories:Land management,geography, biology, math, computer science

Why GIS?

If geography matters, GIS can be used to study the problem.

• Which species will be affected by the new hydro corridor?

• What wetlands are most important for the tundra swan?

• Which areas will be most affected by climate change?

• What areas are associated with higher rates of skin cancer?

Human Geography

Population Diseases Arts Immigration

Natural Environment

Precip Soils Geology Hydrology

Economic Activity

Pipelines Telco Roads IndustryPower Network

Natural Resources

WetlandsMines Parks

Oceans Forests

Geography integrates data.

GIS integrates disciplines and technologies such as remote sensing, surveying,

photogrammetry, spatial analysis, cartography, computer science.

GIS integrates disciplines.

Surveying

Monitoring

Descriptive

Mapping

ModelingPlanning

Prescriptive

MappingWhy GIS?

Course considerations

Asking Questions• Your assignments are designed to encourage

you to question research, and to research your questions.

• Questions encourage thinking and learning: • Why is it there?• What are the constraints on its distribution?• Is it linked to other phenomenon?

• Coming up with good questions requires skills in observing, defining, classifying, analyzing, inferring, reasoning, integrating, and associating phenomena.

Asking Questions• The process of inquiry:

• Research the questions and gather data• Identify and clarify questions, issues and problems

(perspectives)• Gather and organize data (metadata)

• Process the data• Interpret the data (know your data)• Analyze the data (know your software)• Evaluate the evidence (visualizations)

• Reach and apply generalizations• Generalize• Draw conclusions• Make value judgments

• Re-evaluate

Asking geographical questions• Location / extent:

• Where is the phenomenon of interest?• What is the phenomenon there?• Why is it there?• How much of it is there?

• Distribution / pattern:• Is there regularity in its distribution?• What kind of distribution does it make?• Where is it in relation to similar phenomenon?

Asking geographical questions• Spatial association:

• What other phenomena are there too?• Do phenomena usually occur together in the same area?

• Spatial interaction:• Is the phenomena linked to other phenomena?• What is the nature of that linkage?

• Spatial change:• Has it always been there?• How has it changed spatially over time?• What factors have influenced its spread?

The process of enquiryDefining the

questions, issues, problems

SkillsProcessing the data

Reaching and applying generalizations

Data forms

Identifying and clarifying questions and issues

Gathering and organizing data

Interpreting data

Analyzing data

Evaluating evidence

Generalizing Problem solving

Making value judgements

Verbal

Pictoral

Quantitative

Graphs

Tables

Symbolic

Maps

Diagrams

Asking questions• How does management of the natural

environment affect ecological processes?

• What do we mean by management?• Putting out forest fires?• Clear-cut logging?• Applying pesticides to forest pests?• Protecting the environment from development?

• What is meant by the natural environment?• What is present today?• What was present 300 years ago?

Asking questions

• Which ecological processes?• Tree growth?• Species we can hunt (e.g., deer)?• Species we are trying to save?• The ‘ecosystem’?

• We need to prepare very specific questions in order to direct our efforts at finding the answers we truly want / need.

Example• Even seemingly simple questions can

quickly become complex:• Are edges / contrasts good or bad?

Summary

• Over the next few weeks you will be encouraged to think geographically about issues in landscape ecology, health geography and crime analysis.

• Look for linkages between the fields—while the examples are specific to each field, the ‘geography’ and analytical methods are often similar.

See you on Wednesday!