Advanced Topics in GIScience
Geography 521
Spring 2002

ESRI, Inc. 1994. Understanding GIS: The Arc/Info Method. Redlands, CA: ESRI. (Copies will be available for use in the GIS Projects Lab -- you do NOT need to purchase this item.)

ESRI/GeoInformation Int’l. 1997. Getting to Know ArcView GIS: The GIS for Everyone. (Copies will be available for use in the GIS Projects Lab -- you do NOT need to purchase this item.)

Miscellaneous articles and other materials will be put on reserve in the library, and details will be provided during the semester. In addition, we will be reading chapters from versions of the  course curriculum of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) that are available on the Web. If you wish to get a jump on things, the URLs are listed below:

http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/curricula/giscc

WebCT and World Wide Web Support for this class - This class is offered as a "web-supported" class, which means that we meet "live and in color" as in a traditional class, but many of your assignments and a great deal of other helpful material will be provided on the Web. Specifically, we will be using a program known as "WebCT," which allows you to connect to a special server at NMSU (salsa.nmsu.edu) that contains all of these materials; you can do this using an Internet browser from home, dorm, or a University lab. Aside from this syllabus (which is of course also available on line!) and the "Getting Started on WebCT" handout I provide the first day in class, most other materials and assignments are provided to you via the Web and WebCT. If this is all new to you, have no fear! It is an easy, fun, and dynamic way to access this material, and many, if not most of you, already know tons about the Web, making this a straightforward exercise.

The objectives of this class are:

• To review introductory GIS material as a foundation for advanced study,
• To advance critical thinking on currently important technical topics in the GIS field,
• To examine GIS applications in some detail and become an "expert" in your area,
• To provide opportunities for "hands on" experience with current GIS software in your application area, and
• To gain experience in outlining an applied GIS project, learning the techniques required for the project, and advancing the project to completion.

Course format - The class is designed in a combination of lecture and seminar format. Lecture material will cover the background GIS concepts and advanced theoretical issues, and lecture and readings will also introduce a range of application areas from which students will pick a topic for advanced reading and their project work. To build on this foundation, we will also examine a range of scientific literature through library research, focusing on critical review of this literature. Some of this material will be provided through handouts and web-based resources, and other material will be put on reserve. Students will also perform literature searches to find other examples of specific techniques we are examining in lecture.

Grading and evaluation -- Exams will cover key concepts from lecture, article and classroom discussions, and laboratory activities. All written assignments must be typewritten, word-processed, or similarly computer-generated and handed

NOTE ON WITHDRAWALS AND INCOMPLETES - Withdrawals from this course are students' responsibility, and the instructor will not withdraw or drop students from this class under any circumstances. Incomplete grades will not be given except in the case of extraordinary circumstances related to serious illness, bereavement, or personal crises. Documentation will be required in these limited cases.

Academic Integrity - As stated in the NMSU Graduate Catalog, "Graduate Students at NMSU are expected to observe and maintain the highest academic, ethical, and professional standards of conduct." All work submitted in this class is expected to represent each student’s own individual efforts. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the honesty or integrity of work being done by you or a classmate, please feel free to talk to me. Further information concerning the University's Code of Conduct can be found at the following URL on the NMSU Webpage:

http://www.nmsu.edu/Campus_Life/vpsa/public_html/SCOC

Exams - Three non-comprehensive exams will be given throughout the term which will focus on theoretical concepts covered in class. These exams will be essay in nature and will ask that you define and compare and contrast various technical concepts, and I am particularly concerned that you are aware of how these concepts can be applied to specific research topics. One goal of this class is that students know how to "go about doing this stuff," and I am keen that you know how to undertake research that would employ these methods and solve various spatial riddles.

Article reviews and write-ups - As a means of exploring technical concepts in specific geographic research areas, students will read research literature within areas of interest to learn how GIS techniques and tools are applied to solve spatial problems. Each student will have an opportunity to "walk us through" an article; this will involve leading a discussion in a "seminar mode," concisely summarizing the article in question, discussing the specifics of the GIS tool or technique used, and providing some critical evaluation of the use of the tool, given what we have covered in the class. Student presentations will be evaluated in a general manner as to how well these points are covered and how the ensuing discussion is lead.

As a means of getting familiar with a broader scope of readings, students will also do some focused library work to find, read in detail, critically review, and write-up 5 research journal articles that deal with GIS research in their area of interest. These will require a similar treatment as the discussion exercise above (summary, diagnosis of the tool used, and critical review), but will be in a written format. Students will need to include a copy of the article being reviewed, and each write-up should be 3-4 pages, double spaced and written clearly and concisely, in a form suitable for publication. The format of these is similar to that employed in journal book reviews, with an emphasis on critical analysis and synthesis.

Library lunge and bibliography -- In order to become "experts" in the application area of your choice, you will need to do some focused library work to find, read in detail, critically review, and write-up 5 journal research articles that summarize research in your area. This reading will also support an annotated bibliography in your area of interest, and details are provided in a separate handout. Given the limitations of our library, we will be jumping on some bibliographic tools that are on the web early in the class to start our shopping list of interlibrary loan items and assemble the write-ups into an annotated bibliography.

More details will follow; for those who want to get a jump on this, the URLs for several useful bibliographic sites are:

http://infomine.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/search?maps
http://campus.esri.com/campus/library/index.cfm?CFID=1850799&CFTOKEN=31053009
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/klink/gis.notes/ncgia/toc.html  http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/curricula/giscc

Laboratory activities and assignments – We will have some laboratory exercises this term to aid in understanding technical concepts and also to explore some of the technical facets of ArcView and ArcInfo GIS software. To facilitate the lab activities, we have a formal laboratory session that meets every Tuesday in Breland 192, the Geography Computer Teaching Laboratory.  The first 1/2 of the term, we will be working on formal lab exercises that will be due on a weekly basis. The last part of the semester, we will be working on the range of tasks that will support the group project explained below.

Final Project -- The latter part of laboratory activities concerns a final project that will bring together your focused reading in your application area of choice, weekly lab exercises, and interest and proficiency in your tool area of choice. The media in which you create this and the format of the final product are up to you, with some consultation with me. This product may be a webpage, a more traditional poster piece, a personally designed CD product, or anything else you can dream up that we can pull off in one academic term! I hope that these projects either directly support your graduate work or at the very least are helpful in providing insight into your research. Further details will be provided in a separate handout, but the key to this project is that it reflects your reading in your area of interest supporting the Library Lunge, the skills that you are acquiring in the lab exercises, and your ability to outline and execute a focused research project in your application area of choice.

Students with Disabilities - As a faculty member at New Mexico State University, I subscribe to university policy on students with disabilities who may have special needs in meeting class requirements. Students with physical, psychological, or learning disabilities are encouraged to contact the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please meet with me soon. For more information about the programs and services available, including academic accommodations for students with disabilities, contact the office of SSD in Garcia Annex, 646-6840 (voice) or 646-1918 (TTD/text telephone).

Policy on attendance and due-dates for assignments -- Timely attendance in class is required and forms a portion of your grade. Failure to meet course requirements due to illness will require documentation for alternate arrangements to be made. If you have a scheduling conflict or personal situation that will cause you to arrive late to class or leave early on a regular basis, please show the courtesy to advise me ahead of time. No exercises or other written work will be accepted after the due date, and no make-up exams will be given unless prior arrangements have been made with me or documentation of an illness is provided.

Seeking help and access to faculty -- If you feel that you are having difficulty keeping up with class assignments or in understanding the material we are covering, please see me as soon as possible! Please note the office hours posted at the beginning of the syllabus. If you cannot make it to my office during these hours, please contact me via EMAIL or phone to make an appointment. I hope you all enjoy this class and find the things we will learn to be of interest and of use to you in your graduate work at NMSU. Good luck!