Attend all scheduled sessions of class (including field trips and site visits)
Participate in discussion of assigned readings and activities
Utilize e-mail & other electronic communication tools
Integrate concepts & case studies from multiple information sources
Conduct independent study projects (team-based)
Complete written assignments
Assignments & Projects 25%
Participation (Discussion, Internet) 15%
Exam I 20%
Exam II 20%
Final Exam 20%
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 63-66
D- 60-62
F Below 60
Clarke, K.C. 2000. Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems (3rd edition). Prentice Hall, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Publ.
Chrisman, Nicholas. Exploring Geographic Information Systems. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.
Optional Books:
Coppock, J.T. and D.W. Rhind. 1991. The history of GIS. In Geographical Information Systems: Overview, Principles and Applications, Volume 1, eds. D. J. Maguire, M.F. Goodchild and D.W. Rhind. Longmans Publ. Harlow, Essex, GB. pp. 21-43.
DeLepper, M.J.C., H.J. Scholten and R.M. Stern (eds). 1995. The Added Value of Geographical Information Systems in Public and Environmental Health. Kluwer Academic Putlishers. Boston.
Dister, S.W., B.L. Wood, L.R. Beck, R. Falco and D. Fish. 1993. The development of a remote sensing and GIS-based model of Lyme Disease transmission risk. Proceedings, 7th Annual Symposium of Geographic Information Systems in Forestry, Environmental and Natural Resource Management (GIS 1993). February 15-18. Vancouver, BC, Canada.
ESRI. 1995. Understanding GIS: The Arc/Info Method. Wiley Publ. New York.
Gillespie, S.R. 1993. The value of GIS to the federal government. U.S. Geological Survey. Washington, DC.
GIS World. 1995. GIS World Sourcebook. GISWorld. Fort Collins, CO.
Goodchild, M.F., B.O. Parks and L.T. Steyaert (eds.) 1993. Environmental modeling with GIS. Oxford University Press. New York.
Haines-Young, R., D.R. Green and S. Cousins. 1993. Landscape Ecology and Geographic Information Systems. Taylor & Francis. Publ. Bristol, PA.
Hall, S.S. 1992. Mapping the Next Millennium: The Discovery of New Geographers. Random House. New York.
Hearnshaw, H.W. and D.J. Unwin. 1994. Visualization in Geographic Information Systems. Wiley Publ. New York.
Maguire, D.J., M.F. Goodchild and D.W. Rhind (eds.) 1991. Geographical Information Systems: Principles and Applications. Volume 1. Harlow, Essex, England: Longman Scientific and Technical. Wiley, Publ. New York.
McCartney, J.W. and G.I. Thrall. 1991. Real estate acquisition decisions with GIS: Ranking property for purchase with an example from Florida’s St. John’s Water Management District. Proceedings GIS/LIS 91(1):90-99.
McHarg, I.L. 1969. Design with Nature. Natural History Press. Garden City, NY.
Pickles, J. 1995. Ground Truth: The Social Implications of Geographic Information Systems. Guilford Press. New York.
Riggle, M.A. and R.R. Schmidt. 1991. The Wisconsin groundwater contamination susceptibility map. Urban and Regional Information Systems Association Journal 3:85-88.
Robinson, A.H. 1953. Elements of Cartography. John Wiley & Sons. New York.
Smith, S. 1989. Mapping a better future. The URI Foundation Horizons. University of Rhode Island. Kingston, RI. pp. 10-11.
Steinitz, C., P. Parker and L. Jordan. 1976. Hand-drawn overlays: their history and prospective uses. Landscape Architecture 66:444-455.
United States Geological Survey (USGS). 1970. National Atlas of the United States of America. Government Printing Office. Washington, DC.
World Resources Institute. 1996. World Resources 1996-97. Oxford University Press.
U.S. EPA website www.epa.gov
RIDEM (RI environmental agency) www.state.ri.us./dem/
RI Health Department www.state.health.ri.us./
Bryant Environmental Society www.bryant.edu/~dlm1/bes
Providence Journal/Bulletin articles www.projo.com
Contact Addresses Updated on August 27, 1999
Internet Environmental Sites www.lib.kth.se/~lg/envsite.htm
RI Shoreline (University of Rhode Island) www.uri.edu/artsi/bio/rishores/
Information on Wetlands www.sierraclub.org/wetlands/
Links to Environmental Action Organizations www.essential.org/
National Estuary Program (EPA) www.epa.gov/nep/nep.html
Sustainable Forests Directory www.together.net/~wow/
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution www.whoi.edu/
Environmental Data Center (U.R.I.) http://www.edc.uri.edu/
Contact Addresses Updated on September 2000
Overview of current energy issues
Internet connectivity and e-mail roundtable discussions
Hands-on activities (site visits, problem-solving, meeting policy makers, personal energy consumption analysis, dietary analysis, computer models, etc.)
Potential for conducting joint research & publishing a paper in a technical journal
Five writing assignments must be completed (some assignments are team-based)
Length: 2-5 pages of text
Must be original work (with notation of all references used)
Must be typed or word processed (use spell check)
Must include reference list in proper format
Journal articles must be of recent origin (1998 to present)
Must be submitted on due date (usually Tuesday of week indicated)
The individual project will include development of a small Web site reporting on the research; this Web site will be presented to the professor in an oral demonstration
Site visits and field trips will be included in the course.
Assignments and presentations should demonstrate a general understanding of the assigned topics, a technical analysis of pertinent information, application of computer skills, and an integration of multiple viewpoints. A well-written report should accompany each project. Specific assignments are listed below.
Expand awareness of the scope of GIS research
Foster analytical thinking
Enhance technical knowledge
Link business decisions and geographical information
Emphasize technical writing skills
Select 6 articles from scientific or technical journals in the fields of community planning, geography, hydrology, transportation design, computer graphics, environmental technology, marketing, and risk assessment. These articles should focus on case studies or models for using GIS tools for complex decision making, and have been published within the years of 1997-2000).
Read articles and identify the major ideas or concepts emphasized by authors
Elaborate on one of the ideas (include your own ideas and/or response)
Locate at least one additional Internet reference that backs up the article that you chose; describe how the two references coincide
List all articles and Web sites with proper bibliographic information
Prepare an initial draft of paper and edit for spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, style and content
Submit Final Draft of each article review (limit to three pages; use word processor; may submit electronically with name associated with each page of paper)
Due Date: Every 2 weeks of semester
Emphasize understanding of GIS methodology
Foster critical thinking
Expand technical knowledge
Apply geographical information to decision making
Construct an interesting and thoughtful question drawn from weekly reading assignments
Match your question with a Web site that addresses the same topic (the site may or may not be adequate to provide the answer to your question)
List all readings/articles and Web sites with proper bibliographic information
Present question, edited for spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, style and content, as a word processed document (e.g., Microsoft-Word attachment to an email)
Due Date: Every week of semester, starting with Week 2
Demonstrate understanding of GIS tools and applications
Encourage creative thinking and problem solving techniques
Expand technical knowledge
Link business decisions and geographical information
Emphasize technical writing skills
In collaboration with professor, identify a GIS project to be completed during the semester, using available computer and reference tools
Project should have the following components: Problem Statement (focusing on a real environmental, community, or business problem); Hypothetical Solutions; Research Design; Methodology; Findings (including maps and/or other products and results); Conclusions; Recommendations; and References
At least some part of the project should be placed onto a Web site (details can be arranged with professor)
List all reference books, articles and Web sites with proper bibliographic information
Prepare an initial draft of Project Report and edit for spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, style and content
Submit Final Draft of Report (use word processor) in a format that can be shared with the agency, individual, or business identified in the Problem Statement
Due Date: End of semester (specific date to be arranged)
Become familiar with the business or government sector utilization of GIS tools
Application of theoretical knowledge
Evaluate GIS services and/or products
Assess user input into GIS program being observed
Select one the class site visits
Following visit, write a description of your findings, incorporating any interview information, site observations, etc.
May include pamphlets or other advertising materials
Due Date: Week 12 (exact date to be confirmed)