This chapter presents an overview of the development, capabilities, and utilization of geographic information systems (GIS). There are nearly an unlimited number of applications that are relevant to GIS because virtually all human interactions, natural and man-made features, resources, and populations have a geographic component. Everything happens somewhere and the location often has a role that affects what occurs. This role is often called spatial dependence or spatial autocorrelation, which exists when a phenomenon is not randomly geographically distributed. GIS has a number of key capabilities that are needed to conduct a spatial analysis to assess this spatial dependence. This chapter presents these capabilities (e.g., georeferencing, adjacency/distance measures, overlays) and provides a case study to illustrate how GIS can be used for both research and planning. Although GIS has developed into a relatively mature application for basic functions, development is needed to more seamlessly integrate spatial statistics and models.The issue of location, especially the geography of human activities, interactions between humanity and nature, and the distribution and location of natural resources and features, is one of the most basic elements of scientific inquiry. Conceptualizations and physical maps of geographic space have existed since the beginning of time because all human activity takes place in a geographic context. Representing objects in space, basically where things are located, is a critical aspect of the natural, social, and applied sciences. Throughout history there have been many methods of characterizing geographic space, especially maps created by artists, mariners, and others eventually leading to the development of the field of cartography. It is no surprise that the digital age has launched a major effort to utilize geographic data, but not just as maps. A geographic information system (GIS) facilitates the collection, analysis, and reporting of spatial data and related phenomena. The capabilities of GIS are much more than just mapping, although map production is one of the most utilized features. GIS applications are relevant in a tremendous number of areas ranging from basic geographic inventories to simulation models.This chapter presents a general overview of geographic information system topics. The purpose is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of a GIS, the types of data that are needed, the basic functionality of these systems, the role of spatial analysis, and an example in the form of a case study. The chapter is designed to provide advanced students and experts outside of the field of GIS sufficient information to begin to utilize GIS and spatial analytic concepts, but it is not designed to be the sole basis for becoming a GIS expert. There is a tremendous level of sophistication related to the digital cartographic databases and manipulation of those databases underlying the display and use of GIS that is more appropriately a part of geographic information science (i.e., basic research issues associated with geographic data including technical as well as theoretical aspects such as the impact on society [1]) rather than being relevant to this chapter. The utilization of GIS for conducting spatial analysis is the guiding theme for the chapter.

中文翻译：

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地理信息系统。

本章概述了地理信息系统 (GIS) 的开发、功能和利用。与 GIS 相关的应用程序数量几乎是无限的，因为几乎所有的人类互动、自然和人造要素、资源和人口都具有地理成分。一切都发生在某个地方，而该位置通常会影响所发生的事情。这种作用通常称为空间相关性或空间自相关，它存在于现象在地理上不是随机分布的。GIS 具有进行空间分析以评估这种空间依赖性所需的许多关键功能。本章介绍了这些功能（例如，地理配准、邻接/距离测量、覆盖）并提供了一个案例研究来说明 GIS 如何用于研究和规划。地理信息系统虽然已经发展成为基本功能比较成熟的应用，但还需要进一步发展空间统计和模型的无缝集成。资源和特征，是科学探究最基本的要素之一。地理空间的概念化和物理地图从一开始就存在，因为所有人类活动都发生在地理环境中。在空间中表示物体，基本上是物体所在的位置，是自然、社会和应用科学的一个重要方面。纵观历史，有许多表征地理空间的方法，尤其是由艺术家、水手和其他人创建的地图，最终导致了制图领域的发展。毫不奇怪，数字时代已经开始大力利用地理数据，而不仅仅是作为地图。地理信息系统 (GIS) 促进了空间数据和相关现象的收集、分析和报告。GIS 的功能不仅仅是制图，尽管地图制作是最常用的功能之一。GIS 应用程序与从基本地理清单到模拟模型的大量领域相关。本章介绍了地理信息系统主题的一般概述。目的是让读者对 GIS 有一个基本的了解，所需的数据类型、这些系统的基本功能、空间分析的作用以及案例研究形式的示例。本章旨在为 GIS 领域之外的高级学生和专家提供足够的信息，以开始使用 GIS 和空间分析概念，但它并不是成为 GIS 专家的唯一基础。与数字制图数据库和这些数据库的操作相关的复杂程度非常高，这些数据库是 GIS 显示和使用的基础，更适合作为地理信息科学的一部分（即与地理数据相关的基础研究问题，包括技术和对社会的影响等理论方面 [1]) 而不是与本章相关。