Geoscience After IT (eBook)

Cover 1
Table of contents 6
Part 1: Motivation 12
Chapter 1. Geoscience after IT. Part A. Defining Information Technology, its Significance in Geoscience, and the aims of this Publication 14
1. Defining Information Technology 14
2. The significance of IT to geoscience 15
3. This publication 15
Acknowledgements 16
References 16
Chapter 2. Geoscience after IT. Part B. Benefits for geoscience from information technology, and an example from geological mapping of the need for a broad view 18
1. The geoscience literature 18
2. Managing a knowledge base 19
3. Sharing information 20
4. The need for a broad view 21
5. Towards a user requirement 25
References 26
Part 2: Familiarization with IT 27
Chapter 3. Geoscience after IT. Part C. Familiarization with It applications to support the individual geoscientist 28
1. The route to IT familiarization 28
2. Desktop hardware 29
3. Word processors 29
4. Spreadsheets and business graphics 31
5. Capturing data and images 31
6. Information delivery and presentation 32
References 32
Chapter 4. Geoscience after IT. Part D. Familiarization with It applications to support the workgroup 34
1. Project and workgroup 34
2. Communicating in the workgroup 35
3. Sharing information, metadata 36
4. Designing an investigation 36
5. Project management 37
6. Project documents 38
7. IT applications in the cycle of project activities 39
References 42
Chapter 5. Geoscience after IT. Part E. Familiarization with it background 44
1. The need to look at the IT background 44
2. What computers do 44
3. The computing system 45
4. Communication 46
5. Generic software systems 48
6. Programming languages 49
References 52
Chapter 6. Geoscience after IT. Part F. Familiarization with quantitative analysis 54
1. Background 54
2. Measurement and number 54
3. Descriptive statistics 55
4. Matrix algebra and spatial data 58
5. Multivariate statistics 59
References 63
Chapter 7. Geoscience after IT. Part G. Familiarization with spatial analysis 64
1. Digital cartography 64
2. The spatial model 65
3. Spatial relationships 67
4. Spatial transformations 68
5. Spatial statistics and surface fitting 69
6. The fractal model 71
7. Spatial configuration 73
References 75
Chapter 8. Geoscience after IT. Part H . Familiarization with managing the information base 76
1. The framework 76
2. Documents 79
3. Database 81
4. Spatial data 83
5. Object-oriented methods 84
References 86
Part 3: The emerging system 87
Chapter 9. Geoscience after IT. Part I. A view of the conventional geoscience information system 88
1. A scheme of ideas 88
2. Systems 89
3. A student looks at the real world 92
4. How memory orders our thoughts 93
5. Interfaces in a conventional system 94
6. Conventional repositories 94
7. Processes in the conventional system 96
8. Business aspects 96
References 97
Chapter 10. Geoscience after IT. Part J. Human requirements that shape the evolving geoscience information system 100
1. Communication at the interface 100
2. Processes and the repository 105
References 110
Chapter 11. Geoscience after IT. Part K. Coping with changing ideas, defining the user requirement for a future information system 112
1. Change 112
2. Themes and problems 117
3. User requirements 118
References 121
Chapter 12. Geoscience after IT. Part L. Adjusting the emerging information system to new technology 122
1. Staying in the mainstream 122
2. User interface and middleware 122
3. Text-based information 123
4. Spatial information 125
5. Structured data 127
6. Integration 128
References 133
Chapter 13. Geoscience after IT. Part M. Business requirements drive the information system, and provide coherent frameworks. epilog 136
1. Activities, participants, roles and driving forces 136
2. Frameworks for models 137
3. Business aspects 142
4. Epilog 144
References 145
Chapter 14. Geoscience after IT. Part N . Cumulated references 146
1. Bibliographical references 146
2. Internet references 148
Index 152