GISDATA Series – serie

The ability to manipulate spatial data in different forms and to extract additional meaning from them is at the heart of GIS, yet genuine spatial analysis tools are rarely incorporated into commercial software, thus seriously limiting their usefulness. The future of GIS technology wil depend largely on the incorporation of more powerful analytical and modelling functions - and there is agreement within the GIS community of the urgent need to address these issues. This text attempts this task. It presents the latest information on incorporating spatial analysis tools into GIS, and includes concepts and applications from both the environmental and socio-econimc sciences.

This third book in the GISDATA series focuses on the widespread use of geographical information systems GIS in European local government. The editors include a wide range of applications carried out by different professional groups, and offer the opportunity of studying the extent to which diffusion of innovations like GIS are sensitive to national issues such as cultural context, institutional setup and the availability of data.; The book answers key questions such as: what can be learnt from research on organizational behaviour in relation to technological innovation?; what are the classical features of the GIS diffusion process?; to what extent is the adoption and utilization of GIS facilitated - or impeded - by the organizational culture within which it takes place?; and what mechanisms can be applied to enhance the diffusion of GIS? The book covers aspects of diffusion in the following European countries: UK, France, Italy, Poland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Greece and Portugal.

The ability to manipulate spatial data in different forms and to extract additional meaning from them is at the heart of GIS, yet genuine spatial analysis tools are rarely incorporated into commercial software, thus seriously limiting their usefulness. The future of GIS technology wil depend largely on the incorporation of more powerful analytical and modelling functions - and there is agreement within the GIS community of the urgent need to address these issues. This text attempts this task. It presents the latest information on incorporating spatial analysis tools into GIS, and includes concepts and applications from both the environmental and socio-econimc sciences.