The Social Construction of GIS: Software, Data, and Results

华盛顿大学的这项研究试图更好地理解社会建设在地理信息系统中的重要性：社会背景如何塑造地理信息系统的技术和使用，特别是探索关于地理信息系统、技术及其联系的普遍假设。这项工作认为，地理信息系统的技术问题只能被理解为社会过程和实践的结果，反过来，这些相同的实践必然会影响地理信息系统的技术。研究人员提出了三个案例研究：第一个是构建驱动地理信息系统(拓扑学)的软件包；第二个是使用地理信息系统构建数据库，用一个湿地例子来说明标准化是如何失败的；第三个是应用地理信息系统进行复杂决策时使用的分析程序。

University of Washington This research attempts to better understand the importance of social construction in GIS: how the social context shapes the technology and use of GIS, in particular exploring commonly held assumptions about GIS, technology, and their connection. This work argues that technical GIS issues can only be understood as a result of social processes and practices, and in turn how these same practices must affect the technology of GIS. The investigator proposes three case studies: the first with construction of software packages that drive GIS (topology); the second with the construction of data bases using GIS, using a wetlands example to show how standardization has failed; and, the third with analytical procedures used in applying GIS to complex decision-making.