DM-20 - Discrete entities

- Discuss the human predilection to conceptualize geographic phenomena in terms of discrete entities
- Compare and contrast differing epistemological and metaphysical viewpoints on the “reality” of geographic entities
- Identify the types of features that need to be modeled in a particular GIS application or procedure
- Identify phenomena that are difficult or impossible to conceptualize in terms of entities
- Describe the difficulties in modeling entities with ill-defined edges
- Describe the difficulties inherent in extending the “tabletop” metaphor of objects to the geographic environment
- Evaluate the effectiveness of GIS data models for representing the identity, existence, and lifespan of entities
- Justify or refute the conception of fields (e.g., temperature, density) as spatially-intensive attributes of (sometimes amorphous and anonymous) entities
- Model “gray area” phenomena, such as categorical coverages (a.k.a. discrete fields), in terms of objects
- Evaluate the influence of scale on the conceptualization of entities
- Describe the perceptual processes (e.g., edge detection) that aid cognitive objectification
- Describe particular entities in terms of space, time, and properties
PD-03 - Development environments for geospatial applications