Spatial Data Handling Symposium (SDH'2008)

International Geographical Congress 2008

SDH 2008 - The 13th International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling

23rd to 25th June, 2008 - Montpellier, France

Greatly increased use of the Internet, location-based services and mobile geospatial technologies present significant new opportunities and challenges  in the acquisition, handling, analysis and dissemination of geographical information. Geographical Information Science is concerned with the formalization, representation, and visualization of geographical data in computer systems; the advancement in the efficiency, power, functionality of geospatial data handling methods; the study of accuracy and uncertainty; and  policy creation for data dissemination and data exchange standards. The emphasis of GISc. then, is on the core knowledge, theory, and concepts required to lead and support the development and effective use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). 

     Geographic information is crucial to international security and the global economy in the 21st century, but despite the rapid advancements in the technology, the effective use of geographical information is highly unequal across the face of the earth. This disparity is evident between rich and poor nations, especially in decision-making in the public and private sectors. There is a continuing need to enhance the role of geographers in educating students about geographical information science and technology, and about the numerous applications of geographical information which can be marshaled to meet the challenges of the knowledge economy. In many nations, GIS and GISc. are seen as separate from the discipline of geography. While GIS provides avenues for research and education in other fields of inquiry, such as biology, ecology, archaeology, forestry, and pedology, the essential concepts of geographic representation, spatial analysis and visualization of the earth surface reside within geography.