ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1 GIS were introduced as a particular type of automated information system concerned with the management of data relating to specific locations. These systems have been portrayed as the latest stage in a long line of development of methods for representing maps and mappable information. Their current state of development offers enormous power for answering questions relating to geographic location, and they are consequently applicable to a very wide range of operational problems and research interests. The packaging of sophisticated spatial manipulation algorithms in readily accessible software has led to a continuing explosion of interest in GIS, and this has acquired a breadth and momentum far greater than that achieved by earlier techniques for geographic data handling. We have now reviewed the development and techniques of GIS, and have given particular attention to the ways in which such systems may be used by those concerned with the representation of the socioeconomic environment. In this Conclusion it is necessary to reconsider some of the key issues concerning GIS and socioeconomic data which have been raised, and to draw together the many diverse strands which are a feature of any discussion of GIS.
