Assignment 12_Reading_Elva Si
GIS (Geographic Information System) provides quantitative precise data to better understand the location information. It is a powerful tool for spatial visualization in many scientific projects. It could also be used to relate data of different formats based on their common location, at times for historians to bring spatial and archival evidence together while allowing readers to explore the evidence afresh.
Meanwhile, GIS is also experiencing many challenges. It is true that GIS is built upon a positivist epistemology where an objective reality exists and could only be discovered through scientific methods. No uncertainty or fuzziness was accepted. However, in a humanistic perspective, spatial spaces are not simply setting for historical action but are a significant product and determinant of change. They reflect the values and cultural codes present in the various political and social arrangements. This is what GIS is lacking. It too often simplifies its mapped results in ways that fail to reflect multiple voices, views, and memories of our past. It often ignores the influence of money and power although the space is often the significant product and determinant of change by the dominant economy and cultures.