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estimation is tackled by bootstrapping theestimates. Although these concepts are also notnew, the four new inverse techniques presentedhere are largely aimed at improving computa-tional speed.

‘Soil contamination’ contains four papers,two that use conventional Box-Cox methods todevelop kriging models, and two that use moremodern fuzzy methods. In modern statistics,new methods (apart from Box-Cox) exist fortransforming both regressor and response vari-ables (for example, Cook and Weisburg, 1999). Thefuzzy methods are based on Bayesian statisticsand allow variable probability density functionsto be determined for every point on a geostatis-tical surface. The following section ‘RemoteSensing’ (RS), contains only two papers. Onepaper on wavelets applied to geostatistics, missessome important issues. For example, waveletsare a method of examining non-stationaryFourier signals (Torrence and Compo, 1998), butwhat signals are expected to exist in a geostatis-tical setting? And what do the 2D wavelet fieldsat various scales look like? The second RS paperis a useful example of direct sequential co-simulation applied to merge different RS images.

The final section, ‘Environment’, contains sixpapers on the application of various methods to‘miscellaneous’ real-world problems. The high-light here is a paper on space-time modelling ofrainfall using direct, sequential co-simulation,though there is no assessment of how this modelperforms over different scales of aggregation(for example, Cowpertwait, 1991). Papers on theclustering of estuary data and volcanic time-series use standard geostatistical techniques, andlack the insight of new statistical methods suchas Projection Pursuit clustering (Bolton andKrzanowski, 2003) and wavelet-based techniques(mentioned above). Of the remaining threepapers on multi-beam echo soundings, seismicand water quality data, only the latter makes useof stochastic simulation to illustrate the applica-tion of different sampling strategies to geostatis-tical data.

Geostatistics for Environmental Applications

is a useful summary of the state of geostatisticsin 2005, aimed at modern professionals in thefield such as postgraduate students or higher,and a worthy addition to any person’s librarythat contains one or more of the previous four‘geoEnv’ volumes. It is not a textbook onmodern-day geostatistics, and due to the manydifferent researchers involved suffers from in-consistencies, such as in notation (for example,

the covariance matrix is expressed using

Σ

, C, Cov,

γ

) and the way that variograms are plotted (forexample, as autocovariances

or

autocorrelations,and sometimes mis-labelled). These points, though,do not detract anything for the reader with ageostatistical background (some readers maydisagree?). From a statistical perspective, thebook shows that modern geostatistics lagsbehind some exciting developments in modern-day statistics, and I look forward to ‘geoEnv 6’to tackle these issues.

REFERENCESBolton, R.J. and Krzanowski, W.J., 2003: Projection pursuit

clustering for exploratory data analysis.

Journal of Com-putational and Graphical Statistics

12, 121–142.Cook, R.D. and Weisburg, S., 1999:

Applied RegressionIncluding Computing and Graphics

. John Wiley andSons, New York.

Cowpertwait, P.S.P., 1991: Further developments of theNeymann-Scott point process for modelling rainfall.

Water Resources Research

27, 1431–1438.Hughes-Oliver, J.M., Gonzalez-Farias, G., Lu, J. and Chen,

D., 1998: Parametric nonstationary correlation models.

Statistics and Probability Letters

40, 267–278Percival, D.B., Sardy, S. and Davison, A.C., 2001: Waves-

trapping time series: adaptive wavelet-based bootstrapping.In Fitzgerald, W.J., Smith, R.L., Walden, A.T. and Young,P.C. (eds)

Nonlinear and Nonstationary Signal Process-ing

. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 442–470.Torrence, C. and Compo, G.P., 1998: A practical guide to

wavelet analysis.

Bulletin of the American MeteorologicalSociety

79, 61–78.

Matt Fischer

Institute for Environmental ResearchAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology

OrganisationSydney, Australia

GIS: a Short Introduction

Nadine Schuurman, Blackwell Publishing,Malden, MA, USA, Oxford, UK and Melbourne,Australia, 2004, xiii + 169pp. ISBN 0 631 23533 7(paperback), A$61.95.

When I was asked to review this book I have toadmit that I thought to myself ‘Oh no notanother GIS introductory text – aren’t thereenough of these types of books out there already?’However, I have to say that upon reading thisbook I was pleasantly surprised since, eventhough it could be said to be covering groundoffered in many other introductory texts, thisbook is different. Schuurman’s book forms partof the

Short Introductions to Geography

serieswhich claim to cover central geographical and

Reviews

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spatial concepts, offering differing perspectives.She does this by presenting a slightly differenttwist on the theory and practice of GIS.

This is a text for geography students, in par-ticular human geographers, and has mainly beenwritten in such a way as to illustrate how GISaffects students and scholars of human geo-graphy. Yet it draws examples from other applica-tions and covers issues that are pertinent tostudents from a variety of backgrounds whomight be interested in GIS.

One of the differences with this text is that itintroduces and explores some of the philosoph-ical implications of using GIS, which appear tobe uncharted territory in many of the other GIStexts on the market. This could of course meanthat this book is not for everyone and manytechnically minded people might not really beinterested in it. However, by taking this slightlydifferent perspective, the book introduces whatGIS is, how it means different things to differentpeople, how it works, the importance of data,how data are stored and manipulated, and itexamines some contemporary GIS research andresearch issues. These are topics of interest tomost people starting out in GIS.

One of the key topics of discussion is that theterm GIS has a dual meaning and signifies dif-ferent things to different people. She uses theexample of the fact that, to a municipality, GISis the software to identify zones whereas, to auniversity researcher, it can be a scientificapproach to a problem. GIS can refer toGISystems, which relate more to the softwareand hardware, or GIScience which is more of ascientific approach to the theory that underpinsGISystems. Shuurman goes so far as to talkabout these approaches to GIS causing it to havean identity crisis which is rooted in the historyof GIS. She then proceeds to give an in-depthhistory of the establishment of both aspects ofGIS. Although the book is written from a humangeography perspective, issues in defining theGISystems and GIScience approaches and theacknowledgment of the resultant lack of recog-nition of the science element in particular makeit relevant to readers from a range of geograph-ical and other disciplinary backgrounds. I cancertainly see parallels between the reaction ofhuman geographers to GIScience and the reac-tions that I have encountered from many ecologists,who fail to recognise GIS as a science. So, Ibelieve, it is a text that could be worth presentingto ecologists and environmental science studentsto make them aware of the value of GIScience.

Overall, I found the book to be well written,interesting, and easy to read and understandfor the GIS beginner, although the intellectualdiscussion in chapter 2 might go beyond theaverage GIS undergraduate student.

The text is broken down into five simple tofollow chapters. The first chapter provides abackground and history of GIS. It looks attopics such as – where did GIS come from? Whatdoes GIS stand for? Who uses it and for what?Schuurman claims to have designed this chapterto illustrate how GIS changes the way that every-day tasks are done and in it she looks at thesuccess of GIS and its growing popularity. Sheexamines its use in a range of applications and,in particular, highlights the ways in which it hasimpacted on everyday life in such a way thatmany ordinary people don’t realise this or knowof its existence or potential. Schuurman illustratesthis by giving examples of its use in precisionfarming, municipal management, utilities, e-commerce and e-governance. Personally, I foundthis chapter to be an excellent introduction andbackground to GIS which illustrates its originsand how it has evolved to provide a wide rangeof applications.

Chapter 2 considers the problems that haveexisted between human geography and GIS andwhich have hindered the application of GIS tothis sector of geography. Schuurman provides anin-depth discussion of the stormy historical rela-tionship between human geographers and GISand explains, from both perspectives, why thishas been the case. She largely attributes theseproblems to the differing perspectives that informthe research methods used by human geo-graphers and GIS scholars. She describes GIS ashaving ‘unique intellectual theory’, and attributessome of the conflicts to the fact that humangeographers are highly aware of the fact thatmaps can be used to reflect and represent socialforces and power. The main focus of this chapterthough is a discussion of the philosophicalissues –

epistemology

and

ontology

– and thefact that Schuurman believes that it is these thatdominate discussions between human geographersand GIS scholars. Schuurman describes GIS ashaving a mixed epistemological framework.Confusion and problems arise because ‘humangeographers can see GIS scholars as positivistsyet many GIS scholars identify as realists andthe technology has the hallmark of pragmatism’.Ontology again is an issue of contention sincethe different data models used in GIS mean thatoutput can be dissimilar for the same object. As

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mentioned above, this chapter is interesting butmany beginning GIS students could live withoutbeing exposed to a consideration of these issues.

Chapter 3 is concerned with data issues. Inthis chapter Schuurman talks about the veryimportant topics of the creation of digital data,metrics, such as the scale used to describe spatialobjects, the importance of metadata, data shar-ing, standardisation and logistics, how data arestored and standardised, their role in determiningoutcomes, and the ways in which spatial dataare affected by politics and social processes.Schuurman looks at the relationship betweendata representation and organisation and thechallenges of interoperability. This chaptercovers these important concepts well.

Chapter 4 is a discussion of GIS operationsand some of the available spatial analysis func-tions. Schuurman adopts a case study approachin this chapter to review GIS operations anddraws examples from GIS in environmentalmanagement and population health. She exploresthe power of spatial analysis to transform under-standing and perceptions of spatial relationships.She discusses the fact that analysis has its ownlogic and assumptions which need to be taken intoaccount, and discusses what separates analysisfrom data management and mapping. Again Ifound this chapter to be a very useful, well-writtendescription of relevant analysis techniques.

Chapter 5 addresses the issue of ‘where do Igo from here?’ In this chapter Schuurman revis-its the concepts of GISystems and GIScienceand their relationship with each other and con-tends that they are interrelated and that there isa clear and definite need for both. She highlightsthe value that both approaches have to geographyand to the furthering of geographical knowledge.Schuurman makes the very important point that,even though GIS software is becoming increas-ingly easy to use it is still necessary to have GIStraining, not only to have the skills to use thesoftware but also to have the knowledge of howto use it accurately and appropriately. She makesthe point that GIScience makes an importantcontribution to addressing some of the limitationsof the current GIS software and provides theoryand intellectual assumptions. In the last few pagesSchuurman introduces the idea of ontologyresearch and feminism and GIS and discussesthe research approaches being adopted in theseareas. She also stresses the importance of visualintuition and spatial cognition and the relation-ship between phenomena and mapped represen-tation. This chapter covers some important issues,

but I feel it was a little disappointing as a con-cluding chapter which could have offered morein terms of where to go from here, particularlyfor the human geography student.

As Schuurman herself claims, if you are look-ing for a ‘how to do’ book, this is not the bookfor you, or for you to give to technically mindedstudents. But I believe that this text has thepotential to be very useful for students wantingto get an overview of what GIS is, how it canbenefit them and some of the important issuesthat surround its use. I would, however, be waryof the level of student to whom it is given –personally I would see it having greater potentialfor my introductory postgraduate level studentswho can deal with the intellectual discussions.

Diane Pearson

Charles Darwin UniversityAustralia

Geographies of Consumption

Juliana Mansvelt, Sage Publications, London,Thousand Oaks, 2005, xv + 190pp, ISBN0 7619 7429 6 (hardback) US$68.95, ISBN0 619 430 (paperback) US$33.95

Given the significant amount of human geographyresearch that has, in the last decade or so,explored the multi-faceted nature of consump-tion, a primer that consolidates and positions thiswork is by now long overdue. Written by JulianaMansvelt, a Senior Lecturer in the Geographyprogramme at Massey University, New Zealand,this book aims to examine ‘the ways in whichrelationships between people, things and placesare constituted around the sale, purchase and useof goods and services’ (p. 1). To do so, Mansveltsurveys human geographers’ consumption researchto draw out the prevalent themes, theoreticalcontributions and, in some places, knowledgegaps. This is a tall order in less than 200 pages,because the scope of the field ranges fromexplorations of placed-based subjectivities tothe movement of transnational commodities,researched through diverse theoretical frame-works. Still Mansvelt does a commendable job,highlighting many of the key debates takingplace within the sub-discipline.

In Chapter one she outlines how and whygeographers have considered consumption worthyof study, providing a useful table that draws outthe main themes in geographies of consumptionaround the modes of spatialities and subjectivities.