THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM AS A DECISION MAKING TOOL IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR LOCAL DISASTER PREVENTION
- Paper number
IAC-11,E5,3,5,x9696
- Author
Prof. Javier Alfredo Valdiviezo Ortiz, Universidad del Pacifico, Ecuador
- Year
2011
- Abstract
THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM AS A DECISION MAKING TOOL IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR LOCAL DISASTER PREVENTION A global methodology that links population and environment: FROM DATA TO INFORMATION: In our nation, under a geographical context as a whole, statistics cannot be considered totally valid, they tend to lose their representation since local areas in Ecuador have dramatic differences and particularities which are left out when compiling data to get to the general and final information and results. Not just what is perceived with our senses and strike us is information, such as sounds, words, images, phenomena, etc.. Only when these phenomena that strike us are interpreted statistically we could talk about their real meaning in terms of information data, whatever phenomena transformed into data therefore it becomes the holder and not the factor. The needs to raise local information from the global data source current in our national territory are due to the limited statistical procedures and methods we use. Our methods are of great utility when designing general social policies, they determinate the country's position into an international or global context. They are also good for local diagnosis looking at data generally and vertically. The local limitation for us is the result of a very weak capability from local governments. The technicians that some municipalities hire to interpret and analyze data have not been successful. BUILDING INFORMATION FROM DATA The difference between data and information Very often, we use the terms data and information interchangeably, however they have a very different meaning if we look at them from the IT perspective. Thus, it is critical to make a clear and marked difference between these two concepts because we can say that a computer stores "data" and if properly used it can give us "information." The data becomes information only when it is processed (by a computer) and interpreted (by the user). There are very few cases when the information does not require a computerized process, only requires interpretation. Failure on proper differentiation between these two concepts can cause many problems. It is often thought that the more information we collect the more data we get, which is not always true, because what we get is like the evil of the ancient library of Alexandria. Ing. Javier Valdiviezo. Universidad Del Pacífico
- Abstract document
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